ASU Men’s Golf: Despite Solid Efforts, Sun Devils Come up Short in East Lake Cup

(WCSN Photo/Nicholas Badders)

Freshman Preston Summerhays became Arizona State Men’s Golf second individual winner of the season, but the Sun Devils came up short at the East Lake Cup in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Summerhays shot a 4-under 68 on Monday to win the individual competition. This is ASU’s first individual win since senior Cameron Sisk secured an individual win earlier this season at Maridoe.

East Lake, the home of the PGA Tour’s TOUR Championship, provided one of the harder challenges the Sun Devils will see this season.

“It’s a really big course off the tee box, and it’s pretty important from tee to fairway,” said Summerhays in an interview with NBC Golf. “So we went over to the course that way, and then obviously with how severe these greens are, it’s obvious where to leave it on the greens.”

On Monday, Summerhays found his groove on the back nine at East Lake after a rough beginning to his round. Starting on hole 11, he sunk 5 birdies in the final 6 holes to capture the individual title. ASU head coach Matt Thurmond was impressed by Summerhays’s ability to bounce back.

“You make bogey’s out here and you don’t know if you’re going to get them back,” said Thurmond. “To come back from that, it’s just amazing.”

After Monday, Arizona State’s 287 stroke round on Monday notched them the two seed, setting up a date with the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Tuesday. Against the Cowboys, the Sun Devils went 1-3-1, losing the opportunity to match up against the number one ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

The Sooners went on to defeat the Cowboy’s in a Bedlam matchup on Wednesday and take home the East Lake Cup. This was Oklahoma’s second win on the season, both coming against the Sun Devils.

Grad. student Mason Andersen was the only ASU player to win his match on Tuesday, beating Oklahoma State’s junior Hazen Newman by four strokes. While Sisk and OSU junior Rayhan Thomas tied their matches, senior David Puig, Preston Summerhays, and Ryggs Johnston all were defeated in their matchups. This sent ASU to face Pepperdine in the third place matchup Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Sun Devils finished 2-3 on the day. Mason Andersen won his second match of the tournament, while junior Ryggs Johnston also won his matchup with an incredible final day performance. Sisk, Puig and Summerhays lost their final matches of the weekend, a disappointing end to the fall schedule for Arizona State.

Despite a tough end to the 2021 slate for the Sun Devils, they will now be able to rest up for the remainder of the fall. When the calendar turns to 2022, ASU will pick up play right in their own backyard at the Copper Cup right here in Arizona. The Copper Cup will be a two day tournament, beginning on Sunday January 16th at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.