In his third college tournament ever, ASU freshman Chun An Yu won the National Invitational Tournament with a score of 17-under par in Tucson.
An Yu is only the second Sun Devil to win a tournament as a freshman this decade. The first was Jon Rahm who placed first in two tournaments as a freshman in 2012-13.
“What an amazing turnaround from last week for Chun An Yu,” Matt Thurmond, the ASU men’s golf head coach, said. “I’m so happy for him. This was a big win and he was nearly flawless.”
In the previous tournament, The Prestige at PGA West, An Yu finished 63rd overall with a score of +15. However, through the first day of the two-day tournament in Tucson, An Yu was tied for fourth place overall with a score of 9-under par.
Congrats to @asumensgolf freshman @kevingolfyu on the big win! pic.twitter.com/M7YwuHSXa6
— Sun Devil Athletics (@TheSunDevils) February 28, 2017
“His only mistakes were with execution as his mental approach and strategy were flawless,” Thurmond said. “Shooting -17 is crazy over the three rounds. No one had a chance.”
The Sun Devils finished the NIT Invitational in a second place tie with UNLV, scoring -27. Only Iowa State was better, completing the competition at 32-under par as a team.
Going into the final day of competition, ASU and Iowa State were separated by just one. But the Cyclones finished at 5-under-par on Tuesday, compared to just 1-under for the Sun Devils.
“I felt like we should have won,” Thurmond said. “This happens a lot in sports. You lose games you should have won. Iowa State stayed steady down the stretch and we did not.”
Freshman Alejandro Del Rey Gonzalez completed competition tied for 8th place overall with a score of -6.
Senior Jared du Toit finished the NIT Invitational with a score of 5-under-par and was tied for 11th in the overall standings.
Senior Ki Taek Lee, competing as an individual, was tied for 25th place overall with a score of one-under through the two-day event.
Freshman Blake Wagoner completed the course Tuesday with a score of 3-over-par. Wagoner was tied for 41st overall with three other golfers.
Finally, senior Nicolo Galletti rounded out ASU with a final score of +6, which was good enough for 51st in the overall standings.
“We played an excellent tournament overall and look forward to next time we get back in contention to win,” Thurmond said. “It’s so fun and I think we learned a lot to be better the next time and the next time.”
ASU men’s golf now heads to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters Mar. 6-8.
Reach the reporter at michael.baron@asu.edu or follow @Michael_Baron96 on Twitter.
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