By Jake Olen, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Fresh off a second place finish at The Prestige at PGA WEST, the Arizona State men’s golf team heads to Las Vegas for the Southern Highland Collegiate Invitational. The tournament, hosted by UNLV, runs from Mar. 7-9 and will be played on the prestigious, 72 par, 7,510 yards, Southern Highlands course.
Arizona State has a rich history in the Southern Highlands Collegiate having captured the title nine times, the last of which came in 2004. Last year the Sun Devils tied for third in the event in a loaded field full of ranked opponents. The strength of the field is no different in 2016 with 9 top 25 teams in the tournament. The No. 14 Sun Devils with face off against No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 8 USC, No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 18 California, No. 32 UCLA, No. 28 Oregon, No. 33 UNLV, No. 35 SMU, No. 39 Texas Tech, No. 52 TCU, and defending champions No. 5 Texas (Golfweek).
Senior John Rahm is yet to finish outside top 10 in the 2015-16 season and will look to continue this streak at the Southern Highlands invitational. Rahm tied for second at Southern Highlands last year.
Golfing in the number two spot is junior Jared Du Toit. Du Toit has found his stride in his first season with the Sun Devils after transferring from University of Idaho this summer. Du Toit looks to continue his success coming off his best finish this season, finishing 7th overall at The Prestige at PGA West.
Play begins at 8am PT each day. Live scoring for the event is available of Golfstat.com.