ASU, Williams come up just short at Williams Cup

(Photo: Ben Parris/Sun Devil Athletics)

In the final round of the Williams Cup, North Carolina and David Ford rallied to defeat Arizona State with a miraculous back-nine comeback. The host school, UNC, won the tournament for the fourth year in a row.

Early Tuesday afternoon in Wilmington, N.C., sophomore Connor Williams led the individual scoreboard, while the Sun Devils led the team leaderboard heading into the final nine.

Nine bogeys on the back nine for ASU and a combined team score of 4-over, met with the Tar Heels shooting 9-under set up a remarkable resurgence. Arizona State finished at 15-under to UNC’s 16-under.

Williams had a one-stroke lead going into the tenth hole, but Ford ranked second in the PGA Tour University, went 2-under on the final nine to defeat Williams by one stroke.

Williams finished in the top five for the first time in his young career and earned his third top-10 finish this fall. His 5-under, bogey-free second round highlighted his scorecard of 70-67-70.

Despite the tough finish, it was still a successful event for the maroon and gold. They were the only team to shoot under-par on par-3 scoring and dominated the par-5 scoring by five strokes.

ASU finished fifth or better in all five tournaments this fall. They won at the Sahalee Players Championship and claimed two runner-up finishes at the Fighting Illini Invitational and The Williams Cup.

Senior Josele Ballester finished tied for fifth shooting 3-under in the final round to boost himself up the leaderboard. Ballester was 6-under on par-5 scoring and tied for most pars over the three-day event.

Preston Summerhays had a bounce-back tournament finishing T-12 at even-par. Summerhays has struggled this fall season but heads to the offseason with a step in the right direction.

Coming off an impressive start at the Big 12 Match Play where he went 3-1-0, junior Michael Mjaaseth placed in the top-20 with rounds of 73-76-70.

Freshman Peer Wernicke rounded out the five-man squad with a T-24 finish going even on par-3s and 3-under on par-5s.

Sophomores Fifa Laopakdee and Nick Prieto participated in the event individually, but their scores did not count toward the team. Eagle Point Golf Club gave them a challenge as they combined for a score of 21-over par.

The Sun Devils walk into a three-month offseason before returning with the annual Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii. The spring season is packed with six events before the postseason including Arizona State-hosted Thunderbird Collegiate.

The Big 12 Championship will be held at Southern Hills Country Club, the venue of the 2022 PGA Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although the NCAA Regionals location will be announced for ASU when the regular season ends, the NCAA Championship will be taking place at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.