ASU Men’s Golf: Sun Devils prepare for Barbara Nicklaus Cup

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

The Sun Devils men’s golf squad will look to continue their early season success with another top three finish at the Barbara Nicklaus Cup in Dublin, Ohio starting Monday.

ASU certainly shined in their second tournament of the season with a second place finish. They placed second overall in the team competition at five strokes over par. The team finished three strokes over par higher than at the first tournament at Maridoe, but did lower their team overall strokes by 21.

In the individual competition, ASU had two players tie for second place with senior Cameron Sisk and junior David Puig both finishing at two under par 208. North Carolina junior Austin Greaser took the individual title at Olympia Fields, finishing two strokes ahead of Puig and Sisk. It was quite the week for Sisk, following up his first place finish in the individual competition at Maridoe.

Graduate student Mason Andersen was the third highest scoring Sun Devil on the individual board at Olympia Fields, finishing tied for 24 at five over par. Junior Ryggs Johnston finished seven over par, tied for 32 overall on the board, and freshman Preston Summerhays finished 11 over par, tied for 51 overall.

ASU continued to shine on par-3’s, as the team shot seven strokes under the next closest team at seven under par on such holes.

The Sun Devils finally got to test their ability against the top team in the country entering the tournament, the Pepperdine Waves. While ASU finished second overall in the team competition, the then top ranked Pepperdine finished tied for eighth. ASU also finished higher than Oklahoma, the winners of the first tournament of the year at Maridoe.

ASU entered the Fighting Illini tournament ranked third overall as a team in the country, but have since moved up a spot thanks to their high finish at Olympia Fields. After a very busy first week of the season, a two week break should leave the Sun Devils well rested.

The Sun Devils now set their sights on the inaugural Barbara Nicklaus Cup in Dublin, Ohio. The inaugural tournament provides a unique type of event, as only three other squads will compete with ASU.

The Auburn Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Florida State Seminoles will be the three squads the Sun Devils will see in Dublin. Auburn being the only team ranked at No. 23.

ASU saw two of those three teams already so far this season. At Maridoe, Ohio State finished seventh in the team competition at 20th over par, and at Olympia Fields Florida State finished 13th overall at 32 over par.

While the Barbara Nicklaus Cup will not count towards NCAA rankings or Golfstat rankings, it will provide some quality match play experience for the Sun Devils.

The tournament will be taking place at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio. The course will play just slightly longer than Olympia Fields. Muirfield will play at 7,491 total yards compared to Olympia Fields at 7,333 yards, a 158 yard difference. While the par-3’s play relatively similar to Olympia Fields, Murifield’s par-4’s will play slightly longer than Olympia Fields.

After they play at Muirfield, the Sun Devils will get ready for their next tournament in Orlando beginning Oct. 17.