(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Arizona State capped off a historic performance this week, taking home their third tournament title this season at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson on Tuesday.
The No. 4 ranked Sun Devils shot their best round in school history at -25 par during the second round of the tournament. The team finished at -50 par, which was 21 strokes ahead of the second-place finisher, Pac-12 foe No. 7 USC, to secure their third championship of the 2018-2019 campaign.
Arizona State was led by Junior Alex Del Ray, who was the individual champion of the tournament. Del Ray finished the tournament at -17 par and shot -8 par on ASU’s record-setting second round.
However, Del Ray didn’t do it all by himself. All five of the golfers that participated in team play for Arizona State in the tournament finished in the top 25 individually. Freshman Won Jun Lee finished in 3rd place at -15 par. Junior Chun An Yu shot -11 par and tied for fifth place. Sophomore Mason Andersen, who shot -7 par and placed 11th, and junior Blake Wagoner, who finished tied for 23rd and shot -4 par, rounded out an overall sensational team performance by the Devils.
ASU also had magnificent performances from golfers that didn’t participate in team play. Freshman Cameron Sisk took home first place for players not participating in team play. Sisk shot -13 par, and fellow freshman James Leow shot -12 par and took second.
Opposing Pac-12 competition just couldn’t match the Sun Devils’ level of play in the NIT, but No. 7 USC and in-state rival University of Arizona had solid performances. The Trojans finished in second place overall as a team, and were led by senior Justin Suh who shot -16 par and finished second place individually. The Arizona Wildcats posted an eighth-place team finish, and sophomore Trevor Werbylo tied for fifth place individually and shot -11 par.
Arizona State has now won three out of its last four tournaments, and they will look to stay hot heading into the Aggie Invitational. The two-day tournament will be held on April 6 and 7 from College Station, Texas.
