Blustery weather leftover from Hurricane Wilma toyed with golfers at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational Tuesday outside of Orlando, Fla.
Shutting down tournament play all day Monday wasn't enough to eliminate poor conditions as Tuesday's wind forced final-round scores to skyrocket.
The ASU men's golf team proved to be no exception as it posted a 27-over 315 final round. Despite the high score, the Sun Devils jumped from fifth after two rounds to end the tournament tied for fourth with Wake Forest at 35-over 899.
"The course is long to begin with, even in perfect conditions, and it was very, very windy," ASU coach Randy Lein said.
Teams hustled to squeeze in two 18-hole rounds on Sunday, as the tournament canceled competition Monday to allow Wilma to pass over Florida.
ASU senior Charly Simon, making his first tournament appearance of the season, said that the break in play might have tapped some of the team's building momentum.
"When you have a day off in the middle of a tournament it slows you," Simon said. "We felt like we had some momentum after shooting such a good second round."
The Sun Devils shot a second-round even-par 288, which helped them climb from ninth to fifth after shooting an 8-over 296 earlier in the day.
Tuesday's windy conditions proved too much for the Sun Devils and the entire 18-school field, however, as all schools posted numbers well over their second-round efforts.
Simon finished the tournament tied for 66th after posting high numbers in rounds one and three. He shot an even-par 72 during Sunday's second round, improving as the day went on.
"My first round back competing was tough, but then I picked it up in the second round and felt much more comfortable," Simon said.
Freshman Benjamin Alvarado led ASU on the course, finishing in a tie for 11th place at 5-over 221. The outing marks his second top-20 finish in his first three tournaments as a Sun Devil.
Lein said that such a finish was impressive considering the conditions that all golfers faced throughout the final round.
"There were par-fours that players couldn't get to in two strokes, and hole locations were still set up like it was the last day of a tournament," he said.
Alejandro Canizares ran into a speed bump Tuesday after being just one of eight golfers under par after round two. He carded a 10-over 82 in the final round, pushing him back to a tie for 26th place.
Niklas Lemke faired well coming off his best finish in maroon and gold at the Big Ten/Pac 10 Challenge, playing through the wind. Lemke jumped from 40th to a tie for 22nd place Tuesday, just missing his second consecutive top-20 finish.
Reach the reporter at michael.fowler@asu.edu.
