Arizona State men’s golf ninth-year head coach Matt Thurmond will have his Sun Devils competing in 10 states and will travel to Mexico for the sixth time in seven years in 2024-25. The Sun Devils make visits to Washington, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, California, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Mexico and Florida.
PGA TOUR U PRESEASON RANKINGS
PGA TOUR University announced the preseason ranking for the Class of 2025, and Sun Devil Preston Summerhays is ranked No. 1 on the list of rising seniors eligible for PGA TOUR University in 2024-25. A four-time collegiate winner since arriving to campus, Summerhays has made 12 career starts in PGA TOUR sanctioned events. The two-time PING GCAA All-American started 2023-24 with a win in the 72-player field at the Sahalee Players Championship in September before becoming the first Sun Devil since Jon Rahm to win the Thunderbird Collegiate for a second consecutive season in April.
JOSELE BALLESTER WINS U.S. AMATEUR
Phil Mickelson. Billy Mayfair. Jeff Quinney. You can add Josele Ballester to the list of Sun Devils to win the most coveted amateur trophy in golf as he won the 124th U.S. Amateur Sunday afternoon 2-up over Iowa’s Noah Kent. He did it on his 21st birthday at Hazeltine in the 36-hole match. He was the only top 10 world amateur to reach the round of 16, as he took the lead on the second hole and never looked back. He joins Sun Devil Jon Rahm as the only players from Spain to win a USGA tournament, as Rahm won the U.S. Open in 2021. Ballester gained exemptions for the British Open, Masters and the U.S. Open next year. Ballester trailed at some point in each of his last three matches but never trailed in the final. He went 3 up after four holes after two early birdies and had a 4-up lead at the break.
BALLESTER’S ROAD TO THE FINAL
Stroke Play: Shot 68-71–141
Round of 64: Def. Ben James, 2 and 1
Round of 32: Def. Tiger Christensen, 3 and 1
Round of 16: Def. Christen Brand, 3 and 1
Quarterfinals: Def. Bobby Massa, 3 and 1
Semifinals: Def. Luis Masaveu 3 and 2
Championship: Def. Noah Ken, 2-up
ABOUT THE RANKINGS
The Sun Devils are ranked second in the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll behind only defending national champion Auburn. Other Big 12 teams ranked are Arizona (14), Texas Tech (15) and Oklahoma State (20).
THE SCHEDULE…
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SAHALEE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (SEPT. 7-8)/SAMMAMISH, WA/SAHALEE COUNTRY CLUB
The reigning individual champion, Preston Summerhays, returns to Washington after receiving a spot in the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California during the 2023-24 season. The Sun Devils finished second at 7-over, eight shots back of Illinois. Matt Thurmond and associate head coach Thomas Sutton both coached at Washington and had much success, and they will return to the state to open the 2024-25 season.
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FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL (SEPT. 20-22)/OLYMPIA FIELDS, IL/OLYMPIA FIELDS COUNTRY CLUB
After a disappointing weather cancelation last year, the Sun Devils head back to Illinois to get a different outcome. ASU finished tied for fifth after 36 holes with Josele Ballester finishing at 2-under to lead the Sun Devils. In 2009, ASU won the title with Scott Pinckney leading the way for Randy Lein’s squad.
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BEN HOGAN COLLEGIATE (SEPT. 30-OCT. 1)/FORT WORTH, TX/COLONIAL GOLF CLUB
After back-to-back third place finishes at the Collegiate, ASU makes its return to Texas.
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BIG 12 MATCH PLAY (OCT. 7-9)/HOCKLEY, TX/THE CLUBS AT HOUSTON OAKS
New conference, new tournament. The Sun Devils aim to make a good first impression as they head to Hockley for their first Big 12 tournament.
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WILLIAMS CUP (OCT. 19-21)/WILMINGTON, N.C./EAGLE POINT GOLF CLUB
The final tournament of the fall campaign takes place in North Carolina, where the Sun Devils finished third during the 23-24 season. Josele Ballester was the highest placed finisher, shooting even after three rounds to take ninth.
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THE AMER ARI INTERCOLLEGIATE (FEB. 6-8)/PUAKO, HI/MAUNA LANI GOLF RESORT
Wenyi Ding made history at last year’s Amer Ari Intercollegiate, finishing 27-under to take first by nine strokes. Ding tied the lowest round shot by a Sun Devil in the third round, shooting 10-under and had the lowest Sun Devil 54-hole tournament final score in school history. As a team, ASU placed second, but put together their best three-round tournament score in history at 63-under.
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THE CABO COLLEGIATE (MARCH 2-4)/CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO/TWIN DOLPHIN
The defending champions look to make it a 2-peat at this year’s Collegiate. The team won the 2024 tournament by nine strokes, and had three top-10 finishers, led by Preston Summerhays who finished third after shooting an 8-under 205.
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PAUMA VALLEY INVITATIONAL (MAR. 17-18)/PAUMA VALLEY, CA/PAUMA VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB
Hosted by UCLA, the Sun Devils compete in the Invitational for the first time.
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VALSPAR INVITATIONAL (MAR. 24-25)/WEST PALM BEACH, FL/FLORIDIAN
Wenyi Ding and Ryggs Johnston both had top-10 finishes at the Valspar Invitational after a third place team finish.
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MARIDOE INVITATIONAL (MAR. 31-APR. 1)/CARROLLTON, TX/MARIDOE
The University of North Texas hosts the sixth annual Maridoe Invitational.
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ASU THUNDERBIRD COLLEGIATE (APRIL 11-12)/PHOENIX, AZ/PAPAGO GOLF CLUB
The Sun Devils will host the prestigious Thunderbird Collegiate. ASU put together a second-consecutive Thunderbird Collegiate team title in 2024 and Preston Summerhays repeated as the individual champion. The team finished at 38-under to win by 28 strokes, the largest margin of victory by any team at the tournament since at least 2000. Summerhays was the first golfer to win the tournament back-to-back since Jon Rahm won three-straight from 2014-16.
SUN DEVIL INDIVIDUAL THUNDERBIRD COLLEGIATE WINNERS
Preston Summerhays – 2024, 2023
James Leow – 2022
Chun An Yu – 2019
Jon Rahm – 2016, 2015, 2014
Stephan Gross – 2009 (co-medalist)
Alejandro Canizares – 2003
Paul Casey – 2001
Jeff Quinney – 2000
Todd Demsey – 1995
Larry Barber – 1994
Phil Mickelson – 1992, 1991
Jim Carter – 1984
Mark Sollenberger – 1974
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BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP (APR. 22-24)/TULSA, OK/SOUTHERN HILLS
Another new tournament courtesy of a new conference. Hopefully the 2024 Pac-12 Champions can use their prior knowledge and carry it forward into the Big 12.
NCAA REGIONAL (MAY 12-14)/LOCATION TBD
After a disappointing finish, the 2023-24 season ended for Sun Devil Men’s Golf at the NCAA Regional, the team is hungry to make it back to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad.
2024 NCAA MEN’S GOLF REGIONAL HOSTS
Amherst, Virginia/Poplar Grove Golf Course
Bremerton, Washington/Gold Mountain Golf Club
Fayetteville, Arkansas/The Blessings Golf Club
Reno, Nevada/Montreux Golf and Country Club
Stillwater, Oklahoma/Karsten Creek Golf Club
Tallahassee, Florida/Seminole Legacy Golf Club
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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP (MAY 23-28)/CARLSBAD, CA/OMNI LA COSTA RESORT & SPA)
The last appearance for the Sun Devils at the NCAA Championship was in 2022 where the team reached the finals ultimately falling 3-2 against Texas, and then made another run at match play in 2023. The runner-up result in 2022 was the program’s best finish nationally since the 1996 championship season. ASU will look to claim its third NCAA championship, as it won titles in 1990 and 1996.
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Players Mentioned
Ryggs Johnston
6′ 3″ Graduate Student
Wenyi Ding
Freshman
Josele Ballester
6′ 0″ Senior
Preston Summerhays
6′ 2″ Senior