ASU came into The Prestige at PGA West as the defending champions of the event after a come-from-behind victory last February over No. 16 Stanford.
This time, however, the Sun Devils had to compete without Max Rottluff, their number three player. He was in the Collegiate Showcase with ASU alumnus Paul Casey.
After two days of success, a poor third day cost the Sun Devils a chance to fight for first place. They finished in second to Louisiana State University.
ASU was in fourth place out of 15 after a 287-point Monday. Jon Rahm and Jared du Toit stood out.
Rahm began his day on the front nine. He started with a par, bogey and birdie, but finished his front nine with six consecutive pars to open his tournament with an even par.
Rahm made the turn by getting consecutive birdies. He bogied on the 16th hole, carding in one under par to start his tournament.
He was outplayed by du Toit, who posted five birdies and just two bogies, finishing the day three-under. It was two strokes behind the lead after day one.
Day two was better for ASU. By the end, four of the five Sun Devils sat under par: Rahm (66), junior Ki Taek Lee (67) du Toit (68) and senior Alberto Sanchez (68). The Sun Devils vaulted up the leaderboard, going from fourth to first in just six hours. ASU went 15-under on that day, pushing them to 12-under overall. It held a comfortable five-shot lead heading into Wednesday.
However, ASU came out sluggish and struggled to find its footing to start the final day.
Most of the problems occurred along the second hole, a straight away 440-yard par four. Four Sun Devils scored a bogey or worse on the hole (Rahm was the only player to record a par). ASU finished the hole +8.
Some of the Sun Devil players recovered with birdies. Rahm and Lee were the only two ASU players to post a final round of par or better (Rahm -2, Lee 0).
ASU saw its five stroke lead dwindle down and ultimately be taken by LSU midway through the final round; the Tigers never looked back. They were seemingly unstoppable Wednesday afternoon, shooting a tournament-best 19-under par on the final day to take the title.
LSU was led by Pinnacle High School (Phoenix) product senior Zach Wright, who took home medalist honors with a three-day score of 201 (-12).
The Tigers not only came back from the five stroke lead the Sun Devils had created just a day earlier, but they had also managed to run away from the field. With a three day total of 826 (-26 for the tournament), LSU finished with a 18-stroke victory.
With the struggles ASU faced to start the day and the tidal wave that was LSU, the Sun Devils took home second place in the tournament on a three-day team score of 844 (-8).
Related Links:
Jon Rahm, Monica Vaughn look to lead ASU golf
Monica Vaughn makes final day charge to take individual title
Reach the reporter at Braxton.Fox@asu.edu or follow @braxton_fox_II on Twitter.
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