The Sun Devil men's golf team hosts its 46th annual ASU Thunderbird Invitational at ASU's Karsten Golf Course (par-71, 7,032 yards) on April 14-15 (Saturday-Sunday). The 17 participating schools will play 36 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. A separate individual tournament will take place at Papago Golf Course (par-71/7,316 yards) in Phoenix. ASU has won 10 of the past 19 (1999-2001, 2003-04, 2008-09, 2014-15 and 2017) Thunderbird Invitational Tournaments and has won the tournament 17 of the past 29 years. Tee times are at 7 a.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. off hole 1 hole 10 on Sunday. Admission is free at both courses.
TEAMS IN THE 2018 FIELD: Seventeen teams make up the 2018 ASU/Thunderbird Invitational, including five teams ranked in the March 30 Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll. The field includes top-ranked Oklahoma State along with host Arizona State (No. 22), Arizona, Baylor (9), Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Hawaii, New Mexico State, Oklahoma (No. 8), Oregon State, UNLV (No. 23), UC Irvine, Utah, Washington State and Wyoming.
GOLFWEEK APRIL 9 RANKINGS: Oklahoma St (1), Oklahoma (4), Baylor (10), Arizona St (19), UNLV (25), Arizona (35), Colorado St (41), Colorado (43), Utah (76), Wyoming (77), Oregon St (84), Washington St. (103), Boise St. (114), Denver (122), New Mexico St. (128), UC-Irvine (135) and Hawaii (245).
WHERE IS ALEX? Missing from the Sun Devil lineup this weekend is sophomore Alex del Rey, who is competing in the Spanish Open with Sun Devil greats Jon Rahm and 2003 NCAA champion and Sun Devil Hall of Famer Alejandro Canizares. SUN DEVIL LINEUP: The Sun Devil lineup this weekend will be sophomore Chun An Yu, freshman Mason Andersen, junior Jino Sohn, sophomore Blake Wagoner and freshman Koichiro Ishika. Freshmen Paul Chaplet, senior Tobias Eden, sophomore Anthony Truong and senior Ryan Douglass will compete in the Papago individual tournament.
ASU WINNERS: Seventeen ASU teams have won the Thunderbird Invitational, with ASU winning the title in 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
PAST ASU INDIVIDUAL WINNERS: Ten Sun Devils have won the individual titles on 13 occasions, with Phil Mickelson (1991 and 1992) and Jon Rahm (2014, 2015 and 2016) the only multiple winners. Other Sun Devil individual winners include Mark Sollenberger (1974), Jim Carter (1984), Larry Barber (1994), Todd Demsey (1995), Jeff Quinney (2000), Paul Casey (2001), Alejandro Canizares (2003) and Stephan Gross (2009/shared).
LAST YEAR AT THE THUNDERBIRD: Arizona State, 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 March 18-19, 2017. 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.
2017 ASU THUNDERBIRD INVITATIONAL
PAR-71/7,013 YARDS (MARCH 18-19)
SUN DEVIL FINAL SCORES (SUN DEVILS RETURNING FOR 2018)
T2. Chun An Yu 67-63-71=201/-12
4. Blake Wagoner 67-63-72=202/-11
T6. Jino Sohn 68-66-72=206/-7 (B team)
T20. Anthony Truong 73-73-66=212/-1 (B team)
T27. Alejandro del Rey 74-69-70=213/E
T37. Ryan Douglass 75-71-68=214/+1 (B team)
ALL-AMERICANS: Arizona State has had 55 GCAA All-Americans, fourth all-time trailing only Oklahoma State (127), Houston (72), and Georgia (67) and just ahead of Florida (62) and USC (61). Its 25 first-team All-Americans trails only Oklahoma State (57), Houston (30) and Florida (28) and is ahead of Wake Forest (23).
PAC-12 ALL-AMERICANS: ASU's 25 first-team All-Americans leads the league, as only four schools have had more than 10. USC has had 21, Stanford 15 and Arizona a dozen. ASU's 66 All-Americans also leads the Pac-12, ahead of USC (61) and Stanford (50).
SUN DEVILS ON PGA TOUR NOTES AND NUMBERS
GOOD NOTE ON THE MASTERS: Taking a look at the top 15 finishers at the Masters, ASU had the youngest person in the top 15 (Jon Rahm at 23 who finished fourth) while Paul Casey (T-15) was one of just three 40-year olds in the top-15. The 40-year old Casey is joined by Henrick Stenson (42) and Charley Hoffman (41) in that conversation.
WINS AND POINTS AND MONEY: After the first major of the year, @SunDevilMGolf continues to rack up the FedExCup points and the money on the PGA Tour, one year after earning more than $20 million. ASU has five players in the top 16 in the FedExCup standings. Those same five players earned $812,175 in the Masters over the weekend. Four Sun Devils have won tournaments this season, claiming victories at the CIMB Classic (Pat Perez), the CareerBuilder Challenge (Jon Rahm), World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (Phil Mickelson) and the Valspar Championship (Paul Casey). Should another Sun Devil grab a win, it would match Georgia in 2013-14 to have five winners in a season. Matt Jones, Grayson Murray and Chez Reavie are next on the list. Arizona State is the only school to have three players in the top-10. ASU has tallied 5,420 points, ahead of Georgia (4,113), Oklahoma State (3,171), Alabama (2,608) and Georgia Tech (1,770). Last year Sun Devil men's golf alumni earned $20,292,964 dollars on the PGA TOUR, the top mark in college golf.
SUN DEVILS IN TOP 20 OF FEDEXCUP STANDINGS (UPDATED AFTER MASTERS)
1. Justin Thomas: 1,769 (10 events)
4. Phil Mickelson: 1,248 (11)
6. Jon Rahm: 1,139 (9)
10. Paul Casey: 947 (9)
15. Pat Perez: 844 (10)
16. Chez Reavie: 837 (15)
SUN DEVIL TOP MONEY WINNERS
4. Phil Mickelson, $3,366,551 (World Golf Championship-Mexico Champion)
8. Jon Rahm, $2,787,698 (CareerBuilder Challenge Champion)
12. Paul Casey, $2,288,135 (Valspar Championship Champion)
14. Pat Perez, $2,190,741 (CIMB Classic Champion)
19. Chez Reavie, $2,082,502 (Waste Management Open and AT&T Runner-Up)
TEAMS IN THE 2018 FIELD: Seventeen teams make up the 2018 ASU/Thunderbird Invitational, including five teams ranked in the March 30 Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll. The field includes top-ranked Oklahoma State along with host Arizona State (No. 22), Arizona, Baylor (9), Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Hawaii, New Mexico State, Oklahoma (No. 8), Oregon State, UNLV (No. 23), UC Irvine, Utah, Washington State and Wyoming.
GOLFWEEK APRIL 9 RANKINGS: Oklahoma St (1), Oklahoma (4), Baylor (10), Arizona St (19), UNLV (25), Arizona (35), Colorado St (41), Colorado (43), Utah (76), Wyoming (77), Oregon St (84), Washington St. (103), Boise St. (114), Denver (122), New Mexico St. (128), UC-Irvine (135) and Hawaii (245).
WHERE IS ALEX? Missing from the Sun Devil lineup this weekend is sophomore Alex del Rey, who is competing in the Spanish Open with Sun Devil greats Jon Rahm and 2003 NCAA champion and Sun Devil Hall of Famer Alejandro Canizares. SUN DEVIL LINEUP: The Sun Devil lineup this weekend will be sophomore Chun An Yu, freshman Mason Andersen, junior Jino Sohn, sophomore Blake Wagoner and freshman Koichiro Ishika. Freshmen Paul Chaplet, senior Tobias Eden, sophomore Anthony Truong and senior Ryan Douglass will compete in the Papago individual tournament.
ASU WINNERS: Seventeen ASU teams have won the Thunderbird Invitational, with ASU winning the title in 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Thunderbird Invitational this week! More info coming later, but our list of former winners doesn't stink. You might have noticed three of them this weekend on TV https://t.co/NFd8VqOpgh pic.twitter.com/qQZjU9h20o
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) April 9, 2018
PAST ASU INDIVIDUAL WINNERS: Ten Sun Devils have won the individual titles on 13 occasions, with Phil Mickelson (1991 and 1992) and Jon Rahm (2014, 2015 and 2016) the only multiple winners. Other Sun Devil individual winners include Mark Sollenberger (1974), Jim Carter (1984), Larry Barber (1994), Todd Demsey (1995), Jeff Quinney (2000), Paul Casey (2001), Alejandro Canizares (2003) and Stephan Gross (2009/shared).
LAST YEAR AT THE THUNDERBIRD: Arizona State, 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 March 18-19, 2017. 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.
2017 ASU THUNDERBIRD INVITATIONAL
PAR-71/7,013 YARDS (MARCH 18-19)
SUN DEVIL FINAL SCORES (SUN DEVILS RETURNING FOR 2018)
T2. Chun An Yu 67-63-71=201/-12
4. Blake Wagoner 67-63-72=202/-11
T6. Jino Sohn 68-66-72=206/-7 (B team)
T20. Anthony Truong 73-73-66=212/-1 (B team)
T27. Alejandro del Rey 74-69-70=213/E
T37. Ryan Douglass 75-71-68=214/+1 (B team)
ALL-AMERICANS: Arizona State has had 55 GCAA All-Americans, fourth all-time trailing only Oklahoma State (127), Houston (72), and Georgia (67) and just ahead of Florida (62) and USC (61). Its 25 first-team All-Americans trails only Oklahoma State (57), Houston (30) and Florida (28) and is ahead of Wake Forest (23).
PAC-12 ALL-AMERICANS: ASU's 25 first-team All-Americans leads the league, as only four schools have had more than 10. USC has had 21, Stanford 15 and Arizona a dozen. ASU's 66 All-Americans also leads the Pac-12, ahead of USC (61) and Stanford (50).
Represented on this @ASU_Alumni graphic...
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) April 10, 2018
v @BenHoganAward
v @pac12 champion(s)
v @USGA champion(s)
v @NCAA champion
v @PGATOUR winners
v We are running out of space...
(also that total will only grow)
See you this weekend at @ASUKarsten for the Thunderbird Invitational pic.twitter.com/FSU1rDuy2S
SUN DEVILS ON PGA TOUR NOTES AND NUMBERS
GOOD NOTE ON THE MASTERS: Taking a look at the top 15 finishers at the Masters, ASU had the youngest person in the top 15 (Jon Rahm at 23 who finished fourth) while Paul Casey (T-15) was one of just three 40-year olds in the top-15. The 40-year old Casey is joined by Henrick Stenson (42) and Charley Hoffman (41) in that conversation.
At home in Augusta. ??@Paul_Casey's last four finishes at #theMasters: T6-T4-6-T15 pic.twitter.com/aJVBnOZs6A
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 9, 2018
WINS AND POINTS AND MONEY: After the first major of the year, @SunDevilMGolf continues to rack up the FedExCup points and the money on the PGA Tour, one year after earning more than $20 million. ASU has five players in the top 16 in the FedExCup standings. Those same five players earned $812,175 in the Masters over the weekend. Four Sun Devils have won tournaments this season, claiming victories at the CIMB Classic (Pat Perez), the CareerBuilder Challenge (Jon Rahm), World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (Phil Mickelson) and the Valspar Championship (Paul Casey). Should another Sun Devil grab a win, it would match Georgia in 2013-14 to have five winners in a season. Matt Jones, Grayson Murray and Chez Reavie are next on the list. Arizona State is the only school to have three players in the top-10. ASU has tallied 5,420 points, ahead of Georgia (4,113), Oklahoma State (3,171), Alabama (2,608) and Georgia Tech (1,770). Last year Sun Devil men's golf alumni earned $20,292,964 dollars on the PGA TOUR, the top mark in college golf.
SUN DEVILS IN TOP 20 OF FEDEXCUP STANDINGS (UPDATED AFTER MASTERS)
1. Justin Thomas: 1,769 (10 events)
4. Phil Mickelson: 1,248 (11)
6. Jon Rahm: 1,139 (9)
10. Paul Casey: 947 (9)
15. Pat Perez: 844 (10)
16. Chez Reavie: 837 (15)
SUN DEVIL TOP MONEY WINNERS
4. Phil Mickelson, $3,366,551 (World Golf Championship-Mexico Champion)
8. Jon Rahm, $2,787,698 (CareerBuilder Challenge Champion)
12. Paul Casey, $2,288,135 (Valspar Championship Champion)
14. Pat Perez, $2,190,741 (CIMB Classic Champion)
19. Chez Reavie, $2,082,502 (Waste Management Open and AT&T Runner-Up)