(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)
Arizona State senior golfer Michael Mjaaseth stood on the 18th tee box, a par-5 at Sahalee Country Club, tied with No. 3 Texas during the final round. The Norwegian calmly delivered under pressure, carding a clutch birdie to secure a nail-biting victory for No. 6 Arizona State men’s golf in its season-opening tournament.
ASU finished the weekend at 3-over par, capturing back-to-back titles at the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Washington. Mjaaseth, ranked No. 8 on PGA Tour University, led the charge with a top-five individual finish.
Last year’s Sahalee win was spearheaded by standout performances from now-professionals Josele Ballester (LIV Golf) and Preston Summerhays (Korn Ferry Tour), who tied for second. This year, the Sun Devils had to write a new script, leaning on the experience of the returning upperclassmen. Mjaaseth, along with the junior duo Fifa Laopakdee and Connor Williams, provided steady leadership.
Laopakdee finished with a strong T6 performance at even-par. The junior led all players with 15 birdies and was the only one to finish under par in par-4 scoring over the weekend. Williams, currently ranked No. 23 in World Amateur Golf Rankings, bounced back from a first-round 77 to finish tied for 13th, capping off a resilient team effort that set the tone for the season ahead.
The Sun Devils turned heads in the second round, firing off an 11-under team score, the best single-round mark of any team in the tournament. All four starters shot even-par or better in the dominant showing.
Over the entire tournament, ASU was the only team to be in the top three of par-3, par-4, and par-5 scoring. It wasn’t a flashy win from the maroon and gold, but they stayed fundamentally sound in a gritty win.
It was win No. 27 for GCAA Hall of Famer coach Matt Thurmond, who’s entering his 10th season with the Sun Devils. Thurmond had a lot of turnover this offseason, graduating the two aforementioned stars and molding three freshmen into the ASU culture.
A pleasant surprise for the Sun Devils was freshman Bowen Mauss, who finished inside the top-20, highlighted by a second round of six-under. The Utah native won the Utah Amateur Championship this summer before arriving in Tempe.
The only other player to start in team competition was freshman Boston Bracken in the first round. Bracken shot a 75 in his first collegiate start but didn’t play for the rest of the weekend.
Bracken was committed to play at ASU last year but embarked on a religious mission, delaying his arrival in Tempe. The other freshman Coach Thurmond recruited was Kent Karlstrom, who didn’t play at Sahalee as an individual.
Sophomore Peer Wernicke played individually for the tournament, finishing at 19-over in 63rd place.
The Sun Devils have a packed September with three more events remaining in their schedule this month. Up next is the inaugural Wohali Classic in Utah, home of the two freshmen, Mauss and Bracken.
The field has no teams inside the top-10 of the Preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll, giving ASU a chance to start off the season with two straight wins, something it hasn’t done since the 2019-2020 season.
