Men's golf finishes third in USC Invitational
The men's golf team finished third at the USC Collegiate Invitational as it shot a 3-under 849, 18 shots behind Oregon which took the crown (279-277-275).
ASU fired rounds of 282-279-288 and was led by Jesper Kennegard, who tied for eighth with a 3-under 210 (68-68-74). California finished third at 847 (288-280-279).
Oregon's Eugene Wong won the event with a 10-under 203 (65-69-69).
James Byrne tied for 16th at 1-under 212 (74-69-69), Scott Pinckney tied for 25th at 1-over 214 (67-70-77), Spencer Fletcher tied for 48th at 7-over 220 (74-72-74) and Knut Borsheim finished tied for 60th at 11-over 224 (73-80-71). Tristan Bierenbroodspot, competing as an individual, shot a 13-over 226 (69-80-77) and tied for 71st.
The tournament was held at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. (par-71/6,869 yards). Fourteen teams were in the field including ASU, BYU, California, Fresno State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Davis, UCLA, Charlotte, USC and San Diego.
ASU won the team title in 1980, 1983, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2001. Sun Devils David Lee (1979), Dan Forsman (1980), Billy Mayfair (1987), Todd Demsey (1994) and Paul Casey (1998) won the individual title. ASU next competes March 12-14 at the Southern Highlands Invitational just outside Las Vegas. The top-10 finish for Kennegard marked his tenth top-10 finish in his career. He also tied for eighth at the Battle of the Beach, ASU's most recent tournament, and has a 72.67 stroke average in six tournaments on the year. His last four rounds have included a 66 and two rounds of 68. This weekend marked his 30th collegiate tournament, and he has a career stroke average of 72.52 in 91 rounds, including 20 roudns in the 60s.