Now is as good a time as any for the ASU men's golf team to take a team title.
With the postseason right around the corner, the No. 9 Sun Devils get one final tune-up before the Pac-10 Championships in Los Angeles, as they host the ASU Thunderbird Invitational Saturday and Sunday at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe.
The tournament is the only event ASU plays in its own backyard this year.
"We only get to do this once a year," ASU coach Randy Lein said. "We want to enjoy the weekend and take advantage of home course knowledge."
ASU is coming off a second-place finish at the National Invitational in Tucson. Individually, senior Alejandro Canizares and junior Niklas Lemke tied for second, only one stroke behind New Mexico's Jay Choi.
ASU has won the event five of the last seven years. Canizares, ranked 13th in the country, took the title two seasons ago.
The Sun Devils have not finished worse than eighth in five events this spring, but have played their best golf in Arizona. ASU has two second-place finishes, which have come in tournaments in Tucson.
"We have a little momentum going and want to build on that," Lein said. "You always want to win at home."
The 15-team field features seven of the nation's top 50 teams in Golfweek's poll. The Sun Devils are the second-highest ranked team on the slate. Last year's tournament champion, No. 7 UNLV, leads the pack that also includes UA, Arkansas, California, Cal State Fullerton, Colorado State, Illinois, Kansas State, San Diego State, Stanford, South Carolina and Texas Tech.
ASU as host traditionally fields two teams, a maroon team and a gold team, for the annual event. All 10 Sun Devils will tee off.
"There is a lot of parity," Lein said of the field. "It is just like the PGA Tour. There are favorites you can count on week to week, but anyone at any time can string three rounds together and win."
Lein added that he doesn't expect a lot of low scores during the tournament because the short game could play difficult.
"The rough is as thick as I've seen it at Karsten, so we've been practicing a lot of shots around the green," he said. "But it's going to make it difficult for all the competitors."
Lein has shuffled the lineup throughout the spring season, looking for help at the fourth and fifth positions to complement Canizares, Lemke and freshman Benjamin Alvarado Holley. He added he has seen significant improvement out of that part of the lineup in his team's last two tournaments.
"The guys are picking it up a little bit and at this time of year that's exactly what you're looking for," Lein said.
Reach the reporter at derrik.miller@asu.edu.
