By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
San Diego, Calif.—After shooting 11-under on the back nine in the final round of regional play, the No. 3 Arizona State men’s golf team punched its ticket to the 2015 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship in Florida. This will be the Sun Devils’ second trip to the NCAA Finals in Tim Mickelson’s four years as head coach.
“I’m very proud of this team," said Mickelson. "They’ve played great all year and under the pressure of being the No. 1 seed, they came through again in the clutch. I’m especially impressed with how these guys responded after a poor first round. I’ve said it before: 'There’s no giving up with this team. They will battle until the end.' And they proved it again this week."
FORK FACT: The Sun Devils recorded a second-place finish in regional play before going on to win the national championship in 1996 under then head coach Randy Lein. The Sun Devils also finished second in regional play in 1992 and 1993—Phil Mickelson and Todd Demsey took home NCAA individual titles those years, respectively. In other words, we’ve got history on our side.
SPEAKING OF HISTORY: ASU has now made the NCAA Championship in 11 of the past 14 seasons and 29 of the past 32.
Arizona State’s Jon Rahm led the charge, posting a 3-under 69 to capture the individual title at the NCAA San Diego Regional. In a nail-biting finish, the junior carded a birdie on 18 to seal the deal with a two-stroke lead over Oklahoma’s Max McGreevy and Michael Gellerman. The first-place finish marks Rahm’s best finish in regional play and his seventh collegiate win.
“Jon is an absolute stud and he carried us this week," said Mickelson of Rahm's performance at regionals. "I’m very happy for him getting his fourth win of the year.”
SUN DEVILS AS NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
Jon Rahm, 2015
Jesper Kennegard, 2009
Ben Alvarado, 2007
Matt Jones, 2001 (shared)
Jeff Quinney, 1999
Paul Casey, 1998
JON RAHM COLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT WINS (7)
2015 NCAA San Diego Regional (May 14-16)
2015 ASU Thunderbird Invitational (Apr. 3-4)
2015 Duck Invitational (Mar. 23-24)
2014 Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 20-21)
2014 ASU Thunderbird Invitational (Mar. 21-23)
2013 San Diego Classic (Mar. 11-12)
2012 Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 21-22)
2014-15 SUN DEVIL MEDALISTS UNDER TIM MICKELSON
Jon Rahm (Jr.), NCAA San Diego Regional (May 14-16, 2015)
Jon Rahm (Jr.), ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 3-4, 2015)
Jon Rahm (Jr.), Duck Invitational (Mar. 23-24, 2015)
Max Rottluff (Jr.), Arizona Intercollegiate (Jan. 26-27, 2015)
Jon Rahm (Jr.), Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 20-21, 2014)
Max Rottluff (Jr.), Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 13-14, 2014)
MOST @ASUMENSGOLF TOURNAMENT WINS
Phil Mickelson (1988-92), 16
Billy Mayfair (1984-88), 8
Jon Rahm (2012-Present), 7
Alejandro Canizares (2002-2006), 6
Charlie Gibson (1972-75), 6
Paul Casey (1997-2000), 6
Through 54 holes, the Sun Devils dominated the 13-team field in birdies (60), eagles (5), and par-five scoring (-29). Individually, Rahm led the pack going 10-under on par-fives, while sophomores Ki Taek Lee and Nicolo Galletti went 9-under and 8-under, respectively.
As a squad, ASU placed three in the top 20. In addition to Rahm topping the leader board, Lee and junior Max Rottluff tied for 18th with a 2-over 218 through three rounds. After struggling to find his groove in the first two rounds, Rottluff kicked it into high gear on Saturday. Posting a 3-under 69 on the day, the junior carded four birdies and finished the round with an eagle on 18. Also sinking an eagle putt on the final hole, Lee went 1-under on the day and carded the most eagles (2) of the tournament.
“This team has a lot of talent and we know it," added Mickelson. "Now we just need to get a little sharper over the next 12 days. If we can do that, we’ve got as good a chance as anyone.”
Next up, the Sun Devils head to Bradenton, Fla., to compete in the 2015 NCAA Championships, to be held May 29-June 3 at The Concession Golf Club. Arizona State advances from the NCAA San Diego Regional with the following teams: No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 34 Georgia, No. 10 Georgia Tech, and No. 27 Virginia.
| 2 | Arizona State | 300 | 281 | 282 | 863 | -1 |
| 1 | Jon Rahm (1) | 73 | 64 | 69 | 206 | -10 |
| T18 | Max Rottluff (2) | 78 | 71 | 69 | 218 | +2 |
| T18 | Ki Taek Lee (4) | 74 | 73 | 71 | 218 | +2 |
| T40 | Nicolo Galletti (3) | 75 | 73 | 76 | 224 | +8 |
| T68 | Alberto Sanchez (5) | 79 | 82 | 73 | 234 | +18 |
UPDATED THROUGH 2015 MOST REGIONAL TITLES:
10 REGIONAL TITLES Oklahoma State (1989, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014) SEVEN REGIONAL TITLES Clemson (1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) SIX REGIONAL TITLES Arizona (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2006) Arizona State (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2009) FIVE REGIONAL TITLES Florida (1989, 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010) Georgia Tech (1991, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2014) Texas (1992, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2015) UCLA (2003, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2013) FOUR REGIONAL TITLES Alabama (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014) Oklahoma, (1989, 1995, 2002, 2015) UNLV (1990, 1994, 1997, 2005) THREE REGIONAL TITLES Georgia (2007, 2008, 2014) Illinois (2013, 2014, 2015) Kent State (1993, 2001, 2010) New Mexico (1998, 2002, 2013) Stanford (1996, 2010, 2014) Wake Forest (2005, 2006, 2009) Washington (2002, 2010, 2012) TWO REGIONAL TITLES Auburn (1990, 1997) California (2012, 2013) Purdue (2001, 2002) USC (2008, 2012) ONE EACH: Charlotte (2015); Chattanooga (2012); Arkansas (1991); Augusta State (2005); Duke (2011); East Tennessee State (2001); Houston (1998); Kentucky (2004); Liberty (2012); Michigan (2011); Minnesota (1999); NC State (1996); North Florida (2013), Oregon (2010); San Diego State (2011); South Carolina (2007); South Florida (2015); Texas Tech (2010); Texas A&M (1996); Tulsa (2007); UAB (2015)