(Photo: Thomas Fernandez/Sun Devil Athletics)
Everything is bigger in Texas, and at the Maridoe Collegiate, that extended to the numbers on the scorecard.
No. 9 Arizona State competed in a 13-team field from March 30-31 that averaged 46-over-par, and while the Sun Devils’ 29-over-par performance was second-best, it was still well behind No. 6 Oklahoma State, which claimed the title at 11-over-par.
While the Maridoe Collegiate saw inflated scorecards, history shows the upcoming Thunderbird Collegiate, the Sun Devils’ last tournament of the season, could be different.
ASU will host its home tournament at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix from April 10-11. Last year, the entire field finished under par, and No. 64 junior Fifa Laopakdee claimed the individual title, recording only one bogey, while ASU as a whole recorded just 26, the fewest in the field, winning it all for the third straight year.
In addition to the low bogey total, only two Sun Devils finished a round over par, with every ASU golfer placing inside the top-50.
This time, however, the Sun Devils enter without the defending individual champion, as Laopakdee is currently at Augusta National Golf Club competing in the Masters. As of the time of publication, he’s currently fourth among the six amateurs with an 8-over-par score after the first round.
While Laopakdee is facing some of the toughest competition in the golfing world, ASU is challenged with eight programs ranked in the top-100, including No. 20 New Mexico, No. 28 Long Beach State and No. 31 UCLA.
In the past four tournaments, the Lobos have secured three top-six finishes, including a third-place result at The Goodwin with No. 13 senior Mesa Falleur walking away with the individual title.
Falleur edged No. 9 BYU freshman Kihei Akina by one stroke in the final round after both golfers entered the day tied at 8-under.
A critical eagle on the 11th hole on the final day propelled Falleur to his second collegiate victory of the season.
Due to his result at The Goodwin, Falleur exploded up the rankings, moving from No. 48 to No. 13.
Contrasting Falleur’s sudden surge to the top, Long Beach maneuvered the 2025-26 season in a steady rise up the rankings. In its nine tournaments this season, The Beach finished inside the top-5 every time, including back-to-back wins to start the season in mid-September.
More recently, No. 38 senior Alejandro De Castro helped lead the team with an individual win at the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate and a runner-up finish at the R.E. Lamkin Invitational in mid-March.
De Castro’s strong turnouts resulted in Long Beach moving up the leaderboard, with the momentum carrying the team to a fifth-place result at The Goodwin.
After being ranked outside of the top-150 in February, De Castro’s impressive finishes cemented him in the top-40.
While De Castro, Falleur and their teams have grown into the spotlight, UCLA remained largely stagnant for four months before slipping down the rankings.
From Oct. 25, 2025, to Jan. 28, UCLA held the No. 21 spot until a 36-over-par performance at the Southwestern Invitational dropped the Bruins six positions in the rankings.
During that quiet stretch, ASU and UCLA both competed in the Copper Cup on Jan. 19-20, though they never faced one another head-to-head.
Both teams defeated No. 30 USC, but only ASU fell to No. 22 Arizona, while UCLA finished in a tie with the Wildcats.
After months of waiting for a spark, the Bruins finally showed signs of forward momentum when freshman Josh Kim helped lead the team to a second-place finish in a field featuring 14 top-50 programs at The Goodwin.
The Sun Devils have had an up-and-down season, but Papago Golf Club has treated them kindly throughout the years.
In total, ASU has delivered 23 team victories at the Thunderbird Intercollegiate, with four of the past six occurring at Papago. Furthermore, a Sun Devil claimed the individual title four years straight from 2022-25.
Last year, the Sun Devils led the field in average scoring on par-3s, par-4s and par-5s, while also tying second in total birdies.
The Sun Devils will be looking for more of the same with the Big 12 Championship taking place after the Thunderbird Intercollegiate, hoping that good momentum can carry over.
