The Stanford men’s golf team had one of its players shoot a perfect fourth round on Wednesday as the Cardinal went on to a dominating win in the Pac-12 men’s golf championships in Pullman, Washington. The Sun Devils came in third place and did not have much of a chance down the stretch.
It would have been very difficult for Stanford’s Maverick McNealy to shoot a better fourth round on Wednesday as he finished with a 9-under 61, breaking the Palouse Ridge Golf Club collegiate record. He finished with a 18-under 262 to win the event individually by 10 strokes. The Cardinal finished 4-under 1396 as a team to win the conference title, the only team to finish under par.
The Sun Devils finished in third place at the conference tournament, finishing with an 11-over 1411 and just one stroke behind the Oregon Ducks in second place. It was the team’s best finish at the conference tournament since 2009 when it also finished in third. This is the best finish at the Pac-12 tournament under head coach Tim Mickelson, in his fourth season as coach.
The biggest surprise for the Sun Devils is probably who finished with the best score on the team. In the most important tournament so far this year it was not juniors Jon Rahm or Max Rottuluff who led the team. Instead it was senior Broc Johnson.
In what will be his last Pac-12 Tournament, Johnson led the Sun Devils with a 1-under 279 over the four rounds in Pullman. Johnson tied for fifth place.
Hehas only been with the Sun Devils for two seasons now but going out as a senior with his best conference finish is still something to be acknowledged. Johnson tied for 36th at last year’s conference championship with a 13-over 301.
Not far behind Johnson was Rahm who struggled some in the third round but rebounded well on Wednesday. After shooting 2-over on the final day Rahm finished an even 280 over the four rounds to finish tied for sixth.
Max Rottluff had some trouble in the final round, shooting 5-over 75 on Wednesday and finishing 5-over 285 overall for the tournament and ending in a tie for 19th place.
The Sun Devils were the highest ranked team in the conference going into the Pac-12 tournament so a third place finish could be called a disappointment for a team that has hopes of a national title this season. However there was one silver lining for the Sun Devils.
The team finished 35 strokes ahead of the Arizona Wildcats, clinching a point in the Territorial Cup Series for ASU. With that point the Sun Devils have officially clinched the series for the 2015-15 season, making ASU back-to-back Territorial Cup Series champions.
The Sun Devils will return home and begin preparations for the NCAA regionals as they wait and see exactly where they will be competing in that round of the NCAA championships. Regardless of where they will be playing, regional action is set to begin on May 14.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow @bill_slane on Twitter.
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