Sophomore Austin Quick reads the green prior to attempting a putt during the ASU Thunderbird Invitational last April. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)After qualifying for the postseason every year since 1983, the ASU men's golf team was disappointed when its consecutive postseason came into an end in 2012.
ASU had qualified for the postseason in 28 straight seasons, but a change of coaches in the 2011 summer and a team led by mostly freshmen were unable to extend the impressive streak.
Despite having five freshmen on the roster last season, the 2012-13 team will look immensely different than the prior one.
“Well you’re going to see a vastly different team,” coach Tim Mickelson said. “We’ve got six new players — all of which are very talented.”
One newcomer is freshman Alberto Sanchez, who qualified for the U.S. Open on the PGA Tour at just 17 years old last summer — but he’s not even in the starting lineup to open the season.
“(Sanchez) is a great kid, great player,” Mickelson said. “I certainly think he’s going to be a big addition to our golf program. He can (shoot) very low on the golf course, which is an intangible that’s tough to teach. He’s very comfortable being five, six, (or seven) shots under par.
“We’re certainly looking forward to getting him in the lineup.”
ASU hopes the newcomers can spark a radically improved team. Mickelson said he wouldn’t be surprised to see this team back in the top 25, although the Sun Devils are not currently ranked in the preseason poll.
“This team certainly has enough talent to get back into the national championship,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson said he was eager to see all his new players compete and to turn the page past the year when the streak ended.
“I’m pretty excited about all of them (newcomers),” Mickelson said. “We’ve got an incoming freshman from Germany named Max, who ended up winning qualifying for our first tournament. He’s ranked about 80th in the world in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“We have a kid named John Rodriquez who had an excellent summer. (He’s) pretty talented. He’s actually about 20th in the World Amateur ranking. Our core of freshmen are exceptional golfers that are certainly going to help out quite a bit in the lineup.”
To counter the fresh crop of players, ASU returns two starters from last year. Each is poised to have big seasons in the upcoming year.
Sophomore Austin Quick finished second at the ASU Thunderbird Invitation in April, and sophomore Mathias Schjoelberg led the team in scoring average last year.
Notes:
- Until last year, ASU qualified for every regional since regional play began in 1989.
- Only once, in 2002, did ASU not qualify for the NCAAs after playing in regionals.
- Sophomore David Lowe transferred to Notre Dame in the offseason, while sophomore Stan Gautier transferred to Kansas in the summer.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Janssen@asu.edu
