(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
No. 10 Arizona State men’s golf entered Prairie Dunes Country Club in Kansas looking to tack on to its 13 conference titles from its Pac-12 days, while adding its first-ever Big 12 title after a narrow second-place finish to Oklahoma last season.
Despite their fiery final round charge, the Sun Devils (290/286/285/280) ultimately fell well short of their hopes of being Big 12 champions, finishing in ninth place with a score of 21-over-par. No. 5 Oklahoma State (279/267/275/) was able to defend its title on Wednesday at 12-under-par, fending off a charge from Arizona.
ASU struggled through the first three rounds of play, going five-over-par or worse in all three. The Sun Devils were able to charge back into the top ten in the final round on a tough day for scoring, where they carded their best score of the weekend at even par.
Junior Fifa Laopakdee led the way for the Sun Devils, being the only player to finish inside the top-15. Laopakdee played consistent golf but couldn’t quite get hot. The Thai native’s lowest score was even par, while his worst was one-over-par.
Laopakdee was up and down all weekend long, including a first round of five bogeys, 3 birdies and an eagle for a final score of even par. The junior’s presence was missed at the Thunderbird Collegiate while he was playing at The Masters, and this weekend proved exactly why.
Freshman Boston Bracken (70/73/72/69) also played well for the Maroon and Gold, finishing in 19th, firing a three-over-par final score, including a one-under-par final round. Bracken was one of the most consistent scoring Sun Devils throughout the weekend, with his worst score being three-over-par on Tuesday.
Senior Micheal Mjaaseth also had a solid showing in his final Big 12 Championship, finishing two shots behind Bracken at five-over-par and in 26th place. The Norwegian played even par through the final two rounds, helping him work back from a rocky start.
Junior Connor Williams was the real shocking struggle of the week, firing 14-over-par across the four rounds, slotting him in 58th place. Williams’ struggles were really a byproduct of one bad 18-hole stretch — his 11-over-par opening round.
Williams did recover nicely to go three-over-par across his final three rounds, but the hole he dug himself was simply too deep. The nation’s 25th-ranked player’s production has been the backbone for the Sun Devils all season and his struggles put ASU behind the eight ball.
The junior’s performance came with even more sorrow after a solo second-place finish at the tournament last year, which had his expectations in Kansas sky high.
Freshmen Bowen Mauss and Raul Gomez also made appearances, with the two tagging each other in and out throughout the tournament. The Big 12 Championship allows for each team to have one sub, meaning the two were able to switch throughout the week.
Mauss and Gomez were not able to place in the individual standings because they did not participate in the whole tournament.
Mauss played in three out of four rounds, but after an opening round eight-over-par, head coach Matt Thurmond elected to play Gomez on day two. Mauss returned to the lineup for days three and four and played much better with rounds of three-over-par and one-over-par.
Gomez’s second day start also saw its fair share of struggles with seven bogeys on the card, en route to a five-over-par finish.
The two freshmen struggling, in addition to the struggles of Williams, were the main factor in the team’s middle-of-the-field performance. However, with three freshmen starting in the Big 12 Title tournament, the young squad has a lot of upside in the future.
Oklahoma State came into the week as the defending Big 12 Champions and emerged with the same title. The Cowboys dominated, topping the leaderboard by eight strokes, claiming the tournament with a score of ten-under-par.
The defending champions also claimed the defending individual champion in junior Preston Stout, who also defended his title from last year. Stout fired a four-round score of 11-under-par to claim the win. BYU’s freshman Kihei Akina finished in second, three shots back at eight-under.
After finishing one place behind Oklahoma State last year, finishing eight places off the Cowboys and barely inside the top 10 feels like a significant fall off for the Sun Devils in 2026.
ASU will likely have a chance to compete at regionals in just over a week, given its high ranking. If the Sun Devils do qualify, they could be competing close to home as one of the regional sites is The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Arizona. NCAA Regionals are slated to take place from May 19-21.
