Arizona State, Preston Summerhays claim ASU Thunderbird titles

April 16, 2023 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

ASU Athletics photo

Summerhays birdies the last two holes to complete a furious Sun Devil back nine rally at Papago Golf Club

Trailing by seven shots on the back nine in the final round of its own tournament, Arizona State had some major work to do Saturday at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix.

The third-ranked Sun Devils met the challenge head on and when sophomore Preston Summerhays rolled birdies on the final two holes for a round of 66, Arizona State had completed a furious rally to win the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate by a single stroke over rival Arizona.

At 13-under 200 (66-68-66), Summerhays claimed medalist honors by four shots over a trio of Arizona Wildcats, Chase Sienkiewicz, Sam Sommerhauser and Zach Pollo, who was playing as an individual. Summerhays joins a list of past Thunderbird championship that includes Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Steve Jones and Paul Casey, to name a few.

"With everyone watching, you need someone to step up on the back nine and Preston did," said ASU head coach Matt Thurmond. "With everyone watching and following that group, we made the clutch putts at the end. It felt like everything was going Arizona's way early but I just tried to keep my energy up and make sure they knew we still had a chance."

The Sun Devils trailed by as many as seven strokes on the back nine, only to rattle off 15 birdies on the inward nine, including five from Summerhays and four from Michael Mjaaseth, to claim the team title.

"I got off to a pretty slow start, even through nine, but got it going on the back," said Summerhays, "This event is going to play a big role in the events coming up. We've been good but haven't gotten our wins yet. I think we're peaking at the right time."

The Sun Devils finished at 28-under par, one stroke ahead of Arizona and eight clear of second-ranked North Carolina.

Arizona State and Arizona hope to take its momentum north to the Pac-12 Championships, which are scheduled to begin on Friday, April 28 at Stanford Golf Course.

Arizona State Athletic Communications contributed to this report

Results: ASU Thunderbird Collegiate

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Preston Summerhays	Scottsdale, AZ	700	66-68-66=200
T2	Chase Sienkiewicz	Carmichael, CA	500	68-67-69=204
T2	Zach Pollo	Rocklin, CA	500	65-70-69=204
T2	Sam Sommerhauser	Rocklin, CA	500	67-67-70=204
5	Johnny Keefer	San Antonio, TX	400	66-68-71=205

View full results for ASU Thunderbird Collegiate

About the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate

Arizona State, Preston Summerhays claim ASU Thunderbird titles

54 hole men's college tournament hosted by Arizona State University. Team (best four scores out of five players each round) and individual competitions.