No. 2/2 Arizona State men’s golf finished in a tie for sixth Tuesday afternoon at the Valspar Invitational in Palm City after shooting an even-par 284 in Tuesday’s final round.
The Sun Devils (278-281-284=843/-9) managed to grind through the final day of the tournament surrounded by a loaded field, with five top-10 teams and 12 ranked opponents featured. The team managed 60 birdies over the three rounds.
Weathering the humid Florida sun, sophomore Preston Summerhays (67-71-66=204/-9) continued his streak of excellent play carding a 5-under 66 in the third round to earn his third straight top-5 finish. He now has five rounds in the 60’s in the last nine rounds of golf. Summerhays torched the back-9 with six birdies to stay within contention of the leaders.
Freshman Michael Mjaaseth managed to shoot at even par, 71 to stay in red figures for the tournament finishing (71-69-71=211/-2) in a tie for 26th with a bogey-free back nine which included two birdies. Mjaaseth compiled a 2.80 scoring average on the par 3’s, which was good for third in the field.
Luke Potter (68-75-73=216/+3) struggled on the back-nine for the second straight day, finishing 3-over tying his teammate Josele Ballester (73-69-74=216/+3).
“As a group we aren’t playing great right now. We are all frustrated, we have to improve” head coach Matt Thurmond said. “Preston was awesome this week, he’s playing at a very elite level with incredible focus and attention to detail.”
The Sun Devils will tee it up one more time in the state of Florida in the Calusa Cup in Naples on April 2-4 before returning home, hosting the Thunderbird Collegiate at Papago Golf Course on April 14-15 prior to the start of the postseason.
Sun Devils and Leaders:
1.Ledwig Adberg, Texas Tech 65-67-70=202/-11
T6: Preston Summerhays, Arizona State 67-71-66=204/-9
T26: Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State 71-69-71=211/-2
T48: Josele Ballester, Arizona State 73-69-74=216/+3
T48: Luke Potter, Arizona State 68-75-73=216/+3
T61: Ryggs Johnston, Arizona State (72-72-75=219/+6
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Arizona State University Athletics…