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.

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