By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
Waikoloa, Hawai’i—The No. 27 Arizona State men’s golf team brought home its second consecutive team title of the season Saturday at the Amer Ari Invitational. The Sun Devils rallied in the final round to edge out No. 20 Washington, No. 15 Southern California, and No. 3 Oregon with a 38-under 826 (277-278-271) at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings’ Course.
“We won against one of the strongest fields in the country and that confidence will carry over for a long time,” said ASU head coach Tim Mickelson of the win. “But we are not complacent, and I won’t let us get complacent. We have too much to accomplish still.”
ABOUT THOSE BACK-TO-BACK TITLES: This is the first time since the 2003-2004 season that ASU has won back-to-back team titles. The last time the Sun Devils accomplished that feat was when they captured the trophies at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz. (March 28-30, 2004) and at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. (Apr. 9-10, 2004).
Through three rounds, ASU led the stacked 18-team field on par-four holes with a score of 8-under, and carded the second-most birdies of the tournament (70) behind Southern California’s 75.
On the individual side, Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan held on for the win with a 17-under 199. Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, who finished at 15-under 201, jumped five spots on the leader board to claim second place after shooting a 65 in the final round.
Max Rottluff led the Sun Devil squad in Saturday’s final round. Scorching the final 18 holes with nine birdies, the junior carded a career-low 64 for the day. Rottluff, who was 7-under on par-four holes, tied for eighth with teammate Jon Rahm at 11-under 205.
Golfing in the No. 4 spot, Tobias Eden recorded his fifth top-20 finish of the season. The freshman eagled the fourth hole Saturday and tied for 18th overall with an 8-under 208 (68-70-70). Throughout the tournament, Eden was 11-under on par-five holes.
Nicolo Galletti improved his score once again, shooting a 3-under 69 in the final round. Carding five birdies for the day, the sophomore tied for 26th with a 6-under 210 (71-70-69).
Junior Alberto Sanchez traded birdies for bogeys in Saturday’s round, but finished the day at 1-under 71, for a tournament total of 3-over 219 (78-70-71).
“This is a huge win for this team and our program,” said Mickelson. “The guys are now believers of what I knew months ago: ‘we are one of the best teams in the country, without question.’”
UP NEXT: ASU will next compete in The Prestige at PGA West, co-hosted by UC Davis and Stanford, Feb. 16-18, in La Quinta, Calif. ASU tied for fifth in the event last year, while Max Rottluff placed second at 8-under 205 (69-69-67), just one shot behind Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers (65-68-71).
| 1 | Arizona State | 277 | 278 | 271 | 826 | -38 |
| T8 | Max Rottluff (1) | 73 | 68 | 64 | 205 | -11 |
| T8 | Jon Rahm (2) | 65 | 72 | 68 | 205 | -11 |
| T18 | Tobias Eden (4) | 68 | 70 | 70 | 208 | -8 |
| T26 | Nicolo Galletti (3) | 71 | 70 | 69 | 210 | -6 |
| T73 | Alberto Sanchez (5) | 78 | 70 | 71 | 219 | +3 |
| T78 | Broc Johnson (I) | 74 | 74 | 73 | 221 | +5 |
| T91 | Ben Shur (I) | 75 | 76 | 75 | 226 | +10 |