SCOTTSDALE (Ariz.) — SCOTTSDALE (Ariz.) — SCOTTSDALE is where the Arizona State golf team was so close to winning a national title two years ago. The Sun Devils came even closer to a national championship last year.
The 2023 NCAA National Championship will begin at Grayhawk Golf Club on Friday, where it will be held for the third consecutive year.
The Sun Devils are ranked 5th nationally in the a href=”https://rankings.golfweek.com/rankings/default.asp?T=mt” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>Golfweek/Sagarin rankings/a>. The Golfweek/Sagarin ranking has the Sun Devils ranked No. In the 30 team field, No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Illinois, No. North Carolina is No. Georgia Tech.
ASU has just won the NCAA Las Vegas Regional with a score of only 59 points. Preston Summerhays led the way by scoring 19 points under par, placing him third.
NCAAs: Team scores | Individual scores
Thurmond stated, “We had an amazing tournament.” It was definitely an easier course. It’s difficult to compare that to a 30 under on a harder course. “I can say that our guys are well prepared and playing well.”
The Sun Devils were defeated by Texas in the championship game last season. In the previous season, they lost to Oklahoma in their semifinal. Thurmond hopes the third time is the charm, but he’s not putting extra pressure on his five-man team.
He said, “All of these teams are really good.” “You can never predict what will happen, particularly when it comes to match play. It’s always a 50-50 shot. We want to win, but even if we lose we have had a good season.
Summerhays was a finalist in the Haskins Award and Josele Ballester, another sophomore, were both in the team’s starting lineup.
Ryggs was not in the lineup in 2018 but he was in 2021. He was even third in his own right, with a 7-under-63 second-round score that set a new career high.
Thurmond said that freshmen Luke Potter, and Michael Mjaaseth seemed unaffected by the pressure.
Thurmond’s players are used playing in a match-play scenario, even though it isn’t the norm for college golf in the regular season. The East Lake Cup was held the past two years. The Sun Devils beat Pepperdine this season, and then fell to Vanderbilt by a score of 3-2.
Thurmond says that his players have played in amateur tournaments with match play.
The Sun Devils won the NCAA match play event last year after finishing first in stroke play.
Thurmond stated, “It is not something new to our guys.” They’re all quite comfortable in this scenario. I’m really happy with the way we’re playing. “Now we have to do it six more times.”
NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships
Site: Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale
Raptor course: 7,289 yards, par 70.
Texas is the defending champion (they defeated ASU in final, 3-2).
Format: Four rounds stroke play, with the field reduced from 30 to 15, after Sunday’s 3rd round and to 8 after Monday’s 4th round. Individual champions are also announced on Monday. Match play quarterfinals, semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday. The championship match will be held on Wednesday.
Teams: Arizona State, Stanford, Virginia, San Francisco, East Tennessee State, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Chattanooga, Ohio State, Colorado State, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Florida, Texas, Mississippi State, Brigham Young, Florida State, Baylor, Pepperdin, Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech, Arkansas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas A&M.
Individual qualifiers include: Drew Salyers (Indiana); Luke O’Neill (Kansas State); Jonas Baumgartner (Oklahoma State); Riley Lewis (Loyola Marymount); Will King, Kansas State; Sam Lape from Furman.
Notes: Stanford has won eight national titles, and the latest one was in 2019. Florida and Texas both have four. ASU won two titles in 1990 and 1996. Vanderbilt freshman Gordon Sargent, who won the individual title last season and is returning with the Commodores, has returned to the team. The format of stroke-play followed by match-play was adopted in 2009.
