April 26, 2007
Niklas Lemke, who finished second with a 13-under 275 at the 2007 Pac-10 Men's Golf Championships which concluded Wednesday, has earned Pac-10 co-Golfer of the Year, the league announced Wednesday after a vote of the league's coaches.
Lemke shared the honor with USC's Jamie Lovemark, who finished at 19-under 269 (69-66-67-67) and took home Pac-10 medalist honors. Lemke's stroke average through 31 rounds is 69.87, matching Paul Casey's school record set in 1999-2000.
Lemke entered the Pac-10 Tournament as the top-ranked player in the nation according to Golfstat. He earned medalist honors at the 2006 Illini Invitational (Sept. 24-25) and at the 2007 National Invitational (April 2-3). He has eight top-five finishes on the year and 12 top-10 finishes in his 46-tournament career. He finished has second (2007 and 2006), tied for seventh (2005) and 13th (2004) in his four Pac-10 championships. He earned 2006 third-team All-American honors and was a honorable mention pick in 2005.
Lemke joined an impressive list of nine Sun Devils who have won the honor on 12 occasions, as Alejandro Canizares earned 2006 Co-Pac-10 Player of the Year honors and also earned the honor outright in 2005. Other Sun Devils to earn the honor in the 29 years of ASU competing in the league include Scott Watkins (1979 co-player of the year), Dan Forsman (1981 co-player of the year), Billy Mayfair (1987), three-time NCAA champion Phil Mickelson (1990, 1991 and 1992), 1993 NCAA Champion Todd Demsey (1994), three-time Pac-10 champion Paul Casey (2000) and 2000 U.S. Amateur champion Jeff Quinney (2001 co-player of the year). Canizares was the first Pac-10 golfer to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons since Tiger Woods of Stanford in 1995-96. Six of the award winners have come under current during head coach Randy Lein's 15 years in Tempe.
Sophomore Benjamin Alvarado Holley tied for sixth at 7-under 281 at the Pac-10 Championships and earned second-team honors. He has a 71.19 stroke average, currently eighth-best in ASU history.
ASU will next compete in the 2007 NCAA West Regional which will be held at ASU's Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz., May 17-19. The 2007 NCAA Championships will be held in Williamsburg, Va., May 30- June 2 with Virginia Commonwealth serving as host.
ASU will field a lineup of Niklas Lemke, Benjamin Alvarado Holley, freshman Knut Borsheim, Fredrik Andersson and freshman Tristan Bierenbroodspot for the NCAA West Regional. It finished tied for third last year at the West Regional in Tucson and has won or shared Regional championship honors in 2001, 1999, 1998 (tied for first), 1995 and 1991 (tied for first).
ASU'S BEST: After 10 tournaments this year, both Niklas Lemke and Benjamin Alvarado Holley have a chance to move up in the top-10 in terms of single-season scoring average in ASU history. Lemke now has a 69.87 mark, while Alvarado Holley has a 71.19 average.
ASU MEN'S GOLF SCORING AVERAGES (1987-2007) Rk. Name, Events Year Average 1. Niklas Lemke, 10 2006-07 69.87 1. Paul Casey, 10 1999-2000 69.87 3. Phil Mickelson, 12 1991-92 69.95 4. Phil Mickelson, 11 1990-91 70.08 5. Billy Mayfair, 13 1986-87 70.59 6. Phil Mickelson, 14 1989-90 70.82 7. Chez Reavie, 14 2003-04 71.05 8. Benjamin Alvarado Holley, 10 2006-07 71.19 9. Alejandro Canizares, 13 2005-06 71.22 10. Alejandro Canizares, 14 2003-04 71.38 11. Chris Hanell, 13 1996-97 71.44 12. Matt Jones, 12 2000-01 71.46 13. Alejandro Canizares, 14 2004-05 71.65 13. Alejandro Canizares, 8 2002-03 71.65
ALL-PAC-10 FIRST TEAM Kevin Chappell, UCLA, Jr., Fresno, Calif. Rob Grube, Stanford, Jr., Hinsdale, Ill. Niklas Lemke, Arizona State, Sr., Linkoping, Sweden Jamie Lovemark, USC, Fr., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Zack Miller, Stanford, Sr., San Rafael, Calif. Matt Savage, Stanford, Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz.
ALL-PAC-10 SECOND TEAM Benjamin Alvarado, Arizona State, So., Santiago, Chile Joseph Bramlett, Stanford, Fr., Saratoga, Calif. Rory Hie, USC, Fr., Lakewood, Calif. Lucas Lee, UCLA, So., Torrance, Calif. Alex Prugh, Washington, Sr., Spokane, WA Brian Prouty, Arizona, Sr., Tucson, Ariz.
PAC-10 CO-GOLFERS OF THE YEAR: Niklas Lemke, Sr., Arizona State Jamie Lovemark, Fr., USC
PAC-10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jamie Lovemark, USC
PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR: Conrad Ray, Stanford