The Arizona State men's golf team finds itself 12 shots back of the lead after the first round Thursday of the 25th annual Amer Ari Invitational Waikoloa Kings' Course.
The Sun Devils shot a 2-over 290, but its top scorer after the first round was individual Tobias Eden, who shot a 2-under 70. Eden birdied three of the final five hole and is tied for 15th, four shots behind Oregon State's Conner Kumpula.
Jared duToit shot a 71 with an eagle and four birdies, while senior Jon Rahm also shot a 71. On the second hole of the day duToit had an eagle on the par-5, 562-yard second hole.
SUN DEVIL FIRST ROUND SCORES
T15. Tobias Eden (IND), 70
T29. Jon Rahm, 71
T29. Jared duToit, 71
T57. Ki Taek Lee, 73
T79. Max Rottluff, 75
T79 Nicolo Galletti (IND), 75
T94. Alberto Sanchez, 76
PAST SUN DEVIL SUCCESS: The program has had recent success at the event, winning the 2015 team title with a 38-under 826 (277-278-271). Past Sun Devil individual medalists at the Amer Ari include, Jesper Kennegard (2009), Chris Hanell (1996), and Todd Demsey (1994). Arizona State also won the team title in 1995.
TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND: The tournament is hosted at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings’ Course and features a stacked 19-team field including: No. 15 Arizona State, No. 1 Auburn, California Davis, Colorado, CSU-Monterey Bay, Georgia Tech, Hawaii-Hilo, Hawaii-Manoa, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 32 Oregon, Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin, Pacific, San Jose State, Southern California, No. 5 Stanford, Texas Christian, No. 33 Texas Tech, and No. 29 UCLA (Golfweek).
FALL RECAP: Arizona State rolled into the spring season coming off a strong fall campaign. In four tournament appearances the Sun Devils posted a cumulative 49-5-1 record, finishing third at Olympia Fields to open the season, following with second-place finishes at the Jackrabbit, Alister MacKenzie, and Tavistock respectively.