By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
La Quinta, Calif.—The No. 21 Arizona State men’s golf team captured its third consecutive title Wednesday afternoon at the 2015 Prestige at PGA WEST with a 31-under 833 (279-274-280). The Sun Devils topped second-place No. 16 Stanford by four strokes at the par-72, 7,204-yard Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA WEST.
Heading into the home stretch, Arizona State led Stanford by one stroke. With all Cardinal golfers finished for the day, it was up to the Sun Devils to maintain the lead. ASU finished strong with nothing but pars and birdies on the final three holes, padding its lead and solidifying the win.
HAT TRICK: The last time ASU won three straight titles was in the spring of 1999. The Sun Devils won the ASU Thunderbird/Savane Invitational, Tempe, Ariz. (April 16-18, 1999), the Pacific-10 Championship, Seattle, Wash. (April 25-28, 1999), and the NCAA West Regional, Tucson, Ariz. (May 19-22, 1999).
“I’m so proud of this team for their resiliency,” said ASU head coach Tim Mickelson. “They battle and battle and battle. There’s no quit in any of them.”
On the individual side, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy nabbed the individual title with a 15-under 201. ASU junior Jon Rahm tied for second place with San Diego State’s Xander Schauffele. Rahm carded a 3-under 69 in the final round for a tournament-total 11-under 205 (66-70-69).
Also cracking the top five, ASU’s Max Rottluff tied for fourth place at 10-under 206 (70-66-70). This is Rottluff’s sixth top-10 finish of the season. The junior was 8-under on par-five holes and carded the most eagles (2) of the tournament.
Sophomore Nicolo Galletti recorded his third top-25 finish of the season Wednesday. Carding 14 birdies and an eagle through 54 holes, Galletti tied for 21st with a 3-under 213 (70-68-75).
In his first tournament of the season, sophomore Grayson Murray finished in 32nd place with a 1-over 217 (73-73-71). Murray led the field in scoring on par-five holes (-9) and carded 14 birdies throughout the tournament.
Rounding out the Sun Devil lineup, freshman Tobias Eden tied for 48th overall. After a rocky first round on Monday, Eden rebounded with back-to-back 2-under 70s to finish at 6-over 222 (82-70-70).
“We have played great in the spring, with 3 different lineups,” said Mickelson. “This team is really deep. We can’t wait to get to Las Vegas and compete again.”
Next up, the Sun Devils head to Las Vegas to compete in the Southern Highlands Collegiate, Mar. 9-11. The tournament will be held at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev.
| 1 | Arizona State | 279 | 274 | 280 | 833 | -31 |
| T2 | Jon Rahm (2) | 66 | 70 | 69 | 205 | -11 |
| T4 | Max Rottluff (1) | 70 | 66 | 70 | 206 | -10 |
| T21 | Nicolo Galletti (3) | 70 | 68 | 75 | 213 | -3 |
| 32 | Grayson Murray (5) | 73 | 73 | 71 | 217 | +1 |
| T48 | Tobias Eden (4) | 82 | 70 | 70 | 222 | +6 |
| T43 | Alberto Sanchez (I) | 75 | 69 | 76 | 220 | +4 |