With four of the eight teams that made it to match play in
last spring’s NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville,
Ark. in the field, the Cabo Collegiate, presented by CFO4Life, lived up to its
reputation as one of the most important tournaments on the spring schedule.
Arizona State, No. 9 in the latest Golfstat rankings,
blew by the field with a final round of 10-under-par 274 over the 6,807-yard,
par-71 Cabo del Sol Ocean Course in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in Tuesday’s final round
to finish eight shots head of No. 6 Texas A&M.
No. 25 Oklahoma State had dominated the Cabo Collegiate,
winning three straight team crowns. It looks like the venue was changed from
Querencia Golf Club to the Cabo del Sol Ocean Course and while the top players
in college golf went low, par didn’t take quite the beating it did a year ago
at Querencia.
It was a disappointing trip to the NCAA Championship for
Arizona State last spring as the Sun Devils failed to make the cut following
three rounds to the top 15 teams at The Blessings. After a slow start with a
3-under 281 in Sunday’s opening round, the Sun Devils, out of the powerful
Pac-12, surged into contention on the strength of a 7-under 277 in Monday’s
second round.
With four players in the lineup breaking par in Tuesday’s
final round, Arizona State’s blazing finish left it with a 20-under 832 total.
Texas A&M, which fell to Southeastern Conference rival
Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals at The Blessings last spring, closed with a
solid 6-under 278 to finish alone in second place at 12-under 840.
The Aggies were led by Walker Lee, a junior from Houston who
matched the course record with a scorching 7-under 64 in Tuesday’s final round
to claim the individual crown with an 8-under 205 title.
No. 20 Vanderbilt, which fell to national champion Stanford
in the semifinals at The Blessings, was two shots behind Texas A&M in third
place at 10-under 842, the Commodores struggling in the final round with a
5-over 286.
Arizona State’s Pac-12 rival Arizona, ranked 14th,
had dominated the Cabo del Sol Ocean Course the first two days of the
tournament, firing a 6-under 278 in Sunday’s opening round and a 9-under 275 in
Monday’s second round and led Vanderbilt by three shots going into Tuesday’s
final round.
The Wildcats struggled in Tuesday’s final round with a
10-over 294, but still had a solid fourth-place finish at 5-under 847, five
shots behind Vanderbilt.
No. 13 Baylor, out of the Big 12, was two shots behind
Arizona in fifth place at 3-under 848 after struggling in the final round with
a 7-over 288.
Then there was reigning national champion Stanford, ranked
35th, in sixth place at 1-over 853 after a final round of 10-over
294. Still, the Pac-12 champion Cardinal flashed their talent in the second
round with the best team round of the week, a sizzling 14-under 270.
It is not the same Oklahoma State team that saw its bid for
a second straight national championship at The Blessings halted in the
semifinals by Big 12 rival Texas. Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland are off
winning events on the PGA Tour.
But the Cowboys grabbed a share of the opening-round lead
with Arizona and Baylor with a 6-under 278 before falling back with a 1-under
283 in the second round and a final round of 11-over 295 that left them in
ninth place in the 15-team field at 4-over 856.
Arizona State was incredibly balanced with its five-man
starting lineup all finishing within two shots of one another.
Mason Anderson, a junior from Chandler, Ariz., led the way
as he was part of a three-way tie for seventh place at 4-under 209. After
opening with a 2-under 69, Anderson carded a pair of 1-under 70s.
It was a four-way tie for 10th place, a shot
behind the trio that included Anderson at 3-under 210. Three of them were Sun
Devils.
David Puig, a freshman from Spain and No. 29 in the World
Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Cameron Sisk, a sophomore from San Diego, were
in lockstep as each opened with a 1-under 73 and added a 2-under 69 before
contributing a 3-under 68 to the Sun Devils’ final-round surge.
Blake Wagoner, Arizona State’s senior leader from Cornelius,
N.C., was just a shot out of the individual lead after adding a 2-under 69 to
an opening round of 4-under 67. His final-round 74 was a throw-out, but still
landed him in the group tied for 10th place and his teammates
certainly picked him up. Wagoner reached the second round of match play in last
summer’s U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst.
Rounding out the Arizona State lineup was Ryggs Johnston, a
freshman from Libby, Mont. who contributed a third 3-under 68 to the Sun
Devils’ sizzling finish and landed in the group tied for 14th place
at 2-under 211. Johnston had opened with a 1-over 72 and matched par in the
second round with a 71.
Lee had started his round at the fifth hole and he finished
in dramatic fashion with a birdie at the par-4 third hole and an eagle at the
par-5 fourth hole to nail down the individual title.
Lee was trailing the three co-leaders after two rounds by six
shots before unleashing a spotless final round that also included four more
birdies and no bogeys.
Two of those three co-leaders after Monday’s second round, Stanford’s
Barclay Brown, a freshman from England, and Baylor’s Johnny Keefer, a freshman
from San Antonio, Texas, finished in a tie for second, a shot behind Lee at
7-under 206.
Brown had surged into contention when he contributed a
course-record tying 64 to the Cardinal’s scintillating second-round showing
before matching par in the final round with a 71. Keefer had added a 4-under 67
to his opening-round 68 before also matching par in the final round with a 71.
Arkansas’ Julian Perico, the sophomore from Peru who was one
of the heroes of the Razorbacks’ unlikely run to the SEC title last spring,
headed a group of three players tied for fourth place at 5-under 208. Perico
sandwiched a 70 in the second round with a pair of 2-under 69s.
Joining Perico at 208 were Baylor’s Cooper Dossey, a senior
form Austin, Texas and No. 43 in the WAGR, and Florida State’s Jamie Li, a
junior from England. Dossey, who finished in a tie for second in qualifying for
match play in last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst, added a pair of 70s to
his opening round of 3-under 68. Li sandwiched a sparkling 5-under 66 in the
second round with a pair of even-par 71s.
Joining Arizona State’s Anderson in the three-way tied for
seventh place at 4-under 209 were Alabama’s Canon Claycomb, a freshman from
Bowling Green, Ky. and No. 48 in the WAGR, and Arizona’s Trevor Werbylo, a
junior from Tucson, Ariz. and No. 45 in the WAGR.
Claycomb, who reached the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S.
Junior Amateur at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, was a shot out of the individual
lead after adding a 5-under 66 to his opening-round 70 before closing with a
2-over 73.
Werbylo fired an opening round of 5-under 66 and had a share
of the 36-hole lead after adding a 2-under 69. Werbylo, who finished eighth in qualifying
for match play in the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst, closed with a 3-over 74.
Joining the threesome of Arizona State players tied for 10th
place at 3-under 210 was Vanderbilt’s Harrison Ott, a junior form Brookfield,
Wis. and a key member of the team that made a run to the NCAA semifinals last
spring. Ott opened with a 2-under 69 and added a 3-under 68 before finishing up
with a 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s final round.
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