(Photo Courtesy/ Sun Devil Athletics)
This past weekend, Arizona State hosted the Thunderbird Collegiate Golf Tournament featuring 17 of the top schools in the nation.
ASU finished second in the tournament with David Puig’s performance of 10 under par, and Ryggs Johnston who finished at eight under par. Puig was only two strokes behind the three-way tie for first place at 12 under par.
Earlier this week, Puig said he thought other teams would struggle on the greens at Papago. Unfortunately, in the first round the ball just wouldn’t fall. Many of Puig’s putts would have the right speed, and right line but still just would not drop.
Luckily this didn’t last, as in the second and third round Puig had 11 total birdies.
Arizona State showed its home course advantage scoring 67 birdies, which was the most by any team. The Sun Devils were not alone in going low especially on the ninth hole where players scored 11 eagles, and 121 birdies.
But shortly after the turn, players were stumped by the 10th hole, which is 542 yards long and is usually a par 5 for the average golfer. It was changed to a par 4 on the scorecard and had tough pin placement in rounds two and three where players found only six birdies and tallied 68 bogeys. The Sun Devils did not record an eagle on any of the 54 holes played at the Thunderbird Collegiate.
They will look to improve next week at the Pac-12 Championship Tournament at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California.
