It's a hyper-competitive atmosphere for ASU men's golf under new head coach Matt Thurmond.
The No. 19 Sun Devils begin their season on Friday at the Fighting Illini Invitational in Chicago. Before that, however, Thurmond held an eight-round qualifier for his team's starting lineup.
"We played eight rounds, tournament golf, with the 10 players on our team," Thurmond said. "Eye-opener at the beginning of the year. Coaches were picking, and I'm just letting them decide with their clubs."
After the qualifier was completed, first place through fifth (in that order) was senior Jared Du Toit, junior transfer Ryan Douglass, senior Ki Taek Lee, freshman Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez and freshman Blake Wagoner. This is the starting lineup for the opening tournament.
Du Toit kept his hot summer of play going with a 28-under par in what Thurmond named "the scorcher." Douglass had an impressive showing as well with a 20-under par in his first unofficial event for the maroon and gold.
“It’s been a long road for Ryan (Douglass)," Thurmond said. "He did a great job at South Mountain and played well there and was successful, an All-American and regional champion. He’s a good player. He’s better than ever.”
Apart from du Toit and Lee, essentially the entire lineup along with the coaching staff is new for ASU. Assistant coach Van Williams is one of those newcomers who brings national experience at the highest level.
Williams was on the University of Oregon staff last season where he helped the Ducks win the 2016 NCAA team and individual titles (Aaron Wise).
“The best thing Van brings is just he loves his players a lot, and he believes in them,” Thurmond said. “Van has such awesome energy about him that the guys feel it … I’m happy to have him and that is a great first recruit for me.”
The Sun Devils will be playing at the Olympia Fields Country Club — a U.S. Open during the three-day, 54-hole tournament from Sept. 16-18.
It's early in the season, but the expectations for a prestigious golf powerhouse like ASU are high. According to Thurmond, this field may be the toughest they face all year.
“We are going to play to win, that’s the way we play,” Thurmond said. “We’re a good team and we’re a talented team, but it’s not the kind of field if you are not in the first couple that you’ve failed by any means. This is the best teams in the country.”
This team had a complete overhaul of its roster and coaching staff from just a short season ago, but there's plenty of excitement for the Sun Devils.
“We got two new coaches and guys that have never played a college tournament," Thurmond said. "There are so many unknowns, I can’t wait to kind of see what we do. I’ll be more alert and focused these first couple of rounds probably than I’ve been in many years. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Reach the reporter at thandlan@asu.edu or follow @Tyler_Handlan on Twitter.
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