SUGAR GROVE, Illinois – The No. 23 Arizona State men's golf team showed a high aptitude for grit and resilience, battling down to the wire in the third round of the NCAA Championships at Rich Harvest Farms Sunday. Posting a collective one-over, 289 the Sun Devils fell just one stroke shy of the tournament's 15-team, 54-hole cut finishing in 16th place.
"We played our guts out today," said head coach Matt Thurmond. "These guys so badly wanted to play great for Jared (du Toit) so his career did not end early. They had the competitive will that would make any coach proud. We had a good round today, it just was not quite enough to advance. All in all I am proud of what we accomplished this year. We got better and better and played like Sun Devils until the last putt dropped."
After a string of bogeys on holes one through five saw the Sun Devils fall to four-over par on the round and six shots back of the cut line, the Maroon and Gold mounted a furious comeback to pull within in striking distance. Playing the par-4, 6th and par-5, 7th at a cumulative 7-under par the Sun Devils managed to pull to the 15th spot, only to be undone by a series of late errors.
Pacing Arizona State in the outing was freshman Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez who fired a two-under, 70. After making the turn at even-par the Spaniard made quick work of Rich Harvest Farms' back-nine, playing it at two-under par.
Not far off Del Rey's pace was fellow freshman Chun An Yu who pieced together a quality round of one-over 73. Tallying consecutive birdies on six and seven, An Yu nearly willed the Maroon and Gold into a playoff with 15th-place finisher Central Florida.
The duo of Del Rey Gonzalez and An Yu who respectively sit at one-over through 54 holes of play will compete in tomorrow's final round of stroke play, by virtue of being two of the top-10 individuals not apart of an advancing team.
"Kevin (Chun An Yu) and Alex had great rounds and finished strong," said Thurmond. " We are excited to cheer them on in their title chase tomorrow afternoon."
Also playing a pivotal role in the Sun Devils' late surge was freshman Blake Wagoner, who flipped the script on a challenging second round to the tune of an even-par, 72. Posting an eagle and four birdies on his round, Wagoner battled down the stretch to earn Arizona State's second-best outing of the day.
"I loved how Blake fought back and had a good round after yesterday," said Thurmond.
The only non senior or freshman in Arizona State's lineup this week, sophomore Jino Sohn notched a personal tournament-best two-over, 74.
"Jino also had a really solid counting day for us," saId Thurmond.
Senior captain Jared du Toit officially closed the door on his prolific two-year Sun Devil stint, rounding out the tournament with a thrid round five-over, 77. Arizona State's undoubted leader over the course of the 2017 campaign and a driving force in the development of the Sun Devils' impressive crop of freshmen, du Toit concludes his Arizona State career with 11 top-10 finishes to his credit.
Live stats of the NCAA Championships final round of stroke play will be available via Golfstat.com.
"We played our guts out today," said head coach Matt Thurmond. "These guys so badly wanted to play great for Jared (du Toit) so his career did not end early. They had the competitive will that would make any coach proud. We had a good round today, it just was not quite enough to advance. All in all I am proud of what we accomplished this year. We got better and better and played like Sun Devils until the last putt dropped."
After a string of bogeys on holes one through five saw the Sun Devils fall to four-over par on the round and six shots back of the cut line, the Maroon and Gold mounted a furious comeback to pull within in striking distance. Playing the par-4, 6th and par-5, 7th at a cumulative 7-under par the Sun Devils managed to pull to the 15th spot, only to be undone by a series of late errors.
Pacing Arizona State in the outing was freshman Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez who fired a two-under, 70. After making the turn at even-par the Spaniard made quick work of Rich Harvest Farms' back-nine, playing it at two-under par.
Not far off Del Rey's pace was fellow freshman Chun An Yu who pieced together a quality round of one-over 73. Tallying consecutive birdies on six and seven, An Yu nearly willed the Maroon and Gold into a playoff with 15th-place finisher Central Florida.
The duo of Del Rey Gonzalez and An Yu who respectively sit at one-over through 54 holes of play will compete in tomorrow's final round of stroke play, by virtue of being two of the top-10 individuals not apart of an advancing team.
"Kevin (Chun An Yu) and Alex had great rounds and finished strong," said Thurmond. " We are excited to cheer them on in their title chase tomorrow afternoon."
Also playing a pivotal role in the Sun Devils' late surge was freshman Blake Wagoner, who flipped the script on a challenging second round to the tune of an even-par, 72. Posting an eagle and four birdies on his round, Wagoner battled down the stretch to earn Arizona State's second-best outing of the day.
"I loved how Blake fought back and had a good round after yesterday," said Thurmond.
The only non senior or freshman in Arizona State's lineup this week, sophomore Jino Sohn notched a personal tournament-best two-over, 74.
"Jino also had a really solid counting day for us," saId Thurmond.
Senior captain Jared du Toit officially closed the door on his prolific two-year Sun Devil stint, rounding out the tournament with a thrid round five-over, 77. Arizona State's undoubted leader over the course of the 2017 campaign and a driving force in the development of the Sun Devils' impressive crop of freshmen, du Toit concludes his Arizona State career with 11 top-10 finishes to his credit.
Live stats of the NCAA Championships final round of stroke play will be available via Golfstat.com.