The 2019-20 Sun Devil men's golf season tees off on Sept. 13 at the Maui Jim Classic, which isn't in Maui but in Scottsdale, but let's not sweat the small stuff. Here is a season preview by the numbers style -- for a few of the paragraphs anyways. ASU will enter the season with two Golfweek Preseason All-America picks, with both Chun An Yu (first-team) and Alex del Rey (third-team) earning those honors.
UNO: Arizona State in 1990 is the only program to have its men's and women's teams win the NCAA golf championships in the same season (1990), with the 2020 NCAA championships in Scottsdale at Grayhawk serving as the perfect place to chat about the 30-year anniversary. ASU, Auburn, Duke, Illinois, Stanford, Texas, USC, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest were the only schools to both advance to Fayetteville last year.
2: ASU's Chun An Yu is listed second on GolfChannel's Haskins Award list for 2019-20. Says Golfchannel: "Has a legit case to be No. 1 on this list with seven career finishes of T-2 or better, including three wins, and will likely be a top-10 machine for one of the best teams in the country.
DEUCE: The Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll (Aug. 23) placed the Sun Devils second, behind only Texas. The Longhorns had nine first-place votes and 542 points, while ASU had 516 points and five first-place votes. Stanford (9), USC (11) and Cal (16) were the other Pac-12 teams in the top 25.
TWO: Chun An Yu's 69.20 scoring average in 2019 was the second-best in Sun Devil history (dating to records started in 1987). He is sandwiched around two Jon Rahm seasons.
BEST SUN DEVIL SCORING AVERAGES (1987-2019)
Jon Rahm, 13, 2014-15, 69.15
Chun An Yu, 11, 2018-19, 69.20
Jon Rahm, 13, 2015-16, 69.41
Max Rottluff, 14, 2014-15, 69.81
Paul Casey, 10, 1999-2000, 69.87
Phil Mickelson, 12, 1991-1992, 69.95
Niklas Lemke, 12, 2006-2007, 70.03
Phil Mickelson, 11, 1990-1991, 70.08
Jared du Toit, 14, 2016-17, 70.38
Chun An Yu, 12, 2017-18, 70.58
Billy Mayfair, 13, 1986-1987, 70.59
4 (NAMES, BUT 6 TIMES): ASU has had four NCAA medalists on six occasions: Jim Carter (1983), Phil Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), Todd Demsey (1993) and Alejandro Canizares (2003). Other Pac-12 winners include: Frank Tatum Jr. of Stanford (1942), Scott Simpson of USC (1976 and 1977), Ron Commans of USC (1981), Tiger Woods of Stanford (1996), James Lepp of Washington (2005), Jamie Lovemark of USC (2007), Kevin Chappell of UCLA (2008), Max Homa of California (2013), Cameron Wilson of Stanford (2014) and Aaron Wise of Oregon (2016).
6: The 2020 season marks the 17th anniversary of Sun Devil freshman Alejandro Canizares winning the 2003 title in Stillwater, the 27th anniversary of Todd Demsey winning the 1993 title, the 28th anniversary of Phil Mickelson winning the last of his three titles and the 37th anniversary of Jim Carter winning the 1983 title. No other program can top the Sun Devils' six NCAA champions since 1979, as only Oklahoma State (also six), Illinois (two), Stanford (two), and UNLV (two) have had multiple winners in that time.
6: Counting individual tournaments six Sun Devils earned or shared medalist honors in 2018-19. Jino Sohn and James Leow tied for first at the 37-player 2019 Arizona Intercollegiate individual tournament (Jan. 28-29). Alex del Rey won the 84-player National Invitational March 18-19, while freshman Cameron Sisk earned the Sonoran Showdown 20-player event, with both events taking place in Tucson at same time. Sophomore Mason Andersen won a playoff to claim the 91-player field at San Diego's Lamkin Grips Classic on March 11-12, and then Chun An Yu put his name in the 2019 winner's column April 12-13 at ASU's Thunderbird Collegiate.
2018-19 QUICK REVIEW: ASU's 2018-19 season included four team wins, six individual wins, a PING First-Team All-American (Chun An Yu), six second-place finishes and a pair of fourth-place finishes...Matt Thurmond earned 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Cameron Sisk earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year while Yu and Anderson earned first-team honors...del Rey and Blake Wagoner earned second team All-Pac-12...Wagoner earned first-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors for the second straight year...team finished 16th at the NCAA Championships while Chun An Yu finished third...finished second at the NCAA Stanford Regional and tied for fourth at the Pac-12 Championship...won three straight tournaments with a different Sun Devil winning each event in March and April...won its Thunderbird Collegiate at Papago Golf Course on April 12-13 with a 20-under 832 as junior Chun An Yu shot a 12-under 201...shot 50-under on March 18-19 to win the National Invitational in Tucson as junior Alex del Rey shot 17-under 199...sophomore Mason Andersen won a playoff after shooting a 6-under 210 at the San Diego Lamkin Grips Classic on March 11-12 as ASU shot a 10-under 854 in the win...team won the John Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 21-13 shooting a 24-under 840...opened the season finishing second at the Maui Jim Invitational and the Marquette Intercollegiate.
ALL-PAC-12 HONORS: @SunDevilMGolf had people all over the place for 2019 All-Pac-12 honors. Matt Thurmond earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year while Cameron Sisk earned Freshman of the Year. Chun An Yu and Mason Andersen earned first-team honors, while Blake Wagoner and Alex del Rey earned notched second-team. Wagoner earned first-team All-Academic honors for the second straight year, while del Rey and Andersen earned academic honorable mention.
QUIETLY A GOOD SEASON: Lost in the chatter about six individual winners and three straight team titles was the solid season freshman Cameron Sisk had, as his 71.20 stroke average was the best by any Sun Devil freshman, with some pretty good golfers on the list dating to 1985. He earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN SCORING AVERAGES (1985-2019)
Cameron Sisk, 13, 2018-19, 71.20
Jon Rahm, 15, 2012-13, 71.37
Chun An Yu, 9, 2016-17, 71.61
Alejandro Canizares, 8, 2002-03, 71.65
Mason Andersen, 13, 2017-18, 71.95
Todd Demsey, 15, 1991-92, 72.10
Alex del Rey, 12, 2016-17, 72.14
Phil Mickelson, 14, 1988-89, 72.14
Jesper Kennegard, 12, 2007-08, 72.16
Chan Kim, 8, 2008-09, 72.20
DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED: Thirty teams earned the right to go to Arkansas for the NCAA title last year, but it isn't easy in the stressful regional world. Golfstat top-30 teams that didn't go to Arkansas were Texas Tech (15), NC State (24), Alabama (28) and UCLA (29). Golfweek's highest three ranked teams missing the trip were Texas Tech (18), Florida State (25) and UCLA (26).
CHAMPS FROM THE PAC-12: Pac-12 teams ASU (1990, 1996), Cal (2004), Stanford (2019, 2007 and 1994), UCLA (2008) and Oregon (2016) have won NCAA men's golf titles in the past 30 years. Other Pac-12 teams to win the title are: Stanford (1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1953), UCLA (1988) and Arizona (1992).
NCAA CHAMPIONS: A look at the schools that have produced the most NCAA individual champions and the year the most recent champion took home the title.
NCAA MEN'S GOLF MEDALISTS BY SCHOOL
13-Yale, Tom Aycock, 1929
9-Oklahoma State, Matthew Wolff, 2019
8-Harvard, J.W. Hubbell, 1916
8-Houston, Billy Ray Brown, 1982
7-Princeton, G.T. Dunlap, 1931
6-Arizona State, Alejandro Canizares, 2003
6-Texas, Justin Leonard, 1994
SUN DEVIL NCAA TOP-FIVE FINISHES (1983-PRESENT)
Chun An Yu (Jr.), 3rd/2019 (Fayetteville, AR)
Jon Rahm (Sr.), T-3rd/2016 (Eugene, OR)
Jon Rahm (Fr.), T-2nd/2013 (Atlanta, GA)
Alejandro Canizares (Fr.) 1st/2003 (Stillwater, OK)
Chez Reavie (Fr.), T-4th/2001 (Durham, NC)
Paul Casey (So.), 4th/1999 (Chaska, MN)
Darren Angel (Fr.), T-3rd/1996 (Chattanooga, TN)
Joey Snyder (Jr.), T-5th/1995 (Columbus, OH)
Todd Demsey (So.), 1st/1993 (Lexington, KY)
Phil Mickelson (Sr.), 1st/1992 (Albuquerque, NM)
Phil Mickelson (Jr.), T-4th/1991 (Pebble Beach, CA)
Phil Mickelson (So.), 1st/1990 (Tarpon Springs, FL)
Phil Mickelson (Fr.), 1st/1989 (Edmond, OK)
Jim Carter (Jr.), 1st/1983 (Fresno, CA)
I love the maturity in the comments from our guys in this story by @MTR_SportsJ Its gonna be a great year for @sundevilmgolf https://t.co/AGP2NLiOmC
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) September 7, 2019
UNO: Arizona State in 1990 is the only program to have its men's and women's teams win the NCAA golf championships in the same season (1990), with the 2020 NCAA championships in Scottsdale at Grayhawk serving as the perfect place to chat about the 30-year anniversary. ASU, Auburn, Duke, Illinois, Stanford, Texas, USC, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest were the only schools to both advance to Fayetteville last year.
So far it has been solid season ... 4 team Ws ... 6 individual titles ... defended Thunderbird Collegiate crown ... it just got better with this guy being named the nation's top assistant. @ASU @asunews
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) May 7, 2019
THUMBS UP EMOJI FOR @Akirakossian
READ ABOUT IT HERE: https://t.co/JiFB8yg8fd pic.twitter.com/ax7wmDC5MD
2: ASU's Chun An Yu is listed second on GolfChannel's Haskins Award list for 2019-20. Says Golfchannel: "Has a legit case to be No. 1 on this list with seven career finishes of T-2 or better, including three wins, and will likely be a top-10 machine for one of the best teams in the country.
Today was the beginning of year 21 for me. Every year and every team are different and i love this day when we start another journey together. This will be a great season for the @sundevilmgolf program led by 3 very special seniors in Blake Wagoner, Chun An Yu, and Alex del Rey.
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) August 27, 2019
DEUCE: The Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll (Aug. 23) placed the Sun Devils second, behind only Texas. The Longhorns had nine first-place votes and 542 points, while ASU had 516 points and five first-place votes. Stanford (9), USC (11) and Cal (16) were the other Pac-12 teams in the top 25.
TWO: Chun An Yu's 69.20 scoring average in 2019 was the second-best in Sun Devil history (dating to records started in 1987). He is sandwiched around two Jon Rahm seasons.
BEST SUN DEVIL SCORING AVERAGES (1987-2019)
Jon Rahm, 13, 2014-15, 69.15
Chun An Yu, 11, 2018-19, 69.20
Jon Rahm, 13, 2015-16, 69.41
Max Rottluff, 14, 2014-15, 69.81
Paul Casey, 10, 1999-2000, 69.87
Phil Mickelson, 12, 1991-1992, 69.95
Niklas Lemke, 12, 2006-2007, 70.03
Phil Mickelson, 11, 1990-1991, 70.08
Jared du Toit, 14, 2016-17, 70.38
Chun An Yu, 12, 2017-18, 70.58
Billy Mayfair, 13, 1986-1987, 70.59
#ICYMI: @sundevilmgolf Chun An Yu makes second consecutive #USOpen.@SebastianEman5 with the story:https://t.co/h6yCj4HBKt
— Cronkite News: Phoenix Sports (@sportscronkite) June 15, 2019
4 (NAMES, BUT 6 TIMES): ASU has had four NCAA medalists on six occasions: Jim Carter (1983), Phil Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), Todd Demsey (1993) and Alejandro Canizares (2003). Other Pac-12 winners include: Frank Tatum Jr. of Stanford (1942), Scott Simpson of USC (1976 and 1977), Ron Commans of USC (1981), Tiger Woods of Stanford (1996), James Lepp of Washington (2005), Jamie Lovemark of USC (2007), Kevin Chappell of UCLA (2008), Max Homa of California (2013), Cameron Wilson of Stanford (2014) and Aaron Wise of Oregon (2016).
ASU's @sundevilmgolf standout Chun An Yu is excited to return for his senior season and has his heights set for a professional future. https://t.co/B8llOxRaWJ
— Cronkite News (@cronkitenews) June 14, 2019
6: The 2020 season marks the 17th anniversary of Sun Devil freshman Alejandro Canizares winning the 2003 title in Stillwater, the 27th anniversary of Todd Demsey winning the 1993 title, the 28th anniversary of Phil Mickelson winning the last of his three titles and the 37th anniversary of Jim Carter winning the 1983 title. No other program can top the Sun Devils' six NCAA champions since 1979, as only Oklahoma State (also six), Illinois (two), Stanford (two), and UNLV (two) have had multiple winners in that time.
Next up #ForksUp to four dudes who earned All-Pac-12 honors@kevingolfyu (first team)@cityofchandler own Mason Andersen (first team)@a_delrey99 (second team)@blakewagoner7 (second team)
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) May 1, 2019
Don't believe us read it here! https://t.co/SAbIVjTnEE pic.twitter.com/JCIYkk5eou
6: Counting individual tournaments six Sun Devils earned or shared medalist honors in 2018-19. Jino Sohn and James Leow tied for first at the 37-player 2019 Arizona Intercollegiate individual tournament (Jan. 28-29). Alex del Rey won the 84-player National Invitational March 18-19, while freshman Cameron Sisk earned the Sonoran Showdown 20-player event, with both events taking place in Tucson at same time. Sophomore Mason Andersen won a playoff to claim the 91-player field at San Diego's Lamkin Grips Classic on March 11-12, and then Chun An Yu put his name in the 2019 winner's column April 12-13 at ASU's Thunderbird Collegiate.
Coming in at No. 2 in our @GolfChannel men's preseason rankings ... @sundevilmgolf.
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) August 29, 2019
Nos. 2-25: https://t.co/cijYtYChso pic.twitter.com/seuvSA2ern
2018-19 QUICK REVIEW: ASU's 2018-19 season included four team wins, six individual wins, a PING First-Team All-American (Chun An Yu), six second-place finishes and a pair of fourth-place finishes...Matt Thurmond earned 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Cameron Sisk earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year while Yu and Anderson earned first-team honors...del Rey and Blake Wagoner earned second team All-Pac-12...Wagoner earned first-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors for the second straight year...team finished 16th at the NCAA Championships while Chun An Yu finished third...finished second at the NCAA Stanford Regional and tied for fourth at the Pac-12 Championship...won three straight tournaments with a different Sun Devil winning each event in March and April...won its Thunderbird Collegiate at Papago Golf Course on April 12-13 with a 20-under 832 as junior Chun An Yu shot a 12-under 201...shot 50-under on March 18-19 to win the National Invitational in Tucson as junior Alex del Rey shot 17-under 199...sophomore Mason Andersen won a playoff after shooting a 6-under 210 at the San Diego Lamkin Grips Classic on March 11-12 as ASU shot a 10-under 854 in the win...team won the John Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 21-13 shooting a 24-under 840...opened the season finishing second at the Maui Jim Invitational and the Marquette Intercollegiate.
Golfweek's preseason men's college golf rankings are here, with @TexasMGolf, @PeppGolf and @sundevilmgolf leading the way. https://t.co/RfecIdJEkM
— Golfweek (@golfweek) August 26, 2019
ALL-PAC-12 HONORS: @SunDevilMGolf had people all over the place for 2019 All-Pac-12 honors. Matt Thurmond earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year while Cameron Sisk earned Freshman of the Year. Chun An Yu and Mason Andersen earned first-team honors, while Blake Wagoner and Alex del Rey earned notched second-team. Wagoner earned first-team All-Academic honors for the second straight year, while del Rey and Andersen earned academic honorable mention.
QUIETLY A GOOD SEASON: Lost in the chatter about six individual winners and three straight team titles was the solid season freshman Cameron Sisk had, as his 71.20 stroke average was the best by any Sun Devil freshman, with some pretty good golfers on the list dating to 1985. He earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN SCORING AVERAGES (1985-2019)
Cameron Sisk, 13, 2018-19, 71.20
Jon Rahm, 15, 2012-13, 71.37
Chun An Yu, 9, 2016-17, 71.61
Alejandro Canizares, 8, 2002-03, 71.65
Mason Andersen, 13, 2017-18, 71.95
Todd Demsey, 15, 1991-92, 72.10
Alex del Rey, 12, 2016-17, 72.14
Phil Mickelson, 14, 1988-89, 72.14
Jesper Kennegard, 12, 2007-08, 72.16
Chan Kim, 8, 2008-09, 72.20
DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED: Thirty teams earned the right to go to Arkansas for the NCAA title last year, but it isn't easy in the stressful regional world. Golfstat top-30 teams that didn't go to Arkansas were Texas Tech (15), NC State (24), Alabama (28) and UCLA (29). Golfweek's highest three ranked teams missing the trip were Texas Tech (18), Florida State (25) and UCLA (26).
CHAMPS FROM THE PAC-12: Pac-12 teams ASU (1990, 1996), Cal (2004), Stanford (2019, 2007 and 1994), UCLA (2008) and Oregon (2016) have won NCAA men's golf titles in the past 30 years. Other Pac-12 teams to win the title are: Stanford (1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1953), UCLA (1988) and Arizona (1992).
NCAA CHAMPIONS: A look at the schools that have produced the most NCAA individual champions and the year the most recent champion took home the title.
NCAA MEN'S GOLF MEDALISTS BY SCHOOL
13-Yale, Tom Aycock, 1929
9-Oklahoma State, Matthew Wolff, 2019
8-Harvard, J.W. Hubbell, 1916
8-Houston, Billy Ray Brown, 1982
7-Princeton, G.T. Dunlap, 1931
6-Arizona State, Alejandro Canizares, 2003
6-Texas, Justin Leonard, 1994
SUN DEVIL NCAA TOP-FIVE FINISHES (1983-PRESENT)
Chun An Yu (Jr.), 3rd/2019 (Fayetteville, AR)
Jon Rahm (Sr.), T-3rd/2016 (Eugene, OR)
Jon Rahm (Fr.), T-2nd/2013 (Atlanta, GA)
Alejandro Canizares (Fr.) 1st/2003 (Stillwater, OK)
Chez Reavie (Fr.), T-4th/2001 (Durham, NC)
Paul Casey (So.), 4th/1999 (Chaska, MN)
Darren Angel (Fr.), T-3rd/1996 (Chattanooga, TN)
Joey Snyder (Jr.), T-5th/1995 (Columbus, OH)
Todd Demsey (So.), 1st/1993 (Lexington, KY)
Phil Mickelson (Sr.), 1st/1992 (Albuquerque, NM)
Phil Mickelson (Jr.), T-4th/1991 (Pebble Beach, CA)
Phil Mickelson (So.), 1st/1990 (Tarpon Springs, FL)
Phil Mickelson (Fr.), 1st/1989 (Edmond, OK)
Jim Carter (Jr.), 1st/1983 (Fresno, CA)