The @ASUMensGolf team (#23 by Golfweek/#26 by Golfstat) under first-year Sun Devil head coach Matt Thurmond will try for its eighth NCAA Regional title in Austin, Texas, May 15-17 at the University Club. ASU is tied with Clemson for second-most NCAA Regional titles (seven), as only Oklahoma State (11) has more. The Sun Devil are seeded fifth behind Oklahoma State (#4 by Golfweek), Wake Forest (#10), host Texas (#11) and Ole Miss (#20), with North Carolina State (#36), Kansas (#30), Liberty (#46), Iowa State (#50) and Gergia Southern (#62) rounding out the regional top ten. Conference champions College of Charleston (Colonial), McNeese State (Southland), Wichita State (MVC) and Saint Peter's (MAAC) are also in the field.
ASU will have senior Jared du Toit, freshmen Chun An Yu, freshmen Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez, freshmen Blake Wagoner and sophomore Jino Sohn in the lineup in Austin, as only du Toit has NCAA Regional competition experience.
"Each of these guys feels the tremendous honor, opportunity, and responsibility it is to represent the Sun Devils at the NCAAs," notes Sun Devil first-year head coach Matt Thurmond. "Very few people in the world get such an honor. The whole season comes down to three rounds. Advancing opens the door to a chance to win an NCAA Championship. As a competitor, there is no more exhilarating challenge."
A total of 81 teams and another 45 individuals are competing in the six NCAA Men's Regional Championship sites (13 teams and 10 individuals at three regionals and 14 teams and five individuals at three regionals). Thirty teams and six Cindividuals will advance from regional sites to the national championships to be played May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., hosted by Northern Illinois.
The other five regional sites are The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee, hosted by Middle Tennessee State University; Kampen Course, West Lafayette, Indiana, hosted by Purdue University; Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford University; University Club, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hosted by LSU and Aldarra Golf Club, Sammamish, Washington, hosted by University of Washington.
YU!...IS THE WINNER: In just his third college tournament, Sun Devil freshman Chun An Yu took home the individual medal at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson after shooting an 8-under 64 in the final round on Feb. 28. It marked the third individual medalist for head coach Matt Thurmond's squad. Ranked No. 16 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings at the time, An Yu shot a tournament-best 8-under on the par-4 holes and 10-under on the par-5 holes. He posted 32 pars, 18 birdies and one eagle in the 54 holes. An Yu became became just the third Sun Devil freshman to win a tournament since Alejandro Canizares won the 2003 NCAA title. Jon Rahm won two tournaments in 2012-13, while Jesper Kennegard won the Hawai Hilo Intercollegiate as a freshman in 2008. Prior to Canizares winning the NCAA title and the National Invitational in 2003, freshman Paul Casey won the 1998 USC Southwestern Invitational, the Pac-10 title and the NCAA West Regional.
JARED WEARING KHAKIS WITH A TROPHY: Sun Devil captain Jared du Toit took home the individual medal at The Prestige at PGA West on Feb. 22, as the senior shot a 9-under 204 at the Greg Norman Course in La Quinta, Calif. He beat some fo the best in the nation, as the then top-ranked collegiate player in the nation according to Golfweek was Maverick McNealy, who finished tied for 18th at 1-over 214. Golfweek's third-ranked collegian was Sam Burns, who finished second at 5-under 209, as du Toit shot 3-under on the par-3 holes and 4-under on the par-4 holes. He had 13 birdies (tied for second) and one eagle en route to the win.
TEAM WIN IN FAIRFAX: ASU came back on the final day with an 11-under 273 to win the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif., on Oct. 11, while senior Ki Taek Lee earned co-medalist honors with a 15-under 198 (66-64-68). The team win ended California's dominance as it had won its own tournament the past seven years. ASU shot 30-under on the par-5 holes and had five eagles to lead the tournament in both categories, with Lee and senior Jared du Toit carding two each and Blake Wagoner the other. ASU 31-under 821 (275-273-273) to top Oregon State's 25-under 827.
@ASUMENSGOLF REGIONAL FINISHES
2016: 1st/Albuquerque, New Mexico
2015: 2nd/San Diego, California
2014: 6th/Columbia, Mo.
2013: 5th/Tempe, Arizona
2012: DNC
2011: T-4th/Erie, Colorado
2010: T-4th/Atlanta, Georgia
2009: 1st/Daly City, California
2008: 8th/Bremerton, Washington
2007: T-3rd/Tempe, Arizona
2006: T-3rd/Tucson, Arizona
2005: T-4th/Stanford, California
2004: 4th/Sunriver, Oregon
2003: T-5th/Seattle, Washington
2002: 20th/Albuquerque, New Mexico
2001: 1st/Corvallis, Oregon
2000: T-6th/Fresno, California
1999: 1st/Tucson, Arizona
1998: T-1st/Tempe, Arizona
1997: 2nd/Santee, California
1996: 2nd/Stanford, California
1995: 1st/Albuquerque, New Mexico
1994: 2nd/Tucson, Arizona
1993: 2nd/Provo, Utah
1992: 2nd/Tucson, Arizona
1991: T-1st/Albuquerque, New Mexico
1990: 3rd/Las Cruces, New Mexico
1989: 2nd/El Paso, Texas
COACH THURMOND'S NCAA REGIONAL VICTORIES
NCAA Southwest Regional (Norman, OK/Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course/May 17-19, 2012)
NCAA Regionals (Bremerton, WA/Gold Mountain Golf Course/May 20-22, 2010)
NCAA West Regional (Albuquerque, NM/The Championship Course/May 16-18, 2002)
SPARKY NOTE: Since joining the Pac-10 in 1978-79, @ASUMensGolf has produced a NCAA individual medalist six times. The most recent was Alejandro Canizares in 2003. Todd Demsey did it in 1993, while Phil Mickelson did it three times (1992, 1990, 1989). Jim Carter started the trend in 1983. The rest of the Pac-12 has produced eight, and only Stanford (Cameron Wilson in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 1996) and USC (Jamie Lovemark in 2007 and Ron Commans in 1981 have produced multiple winners. Other Pac-12 NCAA champions since the league expanded to 10 teams are Oregon's Aaron Wise (2016), California's Max Homa (2013), UCLA's Kevin Chappell (2008) and Washington's James Lepp (2005), coached by Matt Thurmond.
ASU will have senior Jared du Toit, freshmen Chun An Yu, freshmen Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez, freshmen Blake Wagoner and sophomore Jino Sohn in the lineup in Austin, as only du Toit has NCAA Regional competition experience.
"Each of these guys feels the tremendous honor, opportunity, and responsibility it is to represent the Sun Devils at the NCAAs," notes Sun Devil first-year head coach Matt Thurmond. "Very few people in the world get such an honor. The whole season comes down to three rounds. Advancing opens the door to a chance to win an NCAA Championship. As a competitor, there is no more exhilarating challenge."
A total of 81 teams and another 45 individuals are competing in the six NCAA Men's Regional Championship sites (13 teams and 10 individuals at three regionals and 14 teams and five individuals at three regionals). Thirty teams and six Cindividuals will advance from regional sites to the national championships to be played May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., hosted by Northern Illinois.
The other five regional sites are The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee, hosted by Middle Tennessee State University; Kampen Course, West Lafayette, Indiana, hosted by Purdue University; Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford University; University Club, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hosted by LSU and Aldarra Golf Club, Sammamish, Washington, hosted by University of Washington.
ASU IN THE REGIONALS: With the team victory and Jon Rahm's title at the 2016 Albuquerque Regional, ASU has won or tied for a NCAA regional title seven times. ASU tied with Arizona in 1991 and tied with New Mexico in 1998. It won the title outright in 1995, 1999, 2001 2009 and 2016. In addition to Rahm's two titles (2015 as well), Sun Devil Paul Casey won a 1998 individual regional title outright followed by Jeff Quinney (1999), Benjamin Alvarado Holley (2007) and then Jesper Kennegard in 2009. Matt Jones shared medalist honors in 2001MOST REGIONAL TITLES
— ASUmensgolf (@asumensgolf) May 4, 2017
11-@OSUCowboyGolf - 11
7-MEN IN MIRROR (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2016)
7-@ClemsonMGolf@GolfweekRingler https://t.co/HIRdtAvQ8n
SUN DEVILS AS NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
Jon Rahm, 2016 and 2015
Jesper Kennegard, 2009
Ben Alvarado, 2007
Matt Jones, 2001 (shared)
Jeff Quinney, 1999
Paul Casey, 1998
LAST YEAR AT REGIONALS: Shooting a 12-over 876 (286-296-294) the No. 11 Arizona State men's golf team captured its first team title of the season, winning the 2016 Albuquerque NCAA Regional in convincing fashion taking the honor by a 12-stroke advantage. By virtue of garnering their seventh all-time regional title, the Sun Devils officially punched their ticket to the 2016 NCAA Finals as they have now clinched a spot in the finals in 12 of the last 15 years and in 30 of the past 33 seasons.
THUNDERBIRD INVITATIONAL VICTORY: ASU, led by two freshmen, posted its second win of head coach Matt Thurmond's first season with a convincing 41-under 811 (266-265-280) victory at the 45th annual Thunderbird Invitational at ASU's Karsten Golf Course on March 18-19. ASU won by 20 strokes over UNLV, while the Sun Devil "B" team also played well, finishing third with an 18-under 834 (280-276-278). Two freshmen led the way, as Chun An Yu and Blake Wagoner each posted top-five finishes. Chun An Yu tied for second at 12-under 201 while Wagoner finished fourth at 11-under 202.REGIONAL CHAMPS@JonRahmpga 2016 & 2015@JTKennegard 2009@Benjalvarado 2007@mattjonesgolf 2001 (shared)@jquinney22 1999@Paul_Casey 1998 https://t.co/HIRdtAvQ8n
— ASUmensgolf (@asumensgolf) May 4, 2017
YU!...IS THE WINNER: In just his third college tournament, Sun Devil freshman Chun An Yu took home the individual medal at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson after shooting an 8-under 64 in the final round on Feb. 28. It marked the third individual medalist for head coach Matt Thurmond's squad. Ranked No. 16 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings at the time, An Yu shot a tournament-best 8-under on the par-4 holes and 10-under on the par-5 holes. He posted 32 pars, 18 birdies and one eagle in the 54 holes. An Yu became became just the third Sun Devil freshman to win a tournament since Alejandro Canizares won the 2003 NCAA title. Jon Rahm won two tournaments in 2012-13, while Jesper Kennegard won the Hawai Hilo Intercollegiate as a freshman in 2008. Prior to Canizares winning the NCAA title and the National Invitational in 2003, freshman Paul Casey won the 1998 USC Southwestern Invitational, the Pac-10 title and the NCAA West Regional.
JARED WEARING KHAKIS WITH A TROPHY: Sun Devil captain Jared du Toit took home the individual medal at The Prestige at PGA West on Feb. 22, as the senior shot a 9-under 204 at the Greg Norman Course in La Quinta, Calif. He beat some fo the best in the nation, as the then top-ranked collegiate player in the nation according to Golfweek was Maverick McNealy, who finished tied for 18th at 1-over 214. Golfweek's third-ranked collegian was Sam Burns, who finished second at 5-under 209, as du Toit shot 3-under on the par-3 holes and 4-under on the par-4 holes. He had 13 birdies (tied for second) and one eagle en route to the win.
TEAM WIN IN FAIRFAX: ASU came back on the final day with an 11-under 273 to win the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif., on Oct. 11, while senior Ki Taek Lee earned co-medalist honors with a 15-under 198 (66-64-68). The team win ended California's dominance as it had won its own tournament the past seven years. ASU shot 30-under on the par-5 holes and had five eagles to lead the tournament in both categories, with Lee and senior Jared du Toit carding two each and Blake Wagoner the other. ASU 31-under 821 (275-273-273) to top Oregon State's 25-under 827.
@ASUMENSGOLF REGIONAL FINISHES
2016: 1st/Albuquerque, New Mexico
2015: 2nd/San Diego, California
2014: 6th/Columbia, Mo.
2013: 5th/Tempe, Arizona
2012: DNC
2011: T-4th/Erie, Colorado
2010: T-4th/Atlanta, Georgia
2009: 1st/Daly City, California
2008: 8th/Bremerton, Washington
2007: T-3rd/Tempe, Arizona
2006: T-3rd/Tucson, Arizona
2005: T-4th/Stanford, California
2004: 4th/Sunriver, Oregon
2003: T-5th/Seattle, Washington
2002: 20th/Albuquerque, New Mexico
2001: 1st/Corvallis, Oregon
2000: T-6th/Fresno, California
1999: 1st/Tucson, Arizona
1998: T-1st/Tempe, Arizona
1997: 2nd/Santee, California
1996: 2nd/Stanford, California
1995: 1st/Albuquerque, New Mexico
1994: 2nd/Tucson, Arizona
1993: 2nd/Provo, Utah
1992: 2nd/Tucson, Arizona
1991: T-1st/Albuquerque, New Mexico
1990: 3rd/Las Cruces, New Mexico
1989: 2nd/El Paso, Texas
COACH THURMOND'S NCAA REGIONAL VICTORIES
NCAA Southwest Regional (Norman, OK/Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course/May 17-19, 2012)
NCAA Regionals (Bremerton, WA/Gold Mountain Golf Course/May 20-22, 2010)
NCAA West Regional (Albuquerque, NM/The Championship Course/May 16-18, 2002)
SPARKY NOTE: Since joining the Pac-10 in 1978-79, @ASUMensGolf has produced a NCAA individual medalist six times. The most recent was Alejandro Canizares in 2003. Todd Demsey did it in 1993, while Phil Mickelson did it three times (1992, 1990, 1989). Jim Carter started the trend in 1983. The rest of the Pac-12 has produced eight, and only Stanford (Cameron Wilson in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 1996) and USC (Jamie Lovemark in 2007 and Ron Commans in 1981 have produced multiple winners. Other Pac-12 NCAA champions since the league expanded to 10 teams are Oregon's Aaron Wise (2016), California's Max Homa (2013), UCLA's Kevin Chappell (2008) and Washington's James Lepp (2005), coached by Matt Thurmond.