Sun Devils Finish 3rd at Pac-12 Championship; Secure Territorial Cup

PHOENIX, Ariz.--- Arizona State had a nine shot lead heading in to the final round of the Pac-12 Championship held in Pullman, Washington at Palouse Ridge Golf Course. 

The weather elements that included a 50 degree day and winds up to 15-25 mph, plus a blistering hot Stanford team contributed to the Sun Devils being surpassed for the title.  Stanford won the event finishing -4 (1396) for four days over Oregon, +10 (1410) and ASU in third at +11 (1411). 
ASU was considered the favorite heading in to the event as they were the number three ranked team in the nation as well has having the number one ranked amateur in the world, Jon Rahm, on the team. 
The six player-count five format is different than most of the team tournament events that usually are played as a five player- count four scores. 
Broc Johnson led the way for the Devils shooting scores of 69-72-65-73= 279 to finish in fifth place.  Rahm finished tied for sixth (70-68-74-68= 280), Max Rottluff finished tied for 19th (75-68-67-75= 285), Nicolo Galletti tied for 26th (70-74-67-76= 287), Ki Taek Lee tied for 31st (73-70-70-76= 289) and Alberto Sanchez tied for 34th (72-73-73-72= 290). 
The Sun Devils were seeking their 13th Pac-10/12 title on Washington State’s home course that played 7,257 yards and a par 70. 
The Stanford Cardinal surged ahead on the final day with a course-record setting performance by Maverick McNealy.  McNealy shot a final round 61 (65-68-68-61= 262) to finish in first place individually and help the Cardinal capture the Pac-12 Championship. 
According to the updated rankings by Golfweek, ASU is now the sixth ranked team in the country behind Illinois, Florida State, Texas, Vanderbilt and Stanford. 
ASU certainly had high expectations but the third place finish was good enough to seal the Territorial Cup against the University of Arizona, who finished 9th in the championship.  The Sun Devils earned the necessary 10.5 points to gain the bragging rights over the Wildcats for the second consecutive year. 
The regular season for the Devils included five team tournament titles, three 2nd place finishes, one 3rd place, one 4th place and one 6th place finish.  Individually, the one-two punch for ASU all season long was Rahm and Rotluff.  Rahm captured two tournament titles that included the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.  Rahm also competed and finished tied for fifth in the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open.  In addition, Rotluff captured two individual titles and didn’t finish outside the top-20. 
The Sun Devils will have to shrug off the disappointment to compete in the NCAA Regional tournament held May14-16.  Next up, the NCAA will announce the regional selections May 4 on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive at 7:00 a.m. local time.