Aloha! Men's Golf travels to Hawai'i

WAIMEA, Hawai'i - Traveling to the Aloha State, Sun Devils Men's Golf will compete in the Amer Ari Invitational Feb. 8-10. The tournament is set to play at the Mauna Lani North Course on the beautiful island of Hawaii. Each round tees off at 7:30 a.m. HST.

THE WAGR RANKINGS
Three Sun Devils are in the recent top-20 World Amateur Golf Rankings, led by Preston Summerhays (9), Wenyi Ding (13) and Josele Ballester (18). Ding is the most recent winner of the Pac-12 Player of thee Week.

SUN DEVIL TOP-100 WAGR RANKINGS (FEB. 1, 2024)
9 - Preston Summerhays
13 - Wenyi Ding
18 - Josele Ballester
38 - Luke Potter
61 - Michael Mjaaseth
83 - Ryggs Johnston

THE LINEUP (WITH WAGR)
Representing the Sun Devils in Waimea will be No. 13 Wenyi Ding, No. 9 Preston Summerhays, No. 18 Josele Ballester, Connor Williams and No. 61 Michael Mjaaseth. 

OUR TOURNAMENT HISTORY HERE
The Sun Devils finished third as a team and Mason Andersen was third at the 2022 Amer Ari. The team carded a 268-273-281=822/-42 while Anderson fired 65-69-66=200/-16/T3. ASU has won the team title of the Amri Ari Invitational three times (2021, 2015 and 1995) while four Sun Devils have earned the individual title: David Puig (2021), Jesper Kennegard (2009), Chris Hanell (1996) and Todd Dempsey (1994). The tournament was cancelled last year due to terrible and unplayable winds.

LAST TIME OUT
The Sun Devils finished third at 49-under 815 at the National Invitational in Tucson. The 49-under is third-best mark vs. par in the Golfstat era. Freshman Wenyi Ding came up one stroke short in his bid to win his first collegiate tournament, as he finished at 17-under 199 (65-67-67) just behind BYU's Zac Jones who shot 18-under 198 (65-69-64).

TEAM BEST VS. PAR THREE-ROUND TOURNAMENT SCORE (1993-94 TO PRESENT)
-59/805, 2023 NCAA Regional, Las Vegas
-50/814, 2018 National Invitational
-49/815, 2024 National Invitational
-43/821, 2004 ASU Thunderbird Invitational
-41/811, 2017 ASU Thunderbird Invitational

THE COMPETITION
The tournament features some of the best collegiate golfers with a total of 18 Division I programs. Schools competing include No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Washington, No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 12 Florida State, No. 16 Texas, No. 18 Oregon, No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 31 UCLA, No. 42 Oklahoma State, No. 46 Oregon State, No. 49 San Jose State, No. 77 Pepperdine, No. 86 Stanford, No. 105 UC Davis, No. 140 UH Manoa, No. 163 Pacific, Osaka Gakuin (Japan) and the home team Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans.

ABOUT THE COURSE
The North Course represents the quintessential golf experience on the Island of Hawaii. Built on a lava bed, the North is characterized by 18 holes of rolling terrain punctuated by Kiawe (mesquite) forests. A 230-acre protected archaeological district lies on the northern boundary of the golf course. No.17, a par three tucked into a natural lava amphitheater, is the resort's signature hole and a favorite "I was here" photo spot. This course has become one of the most popular tournament venues on the Island.

DETERMINED DING
Wenyi Ding was the 2022 US Junior Amateur Champion and is currently the youngest champion on the China Tour.  He joined the team after the 2023 fall semester.

UNDER PAR PRESTON
Preston Summerhays has been a force to be reckoned with during his time with ASU. He earned his way into the Fortinet Championship after winning the Sahalee Players Championship in a playoff after firing a 5-under 211 (72-67-72) and earned Pac-12 Golfer of the Week. During his freshman season, he was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

BOLD BALLESTER
Josele Ballester was the 2023 European Amateur champion, which included a 10-under in the first round. He has earned honorable mention All-America honors in each of his first two seasons. In 2022-23, he had a 70.56 stroke average in 13 tournaments (39 rounds) that included three top-10 finishes in his final five tournaments. In his fall campaign, he had two top-10's in four tournaments. 

WONDER WILLIAMS
Connor Williams is an impressive freshman who was the Southern California Jr. Amateur Champion. Helping aid the Sun Devils to their victory at the Cypress Point Classic, Williams went 3 & 2 with partner Luke Potter to defeat Stanford. He was also ranked #16 in the 2023 class.  

MIGHTY MICHAEL
Michael Mjaaseth appeared in four tournaments during the fall campaign and competed as an individual at the Sahalee Players Championship. He shot a round of 67 (-5) en-route to a T15 finish at the Ben Simpson Collegiate Invite. He was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, the sixth Sun Devil to win the award since its inception in 1999 and the fourth consecutive ASU men's golfer to achieve the honor.

AMER ARI INTERCOLLEGIATE
FEB. 8-10, 2024
PAR 72/6,913 YARDS
MAUNA LANI NORTH COURSE
NORTH COURSE
KOHALA COAST, HAWAII
TEAMS (20)
Arizona State
Auburn
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Hawaii
Hawaii Hilo
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Oregon
Oregon State
Osaka Gakuin
Pacific
Pepperdine
San Jose State
Stanford
Texas
Texas Tech
UC Davis
UCLA
Washington
 
SUN DEVIL INDIVIDUALS
Wenyi Ding
Preston Summerhays 
Josele Ballester
Connor Williams
Michael Mjaaseth