The @SunDevilMGolf squad shot an 11-under 277 in the final round of the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in Carefree, Arizona to win the team title, while Alex del Rey had the best round of his collegiate career with a 7-under 65 to earn medalist honors at Desert Forest.
"I would have thought shooting 11-under today we would win easily. The course was tough and even though it was a great group of teams, we had to play phenomenal to win. Alex had the best round and first bogey-free round of his career," noted Coach Matt Thurmond, who watched his team win its third team title in his second year. "Ryan had it going really well and the other three guys just hung in there and made the most of their round. Sometimes you have to just grind out a good round. Those three guys did just that."
The final round by del Rey came after an opening round 73, as the sophomore had a clean card with seven birdies and no bogeys. He went a tournament best 9-under on the par-5 holes.The Maui Jim Champions pic.twitter.com/gpeYZ2QM9g
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) September 24, 2017
ALEX del REY BEST ROUNDS
65, 2017 Maui Jim Intercollegiate (third round)
66, 2017 Western Intercollegiate (second)
66, 2017 National Invitational (second round)
67, 2017 Gopher Invitational (second round)
67, 2017 Amer Ari Invitational (third round)
Freshman Mason Andersen has also had an impressive outing in his second collegiate tournament, as the Chandler native tied for sixth with a 3-under 213.
Sophomore Blake Wagoner came back from a 78 on Saturday to shoot a 72, and Chun An Yu posted his best round of tournament with a 73. The key for the comeback was probably senior Ryan Douglass, who had had posted 82-77 in the first two rounds but shot a 69 in the final round.
"We really couldn't get more out of our day than what we did. Guys made some amazing putts, Blake had a great eagle. Everything that needed to happen for us did happen. It was really cool to have a home tournament. Big thanks to Maui Jim and Desert Forest. It was a really cool victory the team. We are pretty new at this. The team has some young players. It was good to do it on a rough course. Last year Alex shot an 81 on this course in qualifying. To see him shoot a 65 about a year later is special."
Happy to add the Maui Jim Intercollegiate to our long list of team titles won https://t.co/UV6ATSHN8u pic.twitter.com/fqEiqNetB8
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) September 24, 2017
ASU won the tournament on the par-3 holes, going 1-over with Kent State second-best at +7. ASU also led the tournament in birdies with 162 and eagles with four.
. @a_delrey99 puts himself on great list of Sun Devils to win an individual title https://t.co/o4LBQqxyyq and is 5th under Coach Thurmond pic.twitter.com/v3V7cPOn71
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) September 24, 2017
MAUI JIM FINAL TEAM LEADERBOARD
DESERT FOREST GOLF CLUB/CAREREE, ARIZ.
PAR 72/7,203 YARDS/SEPT. 22-24, 2017
1. Arizona State 289-291-277=857/-7
2. Georgia Tech 291-286-281=858/-6
3. Kent State 281-296-282=859/-5
4. LSU 293-287-282=862/-2
MAUI JIM FINAL INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
1. Alex del Rey 73-68-65=206/-10
T6. Mason Andersen 72-70-71=213/-3
T22. Blake Wagoner 70-78-72=220/+4
T33. Chun An Yu 74-76-73=223/+7
T37. Paul Chaplet (Ind.) 73-77-75=225/+9
T40. Anthony Truong 75-77-74=226/+10
T43. Koichiro Ishika (Ind.) 78-72-77=227/+11
T50. Ryan Douglass 82-77-69=228/+12
T53. Jino Sohn 81-76-72=229/+13
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QUOTING COACH THURMOND
"I would have thought shooting 11-under today we would win easily. The course was very tough, and we expected wind. Even though it was a great group of teams, I didn't think teams would play as well as they did today. We played phenomenal."
"Alex plays bogey-free, the first time he has gone bogey free since he has been a Sun Devil and shoots 65, the best round of his collegiate career. Ryan's round of 69 he had it going really well. The other three guys just hung in there and made the most of their rounds. There is sometimes when you can maximize a good round and sometimes when you got to grind out a tough round. Those three guys -- Blake, Kevin, and Mason -- all did just that. They grinded out a tough round. We really couldn't get any more out of our day then we did. So, just thrilled with how it turned out."
"We managed to squeak it out by one shot. Guys made some amazing up and downs on our 17 and on 18 Blake made a long putt for eagle. For us really just about everything that could have happened, that needed to happen, did happen for us."
"It was really cool to have a home tournament. Thanks to Maui Jim, David Ingram and Desert Forest Golf Club for putting on this amazing event here in our own town. We appreciate all the fans that came out and cheered us on, who watched us and supported us. It was a really cool victory for the team. I think we are so new at this, we are young, I'm new. We have mostly freshman and sophomores playing for us and anytime you can have these big confidence building experiences to validate kind of the direction you are going, it can help you go a long way."
"It was especially good to do it on a tough course. We are a power playing team, and this course kind of takes all that away from you. We hit irons off most the holes and it is really good win for the guys, I am proud of them, especially Alex, just an amazing performance by him. I would have never thought someone would shoot 10 under this week. It reminded me of when he shot 81 in his first qualifying last year on the same course, and just was a mess...bogeying every hole, and making big numbers. Now he goes out today and shoots a final round 65, bogey free. It's cool to see how far he has come."
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NEXT UP: ASU will compete in the Paintbrush Intercollegiate Oct. 9-10 in Erie, Colo., hosted by the University of Denver.
FIRST TOURNAMENT RECAP: ASU had their first tournament of the year last week in Minnesota at the Gopher Invitational. The team finished sevent, but had some promising play especially from sophomore Alex del Rey, who finished fourth overall, shooting 5-under under, including a 4-under 67 in the second round. Freshman Mason Anderson also showed what he is capable of, after a tough first round the freshman finished solid with a pair of 72s on the final two days.
THE FIELD: Georgia State, Arizona State (No. 21), Nebraska, Rice, Georgia Tech, LSU (7), Kent State (23), Augusta, Gonzaga, Minnesota, Hawai'i, Kansas, Houston and Lipscomb made up the field at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate.
SMART GUY NOTES: Senior Ryan Douglass (Interdisciplinary Studies, Sr./3.43), senior Tobias Eden (Interdisciplinary Studies/3.16), Anthony Truong (Business-Sport and Media Studies/3.78) and sophomore Blake Wagoner (Business-Global Politics/3.67) all have grade point averages worth noting.