Golfweek's top 25 has Sun Devils all over
Arizona State, current head men's coach Randy Lein and former ASU head coach and ASU Hall-of-Famers Steve Loy and George Boutell are among the leaders of most noted in Golfweek's recent listing of the all-time top 25 men's college golfers.
At the top of the list is the obvious choice, as Phil Mickelson (1988-92) earned All-America honors four times while coached by Steve Loy. He posted 16 career victories, including three NCAA titles. He posted a career scoring average of 70.81, including a 69.95 average in his senior year.
Sun Devil Billy Mayfair came in at No. 13 with eight collegiate victories and the 1987 Fred Haskins award to his credit. He was a two-time first-team All-American and the 1987 Pac-10 Player of the Year while playing for both George Boutell and Billy Mayfair.
Two Sun Devils came in at No. 19 and No. 20.
As a sophomore, No. 19 Todd Demsey (1991-95) birdied the 17th hole in the final round of the 1993 NCAA Championship to outduel Player of the Year David Duval of Georgia Tech and win the national title by one stroke at Champion Trace Golf Club in Kentucky. He was a two-time first-team All-American (1993 and 1994) and the 1994 Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year. He posted six career victories.
Breaking the top 20 was Alejandro Canizares, who became only the sixth player to capture the NCAA Championship as a freshman (2003). His final-round 3-under 69 at Karsten Creek Golf Club was the day's lone sub-70 score. He was a two-time first-team All-American (2003 and 20006) and the Pac-10 Conference Player of Year in 2005 and 2006), becoming the first player to win the Pac-10 honor back-to-back since Stanford's Tiger Woods (1995 and 1996). He had six career victories and 71.46 scoring average.
Lein and Loy each had three players on the list, including Demsey, who both of them coached while he was at ASU. Lein also coached Alejandro Canizares as well as USC's Sam Randolph, who was eighth on the list. Mike Holder of Oklahoma State had six playes on the list, followed by Lein and Loy. Loy also coached Mickelson and Billy Mayfair at ASU, although Mayfair also was coached early in his career by Sun Devil Hall of Famer George Boutell. GOLFWEEK'S TOP 25 MEN'S GOLFERS OF ALL-TIME
NO. 1: Phil Mickelson, ARIZONA STATE
NO. 2: JUSTIN LEONARD, TEXAS
NO. 3: SCOTT VERPLANK, OKLAHOMA STATE
NO. 4: DAVID DUVAL, GEORGIA TECH
NO. 5: LUKE DONALD, NORTHWESTERN
NO. 6: TIGER WOODS, STANFORD
NO. 7: BRYCE MOLDER, GEORGIA TECH
NO. 8: SAM RANDOLPH, USC
NO. 9: RYAN MOORE, UNLV
NO. 10: CHARLES HOWELL III, OKLAHOMA STATE
NO. 11: BILL HAAS, WAKE FOREST
NO. 12: CAMILO VILLEGAS, FLORIDA
NO. 13: BILLY MAYFAIR, ARIZONA STATE
NO. 14: HUNTER MAHAN, OKLAHOMA STATE AND USC
NO. 15: RHYS DAVIES, EAST TENNESSEE STATE
NO. 16: STEWART CINK, GEORGIA TECH
NO. 17: ROBERT GAMEZ, ARIZONA
NO. 18: BRIAN WATTS, OKLAHOMA STATE
NO. 19: TODD DEMSEY, ARIZONA STATE
NO. 20: Alejandro Canizares, ARIZONA STATE
NO. 21: KEVIN WENTWORTH, OKLAHOMA STATE
NO. 22: CHARLES WARREN, CLEMSON
NO. 23: NICK WATNEY, FRESNO STATE
NO. 24: D.J. TRAHAN, CLEMSON
NO. 25: PABLO MARTIN, OKLAHOMA STATE