The fifth-ranked Sun Devil men's golf team continued its strong play Monday as after 36 holes it is in third with a 17-under 559 (275-284) at the 46th annual Arizona Thunderbirds Collegiate held at Tucson Country Club. ASU is just four shots away from leader Long Beach State, who is at 21-under but has second-round holes to play on Tuesday before the final round.
Fifa Laopakdee continues to play great, as he shot 9-under 135 (67-68) to lead the Sun Devils and is four shots behind Alejandro De Castro from Long Beach State, who will have five holes to play in his second round before starting the third Tuesday morning.
ASU got great play from Raul Gomez, who is playing as an individual, as he is at 7-under with five holes to play in his second round after firing a 6-under 66 in the opening round that included an eagle on the 532-yard par-5 10th hole.
Three of four almost done
The Sun Devils are in a stretch of five tournaments (15 rounds) in a 31-day span in Mexico, San Francisco, Tucson, West Palm Beach and Carrollton (Texas).
Last time out
ASU won the Desimone Invitational in convincing fashion in its last tournament, with junior Fifa Laopakdee earning co-medalist honors. ASU shot 39-under (271-276-278) to beat TCU by 20 strokes, as the field included top-10 teams No. 4 Texas and No. 10 Pepperdine. The Sun Devils are now 70-29-1 in head-to-head competition. ASU also had Bowen Maus (tied for fifth) and Michael Mjaaseth (tied for seventh) notch solid finishes.
Fifa Laopakdee collegiate medalist honors
Desimone Invitational (Mar. 9-10, 2026)
Thunderbird Collegiate (Apr. 11-12, 2025)
Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 2-4, 2025)
Maui Jim Individual at Legend Trail Golf Club (Sept. 8-9, 2023)
Six Sun Devil team wins past two seasons
Desimone Invitational (Mar. 9-10, 2026)
The Wohali (Sept. 15-16, 2025)
Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 6-7, 2025)
Thunderbird Collegiate (April 11-12, 2025)
Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 2-4, 2025)
Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 7-8, 2024)
Arizona Thunderbirds Collegiate
Tucson Country Club
Par 72/,7,533 Yards
Mar 15-16, 2026
Team (NCAA Ranking)
Long Beach (32) 292-DNF=DNF/-21
Arizona (22) 277-280=557/-19
Arizona State (5) 275-284=559/-17
Oklahoma (14) 280-289=569/-7
Colorado 278-DNF=DNF/
Grand Canyon 286-DNF/DNF
Oral Roberts 290-288=528
New Mexico (18) 285-DNF=DNF
UTEP 281-299=580/
New Mexico State 290-DNF
Wyoming 285-DNF=DNF
UTSA 291-DNF=DNF
Pacific 297-293=590/
Hawaii 307-DNF=DNF
Top Individual/Sun Devils (NCAA Ranking)
1. Alejandro de Castro (LBSU) 65-DNF=DNF/-13
2. Fifa Laopakdee 67-68=135/-9
4. Raul Gomez (IND) 66-DNF=DNF/-7
T9. Connor Williams 70-70=140/-4
T16. Bryan Newman 68-74=142/-2
T26. Bowen Mauss 70-74=144/E
T35. Michael Mjaaseth 74-72=146/+2
T39. Boston Bracken (IND) 74-73=147/+3
T66. Kent Karlstrom (IND) 79-DNF=DNF/+8
T69. Peer Wernicke (IND) 81-DNF=DNF/+9
Trying to beat the host
The Wildcats have dominated their home tournament, winning it seven of the past eight years. In addition, the past five years a Wildcat has claimed the individual title three times. They have 13 team victories and 12 individual titles in the history of the tournament.