Courtesy of Arizona State Athletics
The Arizona State Sun Devils played every part of the second-ranked team in the country on Tuesday, closing with a 4-under 284 to take the team title at the Isleworth Collegiate in Windemere, Fla.
It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Sun Devils, who finished at 11-under 853 to fend off a hard-charging Illinois team by two strokes to claim their first title of the season. ASU opened an 11-stroke lead on the field after carding a 277 in the first round but slipped back into a tie with Auburn after coming in at 4-over 292 on Monday.
On championship Tuesday, the Sun Devils used under-par rounds by
Mason Andersen (70),
David Puig (71),
Ryggs Johnston (71) and an even-par 72 by freshman Preston Summerhays to secure the team title.
Illinois, which began the day four strokes back, turned in the lowest round of the day at 6-under 282 but came up two shots shy of the Sun Devils.
The Illini will be taking some hardware back to Champaign, however, as sophomore
Piercen Hunt birdied two of his last three holes for a final round 68 to come from six shots back to win his first title as a collegian.
Cameron Sisk of Arizona State took a two-stroke lead into the final round over
Jack Wall of South Carolina, but Sisk fell out of contention with a 77 while Wall stumbled to a 74, leaving the door upon to a pack of pursuers.
It was Hunt who seized the opportunity. After opening his round with a birdie, the Wisconsin Amateur champion made an eagle on the par-5 seventh and then moved to 4-under on the day with a birdie on 10. Dropped strokes on 12 and 13 moved him back to 2-under on the day and 5-under for the tournament, but birdies on 16 and 17 got him back to 7-under for the tournament, which was good for a one-stroke victory over defending champion
Johnny Travale of Central Florida.
Travale, a two-time winner already this season, shot a final-round 69 to climb five spots up the leaderboard into second place.
Second Round Recap; Oct. 18
It was moving day at the Isleworth Collegiate and the Auburn Tigers did just that, firing a 7-under round of 281 to move into a tie for first place with Arizona State in Windemere, Fla.
The 21st-ranked Tigers rode three under-par rounds by Kentucky Amateur champion
J.M. Butler (69), Orlando native
Brendan Valdes (69) and
Austin Coggin (71) along with an even par 72 by
Alex Vogelsong to pull even with the second-ranked Sun Devils at 7-under 569. ASU followed Sunday's 11-under opening round with a 4-over 292 on Monday to lose the solo lead.
Illinois remains within striking distance at 3-under 573 after carding a 4-under second round of 284.
Cameron Sisk of Arizona State followed his opening round 67 with a 68 on Monday and at 9-under 135, holds a two-stroke lead over
Jack Wall of South Carolina heading into Tuesday's final round.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart of Illinois shot his way into contention with a second-round 67, which moving the senior from Villers la Ville, Belgium 14 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for third place at 5-under 139. After starting his round with a bogey, Dumont de Chassart answered quickly with a birdie on the par-3 second and went on to add three more birdies and an eagle for a round of 67.
Auburn, Arizona State and Illinois will be paired for Tuesday's final round.
Round One Recap; Oct. 17
Behind rounds 5-under rounds by Cameron Sisk and Preston Summerhays, the Arizona State Sun Devils shot an 11-under 277 for the first round of the Isleworth Collegiate being held at Isleworth Country Club in Windemere, Fla.
The second-ranked Sun Devils enjoy a comfortable 11-stroke lead over No. 21 Auburn, which finished at even-par 288, while North Florida, West Virginia and Illinois are 1-over.
In addition to 5-under rounds turned in by Sisk and Summerhays, the Sun Devils also counted a 1-under round of 70 from David Puig, who is tied for sixth place, and a one-over round of 73 from Mason Anderson.
Sisk, the Ben Hogan Award's September Golfer of the Month, had six birdies and one bogey on his card while Summerhays was 6-under on his round until he made his only bogey of the day on the 18th.
The Sun Devil duo will take a one-stroke lead over Piercen Hunt of Illinois, Garrett Barber of LSU and Jack Wall of South Carolina heading into Monday's second round. A total of 21 golfers are within five shots of the lead after round one.