In a week that saw seven top-25 programs not make the NCAA Championships, having each Sun Devil improve his score from the second round to the third was a great feeling for first-year Sun Devil head coach Matt Thurmond. Included in a 20-stroke five-man improvement over one day was two freshmen firing 1-under 70 after shooting 77 on Tuesday.
"This was a huge week for us," says first-year head coach Matt Thurmond. "I am so happy for our team and program. We knew it would be a monumental challenge to make it this year with a young lineup and we found a way. Now, you never know."
While senior Jared du Toit did his thing with a 3-under 68 in the final round, including three birdies in the final eight holes, the play of the freshmen trio on Wednesday after a tough outing for two of them on Tuesday was noteworthy. As du Toit settled into his role as senior captain and leader after an opening round of 74 and went 69-68 to finish tied for 10th at 2-under 211, his leadership was key for the youngsters.Beyond happy and proud of this team. Three freshmen, a sophomore, and a great senior leader found a way to advance to the NCAA Championships
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) May 17, 2017
Captain (@Jareddutoit ) tough when needed it most
— ASUmensgolf (@asumensgolf) May 17, 2017
First 33 holes: 7 bogeys/5 birdies
Final 21 holes: 1 bogey/4 birdies
7th top-10 of year pic.twitter.com/zM68a4198Z
Freshmen Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez was outstanding all three days and picked the best time to have his best tournament. He tied for fifth with a 3-under 210 (71-68-68), which included four birdies in the first 10 holes on Wednesday to set the tone. It marked the first time all year he shot par or better in every round of a tournament.
His classmates, Chun An Yu and Blake Wagoner, both shot 6-over 77 on Tuesday--and came back strong with 70s on Wednesday.
Chun, who has been solid since stepping onto campus in January, bogeyed seven of his final eight holes Tuesday. On Wednesday he came out and birdied the first hole and the par-4, 495-yard final hole that essentially clinched the nationals trip. He finished tied for 28th at 5-over 218 (71-77-70).
Wagoner shot 9-over 222 (75-77-70) but don't let the total score fool you on how clutch he was on Wednesday. After having two birdies in the first two rounds, he had three on the front nine on Wednesday. He double-bogeyed No. 11, but then finished 1-under the rest of the way to shoot his 70.
HOW TOUGH IS IT TO MAKE IT? As is the case every year for men's golf, many top-25 teams don't get out of regionals. This year seven top-25 teams will not move on including Florida who was the top seed at the West Lafayette Regional and ranked #5 entering the week by Golfstat. Other top-25 teams to not make the cut are Wake Forest (#10), Texas Tech (#11), Texas A&M (#13), Georgia Tech (# 21), Georgia (#23) and Missouri (#25),
Along with sophomore Jino Sohn, who had his score count in each of the first two days with a 11-over 224 (74-76-74), each Sun Devil improved their score from the second round to the third round and it resulted in a 20-stroke improvement for the five golfers.
Del Rey Gonzalez has 12 birdies for the tournament and notched his second top-10 finish on the year, as he tied for eighth at the National Invitational in Tucson with a 6-under 210 (69-66-75). He also tied for 11th at the Western Intercollegiate with a 3-over 213 (70-66-77).
Thirty teams and six individuals now 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 Sun Devils, who were seeded fifth behind Oklahoma State (#4 by Golfweek), Wake Forest (#10), host Texas (#11) and Ole Miss (#20), have advanced out of regionals in 13 of the last 16 years and in 31 of the past 34.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS GOLF CLUB (AUSTIN, TEXAS)
PAR 71/7,355 YARDS
(TOP SEVEN TEAM SCORES)
1. Oklahoma State 287-282-270=839-/-13
2. Texas 277-288-276=841/-11
3. Iowa State 290-292-263=845/-7
4. Ole Miss 282-294-278=854/+2
5. Arizona State 290-293-276=859/+7
(TOP FIVE TEAMS ADVANCE TO NCAAS)
6. Wake Forest 294-293-276=863/+11
7. North Carolina State 290-297-277=864/+12
INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST/SUN DEVIL SCORES
1. Nick Voke, Iowa State, 71-67-61=199/-14
T5. Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez 71-71-68=210/-3
T10. Jared du Toit 74-69-68=211/-2
T28. Chun An Yu 71-77-70=218/+5
T45. Blake Wagoner 75-77-70=222/+9
T39. Jino Sohn 74-76-74=224/+11
REGIONAL NOTES: ASU remains tied with Clemson for second-most NCAA Regional titles (seven), as only Oklahoma State (12) has more.
THE FORMAT: A total of 81 teams and another 45 individuals are competed 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). The other five regional sites were The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee, hosted by Middle Tennessee State; Kampen Course, West Lafayette, Indiana, hosted by Purdue; Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford; University Club, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hosted by LSU and Aldarra Golf Club, Sammamish, Washington, hosted by Washington.
@ASUMENSGOLF REGIONAL FINISHES
2017: 5th/Austin, Texas
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
UPDATED LIST: Its 2017 appearance will mark @ASUMensGolf 53rd NCAA Championship appearance, which is fourth-best. ASU has made the NCAA Championship in the 13 of the past 16 seasons and 31 of past 34.
MOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES
OKLAHOMA STATE, 70
TEXAS, 63
USC, 58
ARIZONA STATE, 53
MOST NCAA REGIONAL TITLES (UPDATED THROUGH MAY OF 2017)
12 REGIONAL TITLES
Oklahoma State (1989, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017)
SEVEN REGIONAL TITLES
Arizona State (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2016)
Clemson (1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)
SIX REGIONAL TITLES
Arizona (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2006)
Texas (1992, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2015, 2016)
FIVE REGIONAL TITLES
Florida (1989, 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010)
Georgia Tech (1991, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2014)
Stanford (1996, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017)
UCLA (2003, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2013)
UNLV (1990, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2017)
FOUR REGIONAL TITLES
Alabama (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Georgia (2007, 2008, 2014, 2016)
Illinois (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
Oklahoma, (1989, 1995, 2002, 2015)
THREE REGIONAL TITLES
Kent State (1993, 2001, 2010)
New Mexico (1998, 2002, 2013)
USC (2008, 2012, 2017)
Wake Forest (2005, 2006, 2009)
Washington (2002, 2010, 2012)
TWO REGIONAL TITLES
Auburn (1990, 1997)
California (2012, 2013)
Purdue (2001, 2002)
ONE: Charlotte (2015); Chattanooga (2012); Arkansas (1991); Augusta State (2005); Duke (2011); East Tennessee State (2001); Houston (1998); Kentucky (2004); LSU (2017); Liberty (2012); Michigan (2011); Minnesota (1999); NC State (1996); North Florida (2013), Oregon (2010); San Diego State (2011); South Carolina (2007); South Florida (2015); Texas Tech (2010); Texas A&M (1996); Tulsa (2007); UAB (2015); UCF (2017)