Paced by another top-10 finish by junior Jesper Kennegard, the No. 9 ASU men’s golf team finished third at the USC Invitational, which concluded Tuesday afternoon at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.
ASU finished at 3-under, two shots behind second-place California, but well behind event champion Oregon, which won going away at 21-under par.
It was the first top-5 finish of the season for ASU.
Kennegard, who has been ASU’s top finisher in each of the Sun Devils’ three spring tournaments, opened the event with back-to-back rounds of 3-under 68 before experiencing some struggles on his way to a final-round 3-over 74.
Still, Kennegard finished in a tie for eighth for his second straight top-10 finish. The Sweden native, who earned All-American honorable mention honors as a freshman, is on pace to top that distinction this season.
The Sun Devils also received a welcomed strong performance from junior James Byrne.
After dominating European amateur tournaments last summer, Byrne has struggled to break through for ASU this season.
But the Scotland native posted second and third round scores of 2-under 69 to finish at 1-under on the tournament, good enough for a 16th-place tie.
Junior Scott Pinckney sat just behind Kennegard after two rounds and began the final 18 holes tied for sixth, but a rough 6-over 77 Tuesday dropped him to 1-over and a tie for 25th.
Sophomore Spencer Fletcher finished with a 7-over 220 and senior Knut Borsheim tallied an 11-over 224 to round out the scoring for the Sun Devils.
As was the goal for ASU heading into the tournament, coach Randy Lein’s squad jumped out to a blistering start, shooting the field’s second-lowest round on day one.
But the Sun Devils missed a chance to move up, posting their lowest round on the final 18 holes.
Not that there would have been any catching Oregon, which placed three golfers in the top five, including medalist Eugene Wong at 10-under.
ASU will have 10 days off before competing in its next tournament, the Southern Highlands Invitational in Las Vegas, Calif.
Women in fourth
After two rounds of the Bruin/Wave Invitational, the No. 1 ASU women’s team is tied for fourth place, six shots behind leader UCLA.
A collection of missed short putts spelled trouble for the Sun Devils during Monday’s first round, but behind a 3-under 69 from freshman Jennifer Johnson, ASU shot the lowest score in field Tuesday to climb back into contention for today’s final 18 holes.
Johnson and sophomore Carlota Ciganda are tied for fifth overall.
Live scoring of the tournament can be found at golfstat.com.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
