SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Two years ago the Arizona State men’s golf group came oh-so-close to a national championship. Final year the Sun Devils had been even closer.

Coach Matt Thurmond’s squad will attempt to get more than that final hump when the 2023 NCAA National Championship tees off Friday at Grayhawk Golf Club, which will be hosting the occasion for the third straight year.

The Sun Devils head into the occasion ranked No. five nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Amongst other folks in the 30-group field are No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. two Illinois, No. three North Carolina and No. four Georgia Tech.

ASU is coming off a convincing victory at the NCAA’s Las Vegas Regional, posting a score of 59-below with Preston Summerhays top the work by going 19 below that placed him third individually.

NCAAs: Group scores | Person scores

“We had a good tournament,” Thurmond stated. “It surely was an simpler course. How that compares to a 30-below on a tougher course, that is tough to say. I can say our guys are ready and they’re playing effectively.”

Final season the Sun Devils lost in the championship match to Texas. The preceding year they came up quick against Oklahoma in the semifinals. Thurmond is hoping the third time’s the charm but is not placing any added stress on his quintet.

“All these teams are very good, definitely very good,” he stated. “You never ever know what is going to occur, specially when you get to match play. That is generally 50-50. Of course we want to win but if we do not we’ve had a good season and it is not a failure.”

The group characteristics two players who had been in the beginning lineup final season in Summerhays, a finalist for the Haskins Award, and fellow sophomore Josele Ballester.

Senior Ryggs Johnston was not in the beginning lineup final year but was in 2021. He even placed third individually with his tournament highlighted by a profession-ideal 7-below 63 in the second round.

Rounding out the beginning 5 are freshmen Luke Potter and Michael Mjaaseth, whom Thurmond says appear unaffected by stress circumstances.

When the match-play format is not necessarily the norm in college golf in the course of the frequent season, Thurmond says his players are employed to playing in that stress-paced situation. They competed in the East Lake Cup the final two years. This season the Sun Devils defeated Pepperdine, a different group in this week’s field, then lost to Vanderbilt three-two.

Thurmond stated his players have also played in amateur events that have match play.

Final year, the Sun Devils completed the stroke play portion of the NCAAs in 1st to earn the major seed in the match play portion of the occasion.

“It’s not one thing new for our guys,” Thurmond stated. “They’re all fairly comfy in that situation. I’m quite pleased with how we’re playing. Now we just have to go out there and do it for six much more days.”

NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships

Web page: Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale.

Raptor course: 7,289 yards, par 70.

Defending champion: Texas (defeated ASU in the final, three-two).

Format: 4 rounds of stroke play with the field reduce from 30 to 15 immediately after Sunday’s third round and reduce to eight immediately after Monday’s fourth round. The person champ is also crowned Monday. Match play quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday, championship match is set for Wednesday.

Teams:  Arizona State, Stanford, Virginia, San Francisco, East Tennessee State, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Chattanooga, Ohio State, Colorado State, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Florida, Texas, Mississippi State, Brigham Young, Florida State, Baylor, Pepperdin, Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Tech, Duke, Georgia Tech, Arkansas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas A&ampM.

Person qualifiers: Drew Salyers, Indiana Luke O’Neill, Kansas State Jonas Baumgartner, Oklahoma State Riley Lewis, Loyola Marymount Will King, Kansas Sam Lape, Furman.

Notes: Eleven teams in the field have won a national title, led by Stanford with eight, the most current coming in 2019. Florida and Texas every have 4. ASU has two titles, in 1990 and 1996. Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent won the person championship final season as a freshman and returns with the Commodores. The present format of stroke play followed by match play was adopted in 2009.