ASU men's golf finished third at the Tavistock Cup in Orlando, Florida, making that back-to-back top-5 team finishes in their last two tournaments.
"We are competing very hard and having a good time together," head coach Matt Thurmond said. "I think that we are great a putting team. This may be the best putting team I've ever coached."
Senior Jared du Toit led the way individually for the Sun Devils for the first time this year, tying for a 7th place finish after shooting five under par in the three-round event.
Through the first three tournaments of the fall golf season, ASU has had either du Toit or fellow senior Ki Taek Lee place in the top 10 for individual play.
"Jared and Ki are doing a great job establishing the culture we want to have," Thurmond said. "They prepare well. They have great attention to detail. They care about the younger players and are constantly teaching. When you have players bought into everything like that you have a chance to be great."
Taek Lee did not have his best performance in this tournament by tying for 36th, but he was co-champion in the Alister Mackenzie Invitational and finished 2nd at the Fighting Illini Invitational.
Thurmond touched on some of the fresh talent that ASU has incorporated into their roster, and for this tournament they had three first-year college golfers in the lineup.
Solid final round for a 3rd Place finish at Tavistock Collegiate.
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) October 18, 2016
8th du Toit
20th Wagoner
24th Del Rey Gonzalez
36th Lee
40th Truong
Freshman Blake Wagoner set the tone for this young assortment of skilled Sun Devil golfers by tying for 20th individually — shooting three over par.
"Blake is off to a good start," Thurmond said. "I just want him to keep working and learning. We'll see how good he can get."
Other freshmen Alex Del Rey Gonzalez and Anthony Truong didn't fall far behind Wagoner. Del Rey Gonzalez tied for 23rd and shot four over while Truong placed 41st and tallied an eight over par on the scorecard.
After ASU's first-place team finish at the Alister Mackenzie in Farifax, California, the team had to travel across the country for the Tavistock Cup in just under one week.
Playing two tournaments on opposite coasts can be challenging and ultimately catch up to anyone — no matter the experience or level of golf.
"Playing on both coasts in one week with completely different grasses and course designs is a great test for us," Thurmond said. "It isn't a surprise that the top teams, except for us, were from the Southeast. Cal had won their event on their home course (Alister Mackenzie) seven straight years so it was nice to win on their turf too."
ASU will have about a week and half before they travel to Princeville, Hawaii for the final tournament of the 2016 fall golf season. The Princeville Cup will take place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.
ASU men's golf will pick their season back up after the winter months for the Amer Ari Intercollegiate from the Feb. 2-4 in Kona, Hawaii.
Reach the reporter at thandlan@asu.edu or follow @Tyler_Handlan on Twitter.
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