April 13, 2007
ASU Thunderbird Invitational First-Round Results, April 13, 2007
The Arizona State men's golf team is in fourth place and just four shots back of leader Oregon after the first 18 holes of the 35th annual Arizona State University/Thunderbird Invitational held Friday at the ASU Karsten Golf Course (par 72/7,057 yards). ASU shot a 7-under 281, while the Ducks lead the 16-team field at 11-under 277 after the first round. USC is at 10-under and Texas Tech is at 9-under 279 and in third place.
Host Arizona State, who has won the tournament five of the past nine years (1999-2001 and 2003-2004) and 13 times overall, was led by sophomore All-American Benjamin Alvarado Holley who shot a 4-under 68 while senior Fredrik Andersson shot a collegiate best 3-under 69. Alvarado Holley has a 71.54 stroke average and three top-10 finishes in eight events on the year. He is three strokes behind leader Derek Sipe (Oregon) who shot 7-under 65.
The Sun Devils are trying to win back-to-back tournaments after earning championship honors at the National Invitational held at Omni Golf Club in Tucson April 2-3.
Sun Devil senior All-American Niklas Lemke and freshman Knut Borsheim both shot par (72) and are tied for 31st, while sophomore Steele DeWald shot a 4-over 76. Lemke also won the National Invitational in Tucson on April 2-3 and took home 2006 Illini Invitational honors in the fall. He entered the tournament this weekend with a 70.13 stroke average and six top-five finishes in eight events. He finished tied for sixth at the 2006 Thunderbird Invitational.
ASU fielded a maroon squad that shot a 9-over 297, led by sophomore Erik Coover's 1-under 71, as he is tied for 22nd. Freshmen Tristan Bierenbroodspot shot a 1-over 73, sophomore Ryan Kelley had a 3-over 75, freshman James Dalthorp had a 6-over 78 and senior Phil Telliard had an 8-over 80.
The tournament continues Saturday and Sunday with 18 holes each day. Tee times begin Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and Sunday at 7 a.m. Admission is free. Complete results can be found at golfstat.com and live scoring is available.
PAST THUNDERBIRD INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS: Notable past champions of the event include Scott Simpson of USC (1975), Corey Pavin of UCLA (1979), 1983 NCAA champion Jim Carter of Arizona State (1984), Phil Mickelson of Arizona State (1991 and 1992), 1993 NCAA champion Todd Demsey of Arizona State (1995), 2000 U.S. Amateur champion Jeff Quinney of Arizona State (1999) and 1999 and 2000 English Amateur champion and three-time Pac-10 champion Paul Casey of Arizona State (2000), who also earned 2001 European Rookie of the Year honors.
NEXT UP FOR ASU: ASU next competes in the Pac-10 Championship April 23-25 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. It has won the Pac-10 title 11 times, including six straight championships from 1995-2000. The NCAA West Regional will be held May 17-19 in Tempe again at Karsten Golf Course while the NCAA Championships will be held May 31-June 3 in Williamsburg, Va. ASU is a five-time champion of the NCAA West Regional and won the NCAA championship in 1990 and 1996.
CONFERENCE CALL: Five conferences are represented at the tournament, as there are five schools from the Pac-10 (ASU, Arizona, California, Oregon and USC), five from the Big 12 (Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas A & M and Texas Tech), three from the Mountain West (New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV) and one each from Western Athletic Conference (Fresno State) and Conference USA (UCF).