Men's golf advances to NCAA Finals behind 65 by freshman Trey Ka'ahanui

The Arizona State men's golf team clinched its 50th NCAA finals appearance with a 6-under 274 on Saturday, May 18, at ASU's Karsten Golf Course. Freshman Trey Kaahanui, from McClintock High School in Tempe, had a career-best 5-under 65 in Saturday's final round. Classmate Jon Rahm, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, also went 2-under on the day. Arizona State finished fifth. Ka'ahanui's best outing was 2-under 68 prior to Saturday.

Max Rottluff (even), Jon Rahm (2-under 68), Spencer Lawson (1-over 71) and Austin Quick (1-over 71) finished the day strong with consistent play. As a team ASU scored 8-under 832 for the regional.

UCLA won the Tempe Regional and will make its 32nd team appearance in the NCAA Championships and its 11th straight. UCLA also won regional titles in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2011.

The Bruins had steady play throughout the final round to extend their lead and finish 11-under 269 for the day and 30-under 810 for the regional. Jonathan Garrick shouldered the weight in the final round shooting 6-under 64 to lead the Bruins. UCLA leaned on Pontus Widegren (6-under 64) during the first round and Pedro Figueiredo (6-under 64) in the second round.

Georgia (7-under 273), UCF (5-under 275) and Texas A&M (8-under 272) round out the top five teams advancing to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, GA.

Georgia will make its 44th appearance and its third straight. The Bulldogs have advanced 15 times in 17 years under Coach Chris Haack, who led Georgia to the 1999 and 2005 national titles and to runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2011. Since the Regionals format was adopted in 1989, the Bulldogs have moved onto the NCAAs 18 times.

UCF will make its sixth NCAA Championship appearance and its second straight. It also made the finals from 1990-92, 2009 and 2012. Texas A&M will make its 27th appearance and its sixth straight.