What if I told you three years ago that the ASU men's golf team would become the school's best athletic program?
You probably wouldn't have believed it. Three years ago, ASU had one of its worst seasons ever and didn't even make a regional. But a roster overhaul under coach Tim Mickelson has resulted in a drastic turnaround.
How different? Six of nine golfers on that 2011-12 team were freshmen and the Sun Devils had six new players the next year.
We first saw ASU's potential in 2012-13. The Sun Devils surprised by advancing into the NCAA quarterfinals after an up-and-down season. Last year ASU was better but the team failed to even advance past the regional round.
Before the season, ASU had two tournament wins in three years under Mickelson. One was a tie and the other was a home victory.
The 2014-15 campaign has been an entirely different story — the team has turned into a juggernaut. ASU won five of its past six invitationals (the team also has three second-place finishes). The Sun Devils are ranked No. 2 by Golfstat, No. 4 by the coaches and No. 6 by Golfweek, and they have turned into a national championship contender.
The main reason, at least statistically for the team's success, is the 1-2 combination of junior Jon Rahm and Max Rottluff. The duo are ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, by Golfweek. Rahm has shot under par in his last seven collegiate tournaments. He also tied for fifth in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the best finish for an amateur in a PGA Tour event since 2008.
Rottluff has been a beacon of consistency as well, finishing all 10 of his tournaments under par (eight top-10 finishes).
Rahm (68.63) and Rottluff (68.97) are both ahead of ASU's single-season stroke average in 2014-15.
The Thunderbird Invitational didn't provide great competition for ASU, but the Sun Devils won by 25 strokes. ASU beat Arizona by 51 strokes.
"To win by 25, that many shots, it’s just incredible," Rahm said after his victory. "It just shows that not only two guys but all of us are playing great, we’re doing things the way we should be doing them and that we’re progressing each week. It’s just great to see what we’re doing."
What if I told you this team is the athletic program's best shot at glory?
I did.
Reach the sports editor at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter.
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