The No.26 ASU men's golf team finished 12th in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational hosted by the University of Central Florida on Tuesday with a 18-over par (882) on the scorecard.
This was the Sun Devils' last tournament of the fall season, which consisted of 54 holes over three days. Over half of the teams competing shot even or over par in the invitational. LSU, University of North Carolina and Texas Tech all ranked ahead of ASU.
In the team's fourth and final tournament of the fall season, freshman Mason Andersen finished fifth, as he picked up his second top-10 finish of his Sun Devil career.
"We had some great momentum going after the first nine today but just couldn’t keep it together," head coach Matt Thurmond said. "We’ve played really tough courses this fall and that’s allowed us to see where we are."
Andersen was climbing the leaderboard throughout all three rounds and wrapped up his second top-10 finish of the fall season, shooting 5-under par (211) and completing all three rounds under the 72 par listed at the Isleworth Country Club.
"Mason had a breakthrough week. He managed his emotions and strategy so well," Thurmond said. "He has potential to be really special and developing more understanding of his thoughts and emotions is a huge step to getting him there. That’s a great field on a tough course and he just finished top five. That’s huge for us."
The other Sun Devils struggled to match Andersen on the leaderboard. Sophomore Alex Del Rey finished tied for 48th (+7), freshman Paul Chaplet and sophomore Blake Wagoner finished tied for 60th (+10) and freshman Koichiro Ishika finished tied for 68th (+12).
"Now we have a lot to work on and I look forward to all that," Thurmond said. "We will improve and have a great season. These guys care a lot and will do what it takes to improve and thrive."
The Sun Devils will have four months off before their next tournament as the spring season begins with the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii on Feb. 1-3.
Reach the reporter at sbemanue@asu.edu or follow @SebastianEman24 on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
