By Cal Aboud, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
OAKMONT, PA – Arizona State men’s golf will be well represented in the 2016 U.S. Open (June 15-19) as a trio of Sun Devil legends (Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, and Jon Rahm) are slated to tee it up at the historic Oakmont Country Club.
Widely regarded as one of golf’s toughest tests, the par-70, 7,219-yard Oakmont will play host to the event for a ninth-time.
Live television coverage of the tournament will be available via Fox Sports 1 from 10-5 a.m. ET. Coverage will then shift to Fox from 5-8 p.m ET.
Jon Rahm (7:40 AM ET)…
Competing in the final event of his amateur career, Rahm, who is slated to make his professional debut in next week’s Quicken Loans National, aims to make a statement at the apex of pro golf. The Sun Devil who graduated in May with a degree in communications, has found success on tour in three-career stints. Most recently recording a 10th-place finish at the PGA’s OHL Classic (Nov. 12-15), Rahm enters the final stretch of his amateur career with two career top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in hand. Notably, Rahm clad in a #42 Pat Tillman Jersey fired a 54-hole, 12-under, 272, in front of an eccentric crowd at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, earning him a fifth-place finish. By virtue of strong outing at the event, Rahm became just the second amateur golfer since Justin Rose tied for fourth at the 1998 British Open, to accomplish a top-five finish in a PGA Tour event. The World No. 1 Amateur earned exemptions in both the 2016 U.S. Open and Open Championship after capturing the McCormack Medal in 2015.
Jokingly referring to himself as, “The best right-handed golfer to ever play at Arizona State”, in early April, after capturing the Arizona State-hosted Thunderbird Invitational for a third-consecutive season, Rahm certainly reinforced the notion by the conclusion of the 2015-16 campaign. The senior would go on to capture the Pac-12 individual title in early May, then medal at the 2016 Albuquerque Regional, before concluding his career with a third-place finish at the NCAA Finals. Nearly sweeping the collection of player of the year honors in 2016, Rahm who was a perfect 13-for-13 in top-10 finishes on the season (first-time since Chirs Hanell in 1997) became the first two-time recipient of the prestigious Ben Hogan Award while also earning the Jack Nicklaus Award and First-Team All-America Honors. The second-winningest player in program history with 11-career victories, Rahm appears primed for an exceptional professional career.
Paul Casey (8:02 AM ET)…
Casey, a reputable force in professional golf since joining the ranks in 2000, will make his 13th career start at the U.S. Open. The owner of 16 worldwide victories, Casey recorded his best finish at the event in 2007 closing in a tie for 10th. The former Sun Devil who achieved his highest positioning within the World Golf Rankings at third in 2009, has had a strong 2016 campaign boasting four top-10 finishes. He most notably tied for fourth in April at the Masters.
Spending three seasons at Arizona State, the UK native proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The three-time All-American became the first three-time Pac-12 champion (1998-2000) in his stint as a Sun Devil. An English Amateur Champion in 1990 and 2000, Casey was also a member of Britain and Ireland’s 1997 Walker Cup squad, by which he contributed a perfect 4-0 outing.
Phil Mickelson (2:09 PM ET)…
42-career wins and five major titles to his credit, Mickelson will make his 26th career U.S Open start at Oakmont in pursuit of the coveted career grand slam. The event has proved to be an enigma in the hall of fame career of the Sun Devil legend they call “Lefty”. Despite garnering a record six runner finishes over the course of his career, Mickelson has yet to hoist the coveted U.S. Open trophy. Celebrating his 46th birthday on the first day of completion Thursday, Mickelson, if able to edge out the field and further capture the grand slam, would become the oldest U.S. Open Champion in the storied 121-year history of the event, ahead of 3-time champion Hale Irwin, who at 45 last earned in the honor in 1990. Despite nearing the half-century mark in age, Mickelson is arguably having one of the better seasons of his career in 2016. Boasting a PGA Tour-best 69.58 scoring average, Mickelson has accumulated seven top-15 finishes in 15 events on the season.
Not only one of the greatest to don the Maroon and Gold in any sport, but potentially the best Amateur golfer in recent memory, Phil Mickelson made a name for himself and the Arizona State men’s golf program in the late 1980s and early 90s. One of only four players (David Duval and Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech and Gary Hallberg of Wake Forest) to be named a first-team All-American four times Mickelson amassed a program record 16 career victories, including NCAA titles in 1989, 1990 and 1992, in his four years as a Sun Devil. A three-time winner of the Pac-10 Player of the Year, Haskins Award, and Nicklaus Award respectively, Mickelson also won the Dave Williams Award in 1992. The 1990 U.S. Amateur Champion marks the last amateur golfer to win on the PGA Tour, having won the Northern Te