As the temperature starts to heat up throughout the Valley, so do the ASU golf programs.
Both the men's and women's teams are looking to build off a successful fall slate. The men had three second place finishes and a third place, and the women had a second, third and fourth place.
The men got third in the Pac-12 title race last year. As a team, ASU shot 11 over par (+11), coming in one shot shy of University of Oregon for second place and 15 shots behind the powerhouse program of Stanford, who finished four under par (-4).
This year, the men are led by the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, according to World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), senior Jon Rahm.
Rahm has eight collegiate wins entering the 2016 spring season, which ties him with Sun Devil great Billy Mayfair for second all-time in ASU history for individual wins.
Rahm is coming off a year where he received First Team All-Pac-12 honors while claiming a spot as a first-team All-American.
Rahm also finished the season as a recipient of the prestigious Ben Hogan award, an award given to the player who has exhibited excellence both on the course and in the classroom. Rahm is the only Sun Devil to win the award since the award's birth in 1990.
The men will have their hands full this year. They lost four players from last year's class, including Broc Johnson, who placed 5th in the Pac-12 Championship. They'll hope that the only incoming freshman, Jino Sohn, can help make up for the loss of the veterans.
They'll also look to familiar faces. One of them, senior Max Rottluff, is ranked No. 19 overall and highly regarded by many in the amateur golf world.
Rottluff is coming off his best year as a member of the Sun Devil squad. His 69.81 scoring average in the 2014-15 season, ranks him third in ASU history.
The ASU men open up the season later this week in the 26th annual Amer Ari Intercollegiate Golf Tournament on the cliffs of the Waikoloa Beach resort in Hawaii. The 56-hole tournament will last from Feb. 4 through Feb. 6.
The women's golf team will begin their season the day after the men do. The women will compete in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, California.
They'll try to improve last season's showing, in which they placed ninth in the Pac-12 Championship. In the tournament, ASU had strong performances down the stretch from their leaders, but the supporting cast struggled.
In the offseason, the team lost only two players but added a variety of young talent.
Taylor Coleman, Madison Kerley and Linnea Strom are all freshmen looking to add depth to the team.
Strom comes into her collegiate career with a very decorated junior resume, already ranked No. 10 overall. She begins her collegiate career with much anticipation and potential.
Out of the returning players, Monica Vaughn is the one to watch out for. Entering only her junior campaign, Vaughn has been named to the first-team Pac-12 and first-team All Academic.
She also finds herself inside the top female amateur rankings, holding the No. 23 spot in the rankings.
ASU is one of the few golf programs without a senior, which is a blessing and a curse. They have time to develop together, but without much experience, some of the newer faces will need to learn quickly and adapt to the competitive nature of the Pac-12.
Related Links:
ASU golf roundup: Jon Rahm 5th, Pat Perez 26th; Mickelson misses cut
Sun Devil Snapshot: Women’s basketball stays hot, Michael Phelps distracts
Reach the reporter at Braxton.Fox@asu.edu or follow @braxton_fox_II on Twitter.
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