ASU men’s golf kicks off new season in style, wins Sahalee Players Championship

© Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Off the back of a highly successful year for the reigning Pac-12 champions ASU men’s golf, they kicked off the 2024-25 season with a trip up to Sammamish, Wash. and picked up right where they left off.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Led by 2024 U.S. Amateur champion Josele Ballester and star Preston Summerhays, both finished with a 3-under 213 to help the Sun Devils win the Sahalee Players Championship at Sahalee Country Club this past weekend, the program’s first tournament victory of the season. Ballester (69-72-72) and Summerhays (71-68-74) tied for second, with Oregon’s Aiden Krafft notching a 4-under 212 (71-70-71) for first in individual scoring.

With three birdies on the last four holes, Arizona State sophomore Connor Williams shot a 1-under 215 (71-73-71), good for a tie for sixth place. Freshman Peer Wernicke, a native of Germany, made his Sun Devil debut and ended the tournament in a tie for 13th with a 1-over 217 (71-72-74).

Sophomore Nicholas Prieto was 2-over 218 (71-77-70) and junior Michael Mjaaseth rounded out the tournament with an 8-over 224 (76-72-76).

ASU beat Florida by 11 strokes as the Gators were 4-over 868 as a team. Arizona State’s arch-rival Arizona came in third with a 6-over 870 and Krafft’s Oregon was tied for sixth with Oklahoma State with a 12-over 876 each.

Here are the standings with how each of the 13 teams fared in the standings at the Sahalee Players Championship:

Sahalee Players Championship Results

(Tournament Notes: Par-72 | 7,007 Yards | 13 teams)

Arizona State: 282-284-291=857/-7
Florida: 300-283-285=868/+4
Arizona: 292-288-290=870/+6
Pepperdine: 284-287-303=874/+10
Duke: 297-287-291=875/+11
Oklahoma State: 288-288-300=876/+12
Oregon: 294-296-286=876/+12
TCU: 298-285-298=881/+17
UNLV: 2300-298-290=885/+21
North Carolina: 297-291-297=885/+21
Northwestern: 296-286-304=886/+22
Texas A&M: 301-290-297=888/+24
Washington: 295-305-305=905/+41

With one tournament win under its belt, ASU will next compete in the Fighting Illini Invitational Sept. 20-22 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.

ASU’s Cam Skattebo receives two major honors from AP, Big 12 for huge performance vs. Mississippi State

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*

Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini