(Photo: Thomas Fernandez/Sun Devil Athletics)
SCOTTSDALE – Arizona State senior Josele Ballester is staying in town to compete in the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, while Arizona State Men’s Golf will kick off its spring season on Thursday in Puako, Hawaii, at the Amer Ari Invitational.
Ballester, ranked No. 2 in PGA TOUR University, earned a sponsor exemption and will tee off in his first PGA Tour event. The “People’s Open” is a staple of the PGA Tour season with a packed field including 2024 PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler.
“I’d like to show myself that I’m able to compete among the best players in the world,” said Ballester. “It’s going to be tough with all the crowd and all the people out there, but I always say the same; I play for myself and hopefully I can demonstrate that I’m able to belong to this group.”
Ballester has the Masters on his schedule as well after earning the trip to Augusta with his win at Hazeltine Golf Club last summer. The reigning U.S. Amateur champion did play in The Open Championship in 2023, but missed the cut.
“I had the opportunity to play at The Open Championship 2023… and I felt that I didn’t even play good,” Ballester said. “This year, almost like 18 months after, I feel like my game has became better. I’ve matured as a golfer and as a person.”
For the Sun Devils, they are back in Hawaii for the second year in a row playing at The Dunes at Maui Lanai. They placed second last year with Wenyi Ding winning the event. The 2024 tournament included record breaking scores from UNC who shot a 68-under to edge out ASU’s 63-under score.
Former Sun Devil Wenyi Ding, who now plays on the DP World Tour, left his mark on the tournament last year, shooting 27-under, believed to be the lowest 54-hole tournament score in collegiate golf history. The 63-under from ASU was their best tournament score in school history.
Every golfer on the roster not including Ballester traveled to Hawaii for the tournament aiming to start the spring season off on the right foot. The roster is headlined by senior Preston Summerhays, currently No. 4 in PGA TOUR University. Despite struggling in the fall, Summerhays played in the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic last month and finished 2-under, the best finish of any amateur.
The other upperclassmen on the squad is junior Michael Mjaaseth who played best in the Big 12 Match Play, going 3-1-0. In stroke-play events Mjaaseth struggled with his best finish being T19 at the Williams Cup, but can change that narrative in the new season.
The rest of the roster includes three sophomores and the lone freshman. Sophomore Connor Williams stars the underclassmen after taking a big step forward in the fall. Williams earned three top-10 finishes including a tie for second at the Williams Cup.
The solo freshman Peer Wernicke started his nascent college career successfully with a pair of top-15 finishes and led the maroon and gold to their third place finish at the Big 12 Match Play.
Sophomores Nick Prieto and Fifa Laopakdee round out the roster. The duo didn’t get much action in the fall and will be battling it out for the fifth lineup spot in Hawaii.
The Amer Ari Invitational is a three-day event finishing on Saturday. A plethora of schools are their most notably UNC, Auburn and Texas. It includes eight of the top 25 teams in the Bushnell/Golfweek D1 Coaches Poll.
“Well, the boys are in Hawai’i right now, so I know they’re going to be having fun over there,” Ballester said. “Unfortunately they’re not going to be here to support me, but hopefully they’ll be watching on TV.”
