(WCSN Photo – Nicolas Badders)
The number one ranked Sun Devil men’s golf squad will look to leave Hawaii with more than just their leis, as they try to win their third consecutive tournament at the Amer Ari Invitational in Kona starting Thursday.
After the long layoff, Arizona State has been clicking on all cylinders as of late, with victories in the Copper Cup and Southwestern Intercollegiate to start 2022.
Coming off a record breaking performance last week, the Sun Devils are hungry to continue this stretch of dominance. ASU has won the Amer Ari team title three times in their history, winning in 1995, 2015 and 2021.
Looking to repeat as the Amer Ari individual winner, junior David Puig will carry loads of momentum going to Kona, as he took home the Individual title at last week’s Southwestern Intercollegiate. At the 2021 Amer Ari, Puig finished 13-under, four strokes clear of ASU’s own Blake Wagoner.
Puig is the fourth individual winner at Kona to represent Arizona State, with Todd Demsey in 1995, Chris Hanell in 1996, and Jesper Kennegard in 2009, all taking home individual honors.
As for the rest of the Sun Devils in Kona, last year they finished 37-under, 12 strokes ahead of USC. In the individual leaderboard, Arizona State had five of their six players finish inside the top 10, an impressive showing from last year’s squad.
With four of ASU’s five players returning to the team competition in Hawaii this year, the Sun Devils have a new toy to bring with them to Kona, and his name is Preston Summerhays.
Summerhays, a freshman, has been playing the best golf of his young collegiate career as of late. The 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur champion didn’t start his freshman season so hot, but as of late has really turned it on, even getting the chance to compete at next weekend’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Looking to get back in the win column on the individual side, senior Cameron Sisk returns to Kona ready to continue the outstanding play he showed last season at this very tournament. ASU’s main man finished tied for 10th at last season’s Amer Ari, though led the tournament in birdies with 18.
Sisk, who has been the Sun Devils’ top scorer individually in three of ASU’s four tournaments counting towards NCAA rankings, has not seen an individual title since Maridoe, the first tournament of the season. Had Puig slipped up at all last week at the Southwestern Intercollegiate, Sisk was right on his heels. He finished tied for second at 6-under, only two back of Puig.
Following last week’s victory, Golfweek bumped ASU from third to first in their national rankings, hopping Pepperdine and Oklahoma. While the recognition is great, the Sun Devils will see four of the top six squads in the nation this weekend in Kona, providing some strong competition to the nation’s top squad.
The Amer Ari Invitational will get underway Thursday and conclude Saturday at Hapuna Golf Course. Following this weekend, the Devils get a nice little stretch of time to relax before they head to the Cabo Collegiate at the end of the month.
