Home-field advantage can often be a major one in sports.
The roaring of fans or the familiarity of facilities can often mean a slight edge for the home team in a closely contested matchup.
But perhaps no college sport provides a better advantage to the hosts than golf.
Whether it is knowledge of a slight tilt located on a green or the know-how to maneuver a dog-leg left, playing on a familiar course can be a big help for the team that walks its fairways on a daily basis.
The ASU men’s golf team is counting on those advantages Friday when it hosts the 38th Thunderbird Invitational at Karsten Golf Course, which will feature a 15-team field comprised of some of the top lineups in the country.
The No. 9 Sun Devils have often taken advantage of their familiarity with the hilly, par-71 7,057-yard course, constructed in 1989 by golf architect Pete Dye, winning the event 15 times, including 10 times in coach Randy Lein’s 17 seasons at the helm.
ASU won last season’s tournament by shooting a 14-under 838, with former Sun Devil Stephan Gross sharing medalist honors New Mexico’s Steve Saunders at 3-under par.
The host squad has reeled off the tournament victory in seven of the past 11 seasons.
The Sun Devils said they are anxious to tee off at Karsten, knowing a strong showing could right the ship as the team draws closer to postseason play.
“Hopefully we win this,” junior Jesper Kennegard said. “It feels good that we have two tournaments coming up on our home course — it’s a good thing.”
The Pac-10 Championships, slated to begin April 26, will also take place at Karsten Golf Course.
This weekend’s tournament welcomes some of the nation’s toughest competition, including No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Washington, No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 UNLV, No. 12 USC, No. 23 California and No. 25 Oregon State.
Few players in the nation have been playing better than Kennegard. The junior has finished in the top 10 in each of the team’s past three tournaments, including a win at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters on March 14 — the third victory of his collegiate career — a performance that earned him Golf World Player of the Week honors.
Starting alongside Kennegard for ASU this weekend will be seniors Braxton Marquez and Knut Borsheim and juniors James Byrne and Scott Pinckney.
Thirty-six holes of the tournament, which is free to the public, will be played by the teams on Friday with the final round of 18 scheduled for Saturday.
Live scoring of the event can be found at golfstat.com.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
