After what was likely one of the most exciting moments of his golf career two weeks ago, senior Braxton Marquez will now have an opportunity to do what he’s been working toward all season.
He will have a chance to help his team as it tries to win its first national championship since 1996.
Marquez was one of the best stories to come out of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, making the cut as an amateur at the same tournament he used to attend with his father, who passed away last year after a short battle with cancer.
Now, for the first time this season, as the result of a game that continues to evolve, Marquez will be a member of the five-man lineup for the No. 9 Sun Devils when they tee off Friday at the Southern Highlands Invitational in Las Vegas.
“I think after the Phoenix Open, which was a dream come true for him, it took [Marquez] about a week to settle back down to earth,” ASU coach Randy Lein said. “Now he’s doing what he wants to be doing, and that’s playing good golf and helping this team try to win a national championship in June.”
Marquez’s roommates, juniors Scott Pinckney and James Byrne, will also be in the lineup, along with junior Jesper Kennegard and senior Knut Borsheim.
Lein said he and assistant coach Mickey Yokoi believe this will be the lineup that gives ASU its best chance to win tournaments when the postseason rolls around in about a month.
The Sun Devils are coming off their best finish of the season, a third place showing at the USC Invitational on March 2.
“We got off to a better start, which hurt us in Hawaii and [our tournament] at Newport Beach,” Lein said. “We emphasized getting off to a great start so we would have an opportunity to finish where we wanted.”
Kennegard rolled up his second straight top-10 finish of the year at the USC Invitational (tied for eighth) and has staked his claim as one of the top golfers in the nation.
“He’s legitimately on pace for All-American recognition,” Lein said.
ASU will tee off at the Southern Highlands Golf Club at 8 a.m. Friday with a first day pairing against Georgia and Texas Tech.
Pac-10 foes No. 11 UCLA, No. 18 USC and UA will also be competing.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
