Battling the wind, along with thick and unpredictable rough around the greens, the No. 18 ASU men's golf team saved its best round for the toughest conditions of the 2007 Thunderbird Invitational.
ASU fired a 5-under 283 in Sunday's final round of play.
Although the Sun Devils turned in the low-round of the tournament's final 18 holes, the final-round comeback was not enough to catch Oregon, which held off ASU by three strokes.
The Ducks finished the Invitational at 20-under par 844, capturing their first tournament of the season.
By beating a field of ranked teams, Oregon has almost assured itself a spot in the postseason.
"It just shows how much parity is in college golf," ASU coach Randy Lein said of the surprise champions. "Oregon played really well - 20-under par is a really good score."
The narrow margin of defeat certainly frustrated the Sun Devils, but did not leave them hanging their heads.
"We're all disappointed that we didn't win," Lein said. "But we're pleased with how we played today, shooting the low round of the day in the toughest conditions."
Helping out with his team's win, Oregon's Derek Sipe jumped out to a nice lead after the first two rounds of play, opening with 65 and 66 on his scorecard. But Sipe finished with a disappointing 1-over par 73 on Sunday to finish in second place individually.
Charlie Beljan of New Mexico shot a 4-under par 68 to finish 15-under par 201 for the tournament, giving him a three-stroke win over Sipe.
ASU's highest individual finish was again courtesy of the No. 2 ranked player in the nation, senior All-American Niklas Lemke, who finished with an 8-under par 208 to tie for fifth place.
Lemke rebounded nicely after an opening round of even par to shoot 8-under in two rounds.
Just like the last tournament, the ASU's fellow All-American, sophomore Benjamin Alvarado Holley, finished one stroke behind Lemke at 7-under par 207.
ASU senior Fred Andersson finished at 1-under par, freshman Knut Borsheim shot a 4-over par, and sophomore Steele DeWald posted a 6-over par, to round out the Sun Devils lineup.
Borsheim might have finished even par, if it wasn't for a costly mistake on the final hole.
"Knut had a pretty solid tournament again, but he made an 8 on 18, after he hit two balls off the tee into the water," Lein said.
Besides Borsheim's struggles, ASU had numerous chances to fire lower scores and win the tournament.
Most of the improvement could have been done on the course's opening holes.
Lein said most players feel like they are giving strokes to the field if they aren't a few stokes under par after the first six holes.
ASU only managed to go 6-under par with five players on those first six holes during the tournament.
Up next will be a chance for revenge, as the Sun Devils will travel to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the Pac-10 Championships.
When asked what will be different condition-wise next week, Lein said the conditions could be windy with the possibility of rain.
The biggest challenge will be the 80-foot trees scattered throughout the course.
"It's going to be a great conference championship, with some very good teams," Lein said.
Reach the reporter at:edward.price@asu.edu.
