By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
Pullman, Wash.—Recording its best conference championship finish under Tim Mickelson, the No. 3 Arizona State men’s golf team finished third at the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships on Wednesday. Sun Devil senior Broc Johnson recorded a top-five finish as well, placing fifth out of 72 individuals.
It was a rough day at the conference championship, as winds gusted to 15-20 miles per hour at the par-70, 7,257-yard Palouse Ridge Golf Course. Only two teams—No. 13 Stanford and No. 8 Oregon—shot under par on the day. After posting an 8-under 342 on Tuesday, the Sun Devils carded a final-round 364, slipping to third behind Stanford and Oregon, respectively.
“It was a very disappointing finish today,” said ASU head coach Tim Mickelson. “But we won’t let this define our season. We have plenty still to accomplish this spring.”
After posting a tournament-low 10-under 340 in the final round, the Cardinal claimed the conference title with a 4-under 1396. Stanford led the field in par-three and par-four scoring and carded the most birdies (75) of the tournament. Finishing 14 strokes behind Stanford, Oregon edged the Sun Devils by one stroke to clinch second place. No. 16 Southern California and No. 12 Washington placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Stanford’s Maverick McNealy shot a tournament-low 9-under 61 in the final round, securing individual medal honors. Carding five birdies on the front nine alone, McNealy found his grove early on and could not be stopped. McNealy’s four-round 362 is a Pac-12 Championships record and his fourth-round 61 is the collegiate course record for a single round at Palouse Ridge.
Moving 11 spots on the leader board on Wednesday, Jon Rahm rebounded from his third-round 74 to finish tied for sixth with an even-par 280 (70-68-74-68). Max Rottluff recorded a top-20 finish as well, tying for 19th overall.
“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t come up with the victory today, but we are proud to clinch the Territorial Cup again for ASU,” added Mickelson.
The squad earned a Territorial Cup point with its third-place finish over Arizona’s ninth-place at the conference championship on Wednesday. The point gave the Sun Devils the requisite 10.5 points to claim ultimate bragging rights over the Wildcats for the second-straight year.
The Sun Devils will learn their next destination on Monday, May 4, when the NCAA announces its Regional selections live on the Golf Channel’s Morning Drive at 10:00 a.m. EDT/7:00 a.m. PDT. NCAA Regionals will take place May 14-16 in Bremerton, Wash., New Haven, Conn., San Diego, Calif., Lubbock, Texas, Noblesville, Ind., and Chapel Hill, N.C. The NCAA Championship will be played May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
TV coverage of the 2015 Pac-12 Championships will debut in a one-hour special on Sunday, May 10, starting at 11 a.m. PDT/12 p.m. MDT on Pac-12 Networks.
| 3 | Arizona State | 354 | 351 | 342 | 364 | 1411 | +11 |
| 5 | Broc Johnson (6) | 69 | 72 | 65 | 73 | 279 | -1 |
| T6 | Jon Rahm (1) | 70 | 68 | 74 | 68 | 280 | E |
| T19 | Max Rottluff (2) | 75 | 68 | 67 | 75 | 285 | +5 |
| T26 | Nicolo Galletti (3) | 70 | 74 | 67 | 76 | 287 | +7 |
| T31 | Ki Taek Lee (5) | 73 | 70 | 70 | 76 | 289 | +9 |
| T34 | Alberto Sanchez (4) | 72 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 290 | +10 |