(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)
With the help of junior Connor Williams’ stellar performance, the Arizona State Men’s golf team topped both the team (tying for first with New Mexico) and individual categories at the Wohali Classic in Coalville, Utah, winning back-to-back tournaments to start the season.
The Maroon and Gold accumulated the third-fewest number of bogeys and the third most birdies, which allowed the team to capitalize on their rivals’ errors without making many of their own.
“I don’t remember the last time, if ever, we started off the season with two wins,” head coach Matt Thurmond said. “… I love that the expectation is being set. We expect to play well and we expect to be in the final group. We expect to be able to perform in the biggest moments. We expect to finish strong, so it was a nice two tournaments for us.”
Williams, the individual champion, ended the tournament shooting 9-under-par, 65-70-69. After shooting an incredible six-under-par in the first round and then a solid one-under-par in the second round, Williams was in a great position to win his first-ever collegiate tournament. Williams was one of only three players to shoot under par in the second round, meaning while everyone else was trying to create magic heading into the final round, Williams just had to sustain his already successful play.
Williams kept his scorecard incredibly clean in the final round, tallying only one bogey and three birdies to help him finish 2-under-par. Williams’ previous best finish was second place at the Big 12 Championship and the Williams Cup, but now he has a victory to his name.
“Connor (Williams) is a world-class player,” Thurmond said. “He works so hard. He fights for every shot and it didn’t come easy for him this week, but he found a way also to get his first collegiate win. His practice round was a little shaky. He was not feeling great and he just battled and found a way to get better with each shot.”
The main headline coming into the weekend was how the two Utah native freshmen, Boston Bracken and Bowen Mauss, would deliver for the team at their home tournament. Bracken finished the tournament with an even par result, 69-74-70, which was good enough to crack the top 15 in the individual standings. Bracken shot 2-under in the first round and then shot 1-under in the third round, which both went toward the team score.
Mauss, on the other hand, finished 4-over-par, 69-79-69, which was just enough to secure 24th place. Mauss also contributed to the team score by shooting 2-under during both rounds one and three.
Both Mauss and Bracken finished inside the top 25, and with this tournament being decided by only a couple of strokes, the freshmen delivered when they were needed most.
Senior Michael Mjaaseth started the tournament off slowly with a score of 3-over-par heading into the third and final round, but the sleeping giant awoke in that last round. Mjaaseth went on to shoot 6-under-par and was a significant reason why the Sun Devils’ final push to the top was so effective.
Junior Fifa Laopakdee had a similar performance to Mjaaseth’s, starting on the wrong foot but ending with an exclamation point. After shooting 7-over-par in the second round and looking for a reset, Laopakdee finished the third round with a 5-under-par achievement, which, alongside Mjaaseth, launched the Maroon and Gold to the top of the leaderboard.
Next up for the Sun Devils is the Fighting Illini Invitational in Chicago, where they will return for their fourth consecutive year. The Maroon and Gold will be looking to repeat their success for a third consecutive tournament, which would be a monumental achievement for Thurmond’s squad.
