No. 2/3 Sun Devils finish third at National Invitational, Summerhays finishes fourth

After a fast start for sophomore Preston Summerhays, he continued his momentum and carded a 2-under 70 in the third round to obtain his fifth straight round under par to lead the Arizona State men’s golf team (274-288-280=842/-22) in a third place for its sixth top-3 finish this season at the National Invitational. Freshman Michael Mjaaseth earned his third top-20 finish of the season.

The Sun Devils did most of their damage on par 4’s for the tournament, firing a 3.97 scoring average as a team going 5-under. They were one of three teams to shoot in red figures on the par 4’s.

“We had a great opportunity and couldn’t get it done. The birdies dried up when we most needed them. I’m just really disappointed and I know the whole team feels the same,” head coach Matt Thurmond said. “The bright spot is that once again we were right at the top. We just need to learn how to get it over the finish line.”

Summerhays (66-71-70=207/-2) had 13 birdies over the course of the tournament including a 3.90 scoring average on the par 4’s, going 3-under which was fifth-best in the field. His top-5 finish is his second straight, and his tenth top-10 finish of the year.

“Preston played another solid tournament. Back-to-back top fives’ in these tournaments is really impressive,” associate head coach Thomas Sutton stated.”

Mjaaseth carded the lowest round for the Sun Devils on Saturday, firing a 3-under 69 to place in the top-20 after shooting 5-under 31 on the front nine which included three birdies and an eagle to shoot up the leaderboard. Senior Gabriel Salvanera, who competed as an individual, shot 3-under 69 to propel him to even par with four birdies and an eagle of his own.

Freshman Luke Potter (72-71-71=214/-2) fired back-to-back rounds at one-under, 71 and sinking 13 birdies for the tournament, tied for fifth most for the week finishing T-27.. Josele Ballester (68-77-70=215/-1) rebounded from his second round, improving by seven strokes to finish in red figures with four birdies in his final round, joining teammate Ryggs Johnson (71-71-73=215/-1) who also finished at 1-under for the tournament to finish tied for 37th.

The Sun Devils had every golfer finish at least even for the tournament including Kiko Coelho card a 2-under (73-71-70=214/-2) competing as an individual with three birdies on the day and finishing T-27.

The spring season continues for the Sun Devils at the Valspar Invitational in West Palm Beach, Fl. a two-day event on March 27-28. 

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