ASU men's golf placed third overall in its first tournament of the 2021-22 season at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Carrollton, Texas. Senior Cameron Sisk brought home his third career individual win Wednesday at the tournament.
Sisk took part in a sudden-death playoff round to earn his medal and claim a spot in the Houston Open in November.
The Sun Devils had a good mix of newcomers and veteran players qualify for their first tournament. Graduate student Mason Andersen, freshman Josele Ballester, junior Ryggs Johnston, Sisk and freshman Preston Summerhays all took to the green on Maridoe.
Day one
On Monday, Summerhays was the first to tee off for ASU. He had a rough day overall, but he ended the day with two birdies in three holes.
Sisk, Johnston and Andersen both finished within the top 20 as Johnston compiled three birdies and ended with a 2-over total. Andersen also hit three birdies and finished the day with a 1-over total.
Sisk hit the ground running, hitting three birdies in his first six holes. He followed up with three more birdies in holes 11-14 and ended with seven total birdies on the day. Sisk was able to finish tied for 2nd place at two-under-par and two behind Liberty University junior Connor Polender.
ASU finished the day tied for third place overall with a score of 6-over, four points behind the leading squad of the University of Oklahoma.
Day two
In the second day of the tournament, the two freshmen had a much improved day, with Summerhays gaining 10 spots and Ballester gaining 17 spots in the individual leaderboard. Ballester ended with a 1-over total, really displaying why he was such a coveted recruit.
Johnston shot four birdies, ending with 1-under. He launched himself up 12 spots to land tied at the eighth spot, with a 1-over total for both rounds.
Andersen nearly turned in a 2-under score for the day, but he stumbled on the 18th hole taking six strokes on a four-par. Still, Andersen had another solid performance, tying with Johnston at eighth in the individuals with a 1-over.
Sisk, a two-time All-American, put the team on his back and soared above the competition in his second round, finishing the day with 6-under. He hit seven birdies, including three in a row, and led the tournament with 14 total.
Sisk's score of 66 is the third-lowest round of his career and he ended up with a total score of 8-under and the No.1 position.
The Sun Devils rounded out the day with an overall score of even, landing them the top spot in the team leaderboard.
Day three
In the final day of the Maridoe Invitational, the team slumped in their performance, but in the individual championship there was a sudden-death playoff for the win.
Ballester had a day to forget as he ended round three with 6-over and finished the tournament with 12-over. Summerhays on the other hand finished up his first tournament by hitting four birdies and ending even. He earned a final total of 10-over.
Johnston ended day three with an even score, giving him a 1-over final total. He finished tied for 11th place.
Andersen finished his round with a 1-over, bringing his final total to 2-over. He tied for 16th place and will look to improve upon his score at the next tournament.
Sisk ended with 1-over, however, since he had wedged such a large lead in day two, he was able to remain at the top spot. The three players behind Sisk all had a 68 score for the day, leading to the very tight competition for the playoff win.
The team ended up finishing third overall with a score of 2-over, five behind the winner, Oklahoma.
The Sun Devils will head to Illinois next to compete in the Fighting Illini Invitational from Sept. 17-19 in Olympia Fields, Illinois.
Reach the reporter at jspange1@asu.edu and follow @jspangenthal94 on Twitter.
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Justin Spangenthal is a reporter for The State Press, currently covering Men's Golf and Track and Field. Justin transferred to ASU last January and is planning to graduate Fall '23. He is passionate about journalism and hopes to one day launch his own media outlet.
