The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee put Arizona State as the fourth seed in Raleigh for the May 14-16 54-hole regional, one of six 54-hole regional tournaments. Thirteen teams and ten individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals. Team and individual medalist titles will be decided May 25-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State University is the host institution for the 2018 championships.
Lonnie Poole Golf Course – Raleigh, North Carolina Hosted by North Carolina State University
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia Tech [Atlantic Coast Conference]
2. California
3. Texas
4. Arizona State
5. Duke
6. NC State
7. Liberty [Big South Conference]
8. Missouri
9. Santa Clara
10. Campbell
11. Middle Tennessee State [Conference USA]
12. Augusta [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference]
13. Davidson [Atlantic 10 Conference]
14. Iona [Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference]
Individuals
1. Dawson Armstrong, Lipscomb
2. Mark Lawrence, Virginia Tech
3. Conor Purcell, Charlotte
4. Alex Weiss, Marshall
5. Brendan MacDougall, High Point
GOLFWEEK COACHES POLL:Arizona State earned a No. 20 ranking in the May 4 Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll. Other Pac-12 teams ranked include California (ninth), Stanford (16) and USC (19). Ranked teams competing at the Raleigh regional are ACC champion Georgia Tech (fifth and seeded first), second-seeded California, third-seeded and No. 17 Texas and fourth-seeded ASU (20).
SEASON REVIEW SO FAR: ASU finished third at the Pac-12 Championships behind USC and Colorado, while freshman Koichiro Ishika finished sixth...won the 2018 ASU Thunderbird Invitational April 14-15 at the ASU Karsten Golf Course, claiming the title for the second year in a row. The competition came down to the last hole of the tournament, as ASU bested UNLV by one stroke. ASU also defeated last year's national champion Oklahoma and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State, snapping OSU's seven-tournament winning streak...Sun Devils have won back-to-back titles at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational and four of the last five and have 19 titles since the tournament started in 1973...team got their first win of the spring and second of the season with a convincing victory at the Bandon Dunes Championship March 11-13 as it led each round and finished an impressive 13-strokes ahead of second place Clemson. Chun An Yu took home medalist honors shooting a 13-under including a 65 in round one, tied for the best round of the tournament...An Yu shot a 9-under 63 on Feb. 25 at Omni National in the first round of the National Invitational en route to finishing tied for second (63-70-69=202/-14)...Mason Andersen shot a 5-under 211 (69-71-71) and finished fifth at the Tavistock Invitational at the Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla. (Oct. 22-24)...team's first wins were in the second tournament of the year at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in Carefree as Alex del Rey had a 7-under 65 to earn medalist honors at Desert Forest as team shot 7-under 857 (289-291-277) and won by a stroke over Georgia Tech...in the first tournament of the year at the Gopher Invitational, Alex del Rey finished fourth led by 12 birdies and an eagle shot 5-under 208 (71-67-70).
SIX REGIONAL SITES
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh, North Carolina; North Carolina State University, host
BRYAN, TEXAS: Traditions Club, Bryan Texas; Texas A&M University, host
COLUMBUS, OHIO: Scarlet Course/OSU Golf Course, Columbus, Ohio; The Ohio State University, host
KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA: Reunion Resort, Kissimmee, Florida; University of Central Florida, host
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman, Oklahoma; University of Oklahoma, host
STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA: The Reserve at Spanos Park, Stockton, California; University of the Pacific, host
This year's Men's Golf Championships will be broadcast for the fifth consecutive year by Golf Channel with more than 100 news and tournament hours planned again for the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Golf Championships.
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 2001
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
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 finals appearance marked @ASUMensGolf 53rd NCAA Championship appearance, which is fourth-best. ASU has made the NCAA Championship (finals) 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)
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: The @SunDevilMGolf team couldn't sustain its second-day momentum in the final round of the Pac-12 Championship, but something great came out of the trip to the Rolling Hills Country Club (Par 71/7,130 yards) in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. (April 23-25). Freshman Koichiro Ishika closed out a stellar championship with a 2-under 69 and finished at 11-under 273 (69-69-66-69) with 19 birdies (tied for fourth) and was 7-under on the par-4 holes. He entered the tournament with seven rounds in the 60s, he left with 11. He was one of only five players to shoot 69 or better in each of the four rounds and was easily the best freshman finisher. USC won their first Pac-12 golf title since 2011 and 20th overall. The Trojans managed to post a 4-under for the final round to finish at 31-under par, four strokes ahead of second-place Colorado (27-under) and eight strokes clear of third-place ASU (23-under). Junior Justin Suh of USC won the individual title at 16-under 268 (68-64-65-71).
TOP FIVE 2018 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP FRESHMEN FINISHERS
6. Koichiro Ishika, ASU 69-69-66-69=273/-11
T13. Kaito Onishi, USC 75-64-71-70=280/-4
T19. Devon Bling, UCLA 75-70-69-68=282/-2
T23. Issei Tanabe, USC 70-73-73-67=283/-1
T27. Mason Andersen, ASU 71-70-67-76=284/E
T27. Spencer Tibbits, OSU 69-70-73-72=284/E
KOICHIRO ISHIKA ROUNDS IN 60s
66/-5, third round at 2018 Pac-12 Championship (April 24)
67/-4, third round at 2018 BandonDunesInvitational (March 13)
67/-5, first round at 2018 National Invitational Tournament (February 25)
68/-3, second round at 2018 ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 14)
69/-2, fourth round at 2018 Pac-12 Championship (April 25)
69/-2, first round at 2018 Pac-12 Championship (April 23)
69/-2, second round at 2018 Pac-12 Championship (April 23)
69/-2, second round at 2018 The Goodwin (March 30)
69/-3, second round at 2018 National Invitational Tournament (February 25)
69/-3, third round at 2018 National Invitational Tournament (February 26)
69/-3, second round at 2017 Southern Dunes Invitational (October 14)
SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN SCORING AVERAGES (1985-PRESENT)
1. Jon Rahm, 15, 2012-13, 71.37
2. Mason Andersen, 11, 2017-18, 71.59
3. Chun An Yu, 9, 2016-17, 71.61
4. Alejandro Canizares, 8, 2002-03, 71.65
5. Todd Demsey, 15, 1991-92, 72.10
6. Alex del Rey, 12, 2016-17, 72.14
7. Phil Mickelson, 14, 1988-89, 72.14
8. Jesper Kennegard, 12, 2007-08, 72.16
9. Chan Kim, 8, 2008-09, 72.20
10. Koichiro Ishika, 11, 2017-18, 72.29
11. Paul Casey, 12, 1997-98, 72.30
12. Benjamin Alvarado Holley, 10, 2005-06, 72.50
BEST ASU PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES (2009-18 PRESENT)
1. Jon Rahm, 2016, 70-66-68-68=272 (-12)
2. Jesper Kennegard, 2010, 63-66-67-73=269 (-15)
5. Broc Johnson, 2015, 69-72-65-73=279 (-1)
6. Koichiro Ishika, 2018, 69-69-66-69=273 (-11)
6. Jon Rahm, 2015, 70-66-74-68=280 (E)
7. Max Rottluff, 2013, 67-73-68-74=282 (+2)
10. Jon Rahm, 2013, 75-67-68-75=285 (+5)
10. Knut Borsheim, 2010, 69-70-66-71=276 (-8)