Men's Golf Tied For Ninth At NCAAs, Canizares Tied For Fifth
May 29, 2003
The Arizona State men's golf team is tied for ninth after the third round at the NCAA Championships held at the Karsten Creek Course in Stillwater, Okla. ASU shot a 9-over 297, its best round of the tournament, and is at 47-over 911, 23 shots back of tournament-leading Clemson (299-302-287=888/+24). Host Oklahoma State is in second at 25-over 889 (299-300-290). The 72-hole tournament concludes Friday with 18 holes, as the top 18 teams will play on the final day, as 12 teams did not make the cut, including defending champion Minnesota. Alejandro Canizares, the Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year, shot a 1-under 71 and is tied for fifth with a 2-over 218 (77-70-71). Canizares had a 71.64 stroke average entering the tournament, the best by a Sun Devil freshman, as Todd Demsey had a 72.10 average in 1991-92. Canizares is just five shots off the lead and if he shoots 80 or better would post the best freshman scoring mark in ASU history. Canizares is trying to become just the sixth freshman to win a NCAA men's golf title. The others were James McLean of Minnesota in 1998, ASU's Phil Mickelson in 1989, Billy Ray Brown of Houston in 1982, Curtis Strange of Wake Forest in 1974 and Ben Crenshaw of Texas in 1971. Junior Chez Reavie, the 2001 U.S. Public Links Champion, is at 5-over 221 (74-77-70) and is tied for 13th. Reavie has finished in the top 10 in eight of 12 tournaments on the year and in 13 of 28 events in his three-year career.
DEVIL DATA: Arizona State has finished in the top five at the NCAAs in five of the past eight years and won national titles in 1990 and 1996...ASU has qualified for the NCAA Championship in 10 of head coach Randy Lein's 11 seasons and has eight top-10 finishes, the most in the nation in that time...ASU is the only Pac-10 team to win a NCAA title in the past eight years.
NCAA INDIVIDUAL FINISHES: A look at top-five Sun Devil individual finishes in the NCAA Championships beginning with 1983, when Jim Carter won the NCAA title. Alejandro Canizares has a chance to join this list on Friday.
Player Finish Year Site Todd Demsey, So. 1st 1993 Lexington, Ky. Phil Mickelson, Sr. 1st 1992 Albuquerque, N.M. Phil Mickelson, So. 1st 1990 Tarpon Springs, Fla. Phil Mickelson, Fr. 1st 1989 Edmond, Okla. Jim Carter, Jr. 1st 1983 Fresno, Calif. Darren Angel, Fr. T-3rd 1996 Chattanooga, Tenn. Chez Reavie, Fr. T-4th 2001 Durham, N.C. Paul Casey, So. 4th 1999 Chaska, Minn. Phil Mickelson, Jr. T-4th 1991 Pebble Beach, Calif. Joey Snyder, Jr. T-5th 1995 Columbus, Ohio |
 
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