Trouble in paradise: ASU falters in Cabo San Lucas

(Photo: Darren Carroll/Sun Devil Athletics)

No. 7 Arizona State men’s golf faltered in the concluding round of The Cabo Collegiate, diverting the team from a possible top-three finish to a seventh-place result at even-par.

On Tuesday, at the Twin Dolphin Club, located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, ASU tied Loyola Maryland for the worst final round performance of any team at 11-over-par. The Sun Devils tallied four double bogeys and one quadruple bogey from freshman Boston Bracken, corroding the day for the defending Cabo Collegiate champions.

Entering the tournament, No. 5 Vanderbilt and the Sun Devils were viewed as the heavyweights, with each program combining for five wins so far over the course of the 2026 campaign, in addition to having four top-25 players.

However, both programs fell outside the top five at the Cabo Collegiate, with Vanderbilt occupying the 12th spot and ASU holding onto 7th.

ASU watched five squads ranked below it voyage ahead on the leaderboard during the final round, with the par-three scoring department cursing the Sun Devils’ attempt at fighting back.

ASU amassed a 13-over-par score on par threes, an area where even Loyola Maryland, which finished in last place with a 44-over-par result, fared better.

The Sun Devils posted 52 bogeys throughout the tournament, marking the third most in the field, erasing a bulk of the good work they created.

While par three tee boxes illustrated themselves as the main culprit of those bogeys, par fours weren’t any easier for ASU, shooting a combined eight-over-par on those holes.

Leading into the tournament, ASU senior golfer Michael Mjaaseth posted his collegiate career best round on Feb. 6 at the Amer Ari with a nine-under-par showing.

The two-time senior All-American carded three-under-par in the first and second rounds of the Cabo Collegiate, extending his established momentum from the prior tournament.

Unfortunately, the Norwegian fizzled out in the final round with a three-over-par performance. When comparing his rounds, Mjaaseth tallied six birdies in the first round and five in the second, but in the final round, he only managed one.

On the flip side, junior Connor Williams commenced the Cabo Collegiate with an even-par performance on day one instead of getting off to a blazing start like Mjaaseth.

Over the next two rounds, Williams secured a five-under-par performance, boosting him to eighth place in the individual leaderboard.

In the par 4 scoring sector, Williams capitalized with a five-under-par total, making him the fourth-best linksman of the field in the category.

Williams’ consistent play secured him as the only ASU golfer to not finish over-par in any round.

Other than Mjaaseth, Williams and freshman Bowen Mauss, who competed individually and finished 17th, none of the other Sun Devils claimed a result within the top 30.

Junior Fifa Laopakdee was one of the Sun Devils on the outside looking in, claiming 35th place, with each of his rounds being even-par or worse.

Due to his score, the Thai native failed to generate any scoring for the Sun Devils, halting any progress toward the summit of the leaderboard.

Laopakdee finished last of the seven Sun Devils who competed in the Amer Ari, finishing 59th, and in Cabo, he showed only narrow improvement, finishing fourth best of the six Sun Devils who competed.

Parallel to Laopakdee’s troubles, the freshmen duo of Bracken and Raul Gomez accumulated a 16-over-par showing in the final day.

After bursting onto the collegiate golfing scene with standout performances at the Copper Cup and the Amer Ari Invitational, Gomez hit his first roadblock in Cabo with a nine-over-par result, putting him in 60th.

To put Gomez’s performance into perspective, ASU ended the tournament with eight double bogeys, and Gomez himself recorded half of them.

Similar to Gomez, Bracken displayed his talents quickly after securing second place on Oct. 15 at the Oregon State Invitational and finished 33rd at the Amer Ari.

Unfortunately for the Utah native, Bracken gathered 13 bogeys, a quadruple bogey and only four birdies in his last two rounds at the Cabo Collegiate.

With the veteran talent of Mjaaseth and Williams continuing to steer the ship for ASU, along with Laopakdee showcasing flashes of potential, the team will need more players to step up and produce.

Luckily for the Sun Devils, many of the top-ranked teams in the field suffered the same fate as ASU, with Oklahoma State junior Preston Stout practically performing as a one-man show while his teammates struggled to find their footing.

The No. 7 Sun Devils signaled that they can start off strong in crucial tournaments, but keeping up with the heavy hitters continues to be their struggle.