April 30, 2003
The 16th-ranked Arizona State men's golf team finished third with a 35-over 1,475 (378-365-376-356) at the Pac-10 Championship held at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, Calif.
Arizona State shot a 4-under 356 in the final round, the second-best round of the tournament. Only champion UCLA, who shot a 5-under 355 in the third round, had a better single-round score in the four-round event.
Host UCLA won the event with a 1-under 1,439 (364-362-355-358) for its first Pac-10 title since 1985, while Sun Devils Brady Stockton (73-70-74-69=286, -2) and Alejandro Canizares (72-71-76-69=288, even) finished in the top five. Stockton finished tied for second while Canizares finished tied for fourth. UCLA's John Merrick won the event with an 12-under 276, including a 9-under 63 in the final round.
Canizares entered the championship ranked 25th in the latest Golfweek poll and won the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson on March 30-April 1 with a 4-under 212 (69-73-70). He became the first Sun Devil to win a tournament since Matt Jones tied for the NCAA West Regional title in 2001 and is the first freshman to win a title since Paul Casey won the 1998 West Regional.
Stockton won the 2002 Pacific Northwest Golf Association title in July and shot the best tournament of his career in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 11-12 with a 10-under 206, which tied for fifth. He now is at 12-under in his past seven rounds (70.29 stroke average).
Full statistics are available at golfstat.com.
Pac-10 Men's Golf Championships Final Scores (Par 72, 1,440 through three rounds)1. UCLA 364-362-355-358=1,439 (-1)
2. Arizona 373-367-366-362=1,466 (+26)
3. Arizona State 378-365-376-356=1,475 (+35)
4. Stanford 365-368-376-369=1,478 (+38)
5. Washington 365-372-377-370=1,484 (+44)
6. Oregon State 376-380-389-378=1,503 (+63)
7. Oregon 379-375-374-376=1,504 (+64)
8. California 388-374-379-364=1,505 (+65)
9. USC 377-391-374-373=1,515 (+75)
10. Washington State 378-393-372-376=1,519 (+79)
Individual Leaders 1. John Merrick, UCLA 74-70-69-63=276, -12
T2. Brady Stockton, ASU 73-70-74-69=286, -2
T2. Jim Deki, Stanford, 70-71-72-73=286, -2
T4. Alejando Canizares, ASU 72-71-76-69=288, Even
T4. Ricky Barnes, Arizona 71-73-75-69=288, Even
Other Arizona State Individuals Final Scores 18. Chez Reavie, 78-72-74-72=296, +8
T30. Jesse Mueller, 79-76-77-70=302, +14
T40. Kendall Critchfield, 79-76-75-76=306, +18 T53. Ben Flam, 76-80-80-79=315, +27
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: The NCAA West Regional, hosted by the University of Washington, will be held at Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash., May 15-17. The 2003 NCAA Men's Golf Championship, hosted by Oklahoma State, will be held May 27-30 in Stillwater, Okla., at Karsten Creek.
SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10 CHAMPS: A list of Sun Devils who have won Pac-10 individual titles (year and score noted): Scott Watkins and Dan Croonquist in 1979 (277); Jim Bertoncino in 1980 (280); Dan Forsman and Tony Grimes in 1981 (283); Phil Mickelson in 1990 (278); Scott Johnson in 1997 (278); and Paul Casey in 1998 (283), 1999 (265) and 2000 (265).
DOWN THE ROAD: Arizona will play host to the 2004 Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship. ASU last hosted in 2000.