The Sun Devil men's golf team tees it in stroke play for the first time in 2026 at the Amer Ari Invitational Feb. 5-7. Hosted by the University of Hawai’i at Hilo and the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, the Ameri Ari Invitational is a 54-hole stroke play competition played on Mauna Lani’s award-winning North Course.
Titles over here
Five Sun Devils have won the individual title, as in addition to Ding (2024), David Puig (2021), Jesper Kennegard (2009), Chris Hanell (1996) and Todd Desmey (1994) also took home medalist honors. ASU won the tournament in 2021, 2015 and 1995.
Sun Devil Amer Ari individual titles (5)
Wenyi Ding, 2024
David Puig, 2021
Jesper Kennegard, 2009
Chris Hanell, 1996
Todd Demsey, 1995
Current WAGR Rankings
18-Connor Williams
20-Michael Mjaaseth
31-Fifa Laopakdee
Current Scoreboard (Clippd) Rankings
13-Connor Williams
23-Michael Mjaaseth
31-Fifa Laopakdee
Current Scoreboard (Clippd) Rankings (Top Big 12)
7-Arizona State
8-Oklahoma State
16-Texas Tech
20-Utah
30-BYU
31-West Virginia
38-University of Cincinnati
42-TCU
45-Colorado
46-Kansas
49-Houston
63-Kansas State
Ding was here
In 2024, Amer Ari played host to a record setting performance of then Arizona State Sun Devil (now DP World Tour professional) Wenyi Ding. Ding set the collegiate scoring record of -27 (63-64-62/189) enroute to a nine-shot victory. Ding joined elite company in his 27-under 54-hole tournament victory, supplanting Jon Rahm’s record of 21-under 192 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in 2014.
Fifa had a great fall
Junior Fifa Laopakdee will be playing in the British Open and the Masters in 2026 after rallying from a six-shot deficit -- with a 4-under 68 -- to win the third playoff hole at the Asia-Pacific Amateur in October. Laopakdee is the first player from Thailand to win the championship that began in 2010. He will also be the first Thai amateur to compete at the Masters. He notched birdie on five holes across the back nine -- including the 17th and 18th -- to force the playoff and ultimately delivered five straight birdies to close out the victory. He also is the second straight Sun Devil to win the event, as Wenyi Ding won the 2024 title. It also marks the third straight year a Sun Devil has won a major amateur title, as in addition to Wing’s 2024 title Josele Ballester won the 2024 U.S. Amateur and the 2023 European Amateur.
Reminder of roster additions
Coach Matt Thurmond announced that Oscar Couilleau will join the squad in the fall of 2026, and waiting for him on that roster will be fall of 2025 signees Raul Gomez Montalva (Valencia, Spain) and Bryan Newman (Johannesburg, South Africa) who have signed and are ready to go this January in ASU's 11-tournament schedule.
Quick recap
The Sun Devils won the Sahalee Players Championship and the Wohali to open 2025-26 before finishing the fall ranked No. 7 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd. The No. 1 seed after stroke play at the 2025 NCAA Championship, Arizona State won three times with seven other top-three finishes in 2024-25, including runner-up at the 2025 Big 12 Championship.
2021 Amer Ari recap
Sophomore David Puig won the 2021 individual crown thanks to a 13-under 203 (67-68-68), topping teammate Blake Wagoner (63-71-73) and USC's Sixian Guo (68-68-71) who both shot 9-under 207. Wagoner was playing as an individual, so his score didn't count in the team score, but ASU got excellent play from Ryggs Johnston (8-under 208), Mason Andersen (6-under 210), Cameron Sisk (5-under 211) and Chun An Yu (3-under 313). No Sun Devil finished outside the top 14.
AMER ARI INVITATIONAL
FEB. 5-7, 2026
MAUNA LANI NORTH COURSE
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Hawaii at Hilo
Oregon State
Oklahoma State
San Jose State
Stanford
Texas Tech
Georgia Tech
Auburn
UC-Davis
Pacific
Texas
UCLA
Pepperdine
Washington
North Carolina
Osaka Gakuin University
Texas-Arlington