The No. 13 Sun Devil men’s golf team will start its quest for its third NCAA title on Friday, May 29, at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa (North Course) in Carlsbad. Thirty teams and another six individuals have advanced, as 156 swingers will hit the course Friday.
ASU will tee it Friday (May 29) with Arizona and Vanderbilt. Sun Devil tenth-year head coach Matt Thurmond — a 2024 National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame inductee — leads the Sun Devils, who under 2008 National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee and Pac-12 Coach of the Century Randy Lein won the 1996 team title and won the 1990 title under 2002 ASU Hall of Fame and 2009 NGCA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Loy.
Same Format
Finals play consists of three days of stroke play on Friday (May 29) through Sunday (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on Monday (June 1) to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday (June 2) followed by finals on Wednesday (June 3).
The expected lineup
-Senior Michael Mjaaseth (No. 22 in WAGR/29 in NCAA)
-junior Connor Williams (No. 28 in WAGR/54 in NCAA)
-junior Fifa Laopakdee (No. 27 in WAGR/79 in NCAA)
-freshman Boston Bracken (No. 94 in WAGR/192 in NCAA)
-freshman Bowen Mauss (212 in WAGR/179 in NCAA)
Most NCAA Championship Appearances
Oklahoma State, 77
Texas 69
Arizona State, 60
Recently
The Sun Devils tied for third at the 2021 NCAA Championship officially by reaching the semifinals of match play. It marked ASU’s best finish since it won the 1996 title. It then came back in 2022 and lost to Texas in the title match, before falling in match play in 2023 and 2025 in the first round.
Sparky in match play
Arizona State has advanced to match play four times under Matt Thurmond and is a combined 3-4 since he took over in 2017. ASU has appeared in match play five times since the format was put in place back in 2009.
Top-10 is very good
Matt Thurmond now has had seven top-10 finishers at the NCAA Championship since taking over at Arizona State prior to the 2016-17 season. The seven have happened in seven chances, as ASU missed the championships in 2024 and it was canceled in 2020.
Sun Devil NCAA Top-10 finishes under Matt Thurmond
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