Arizona State gets first season victory at John Burns
Arizona State's John Burns-winning team (ASU Athletics/Twitter photo)
Arizona State turned a slim two-shot lead into a three-shot victory in the final round of the John Burns Intercollegiate in Lihue, Hawaii. The Sun Devils managed to stay ahead of two teams closing in from behind and as a result, claimed their first title of the season.
Arizona State had a 6-under 282 in the final round and with that, finished the tournament at 24 under. That was three shots ahead of Texas A&M in second and five shots ahead of Duke in third. North Carolina climbed two shots up the leaderboard into fourth with the round of the day, an 11-under 277.
Four Sun Devils finished inside the top 20 at Wailua Golf Course and all five were inside the top 35 individually. Alex del Rey led that effort with a 7-under 209 that left him T-4.
In the final round, however, Cameron Sisk was the hero. An eagle at the par-5 first – his 17th hole of the day – went a long way in securing the win for his team. Sisk had a final-round 67 that left him tied for 16th along with teammate Chun An Yu.
Arizona State head coach Matt Thurmond praised his team’s consistency, and the fact that his players could easily adjust to different conditions so far from home.
"I'm really proud of our steadiness,” he said in a release after the second round. “We've had good rounds all season. Right now we have five guys who can win any event and we never know which score we won't use."
BYU’s Peter Kuest did just enough to climb into the top spot on the individual leaderboard for his fourth title this season. As head coach Bruce Brockbank said, “When he's in contention, he finds a way to win.” Kuest had rounds of 66-72-68. A birdie on his final hole gave him a one-stroke edge over Texas A&M's Walker Lee.
Information from Arizona State Athletics, BYU Athletics used in this report
ABOUT THE John Burns Intercollegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by
the
University of Hawaii. Team (best four out of five
players) and individual scoring.
View Complete Tournament Information