Arizona State holds on for slim San Diego Classic win
Mason Andersen (ASU Athletics/Twitter photo)
Consistency was the word of the week in San Diego as Arizona State earned a close victory at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic. The Sun Devils counted four individual top-10 finishes on their way to a one-shot team victory over Texas.
Arizona State has now won twice this season, in addition to logging five runner-up finishes. That has left their head-to-head record in good shape. It stands at 102-8-1. The Sun Devils are No. 4 in the
Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
The team built a 10-shot 36-hole lead by going 15 under on a double-round Monday at San Diego Country Club. As Texas logged a 4-under 284 in the final round – nine shots better than Arizona State’s final-round team score – the Sun Devils held on. Mason Andersen made three birdies over the final nine holes to help his team keep their collective heads above water. Arizona State finished the tournament at 10 under.
Andersen won the individual title in a playoff with St. Mary’s junior Blake Hathcoat and Texas freshman Cole Hammer.
"We weren't great down the stretch today but we were great enough to win," Arizona State head coach Matt Thurmond. "Mason put us on his back and carried us in. He was so funny down the stretch. He knew where everything stood and that both the individual and team victories were on his shoulders and he clutched up with birdies on 16-17 and big pars in regulation and in the playoff."
As for Texas, it was also a consistent week in San Diego. The Longhorns threw out several birdies in the home stretch, including three in a row at Nos. 13-15 by Hammer, followed by an eagle at No. 17. He bogeyed No. 18 to fall into the playoff. Interestingly, this is the second such playoff that Hammer has lost in the past two weeks, after falling to UNLV’s Jack Trent a week ago at the Southern Highlands Collegiate.
St. Mary’s finished third as a team, five shots behind Texas, while North Carolina was another shot back in fourth.
ABOUT THE
San Diego Lamkin Invitational
Collegiate event hosted by San Diego State and
played at their home course, San Diego Country
Club. Team (best four scores of five players each
day)
and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information