A year after missing NCAAs, Arizona State is dominating early at Omni La Costa

USA Today

24-05-2025

A year after missing NCAAs, Arizona State is dominating early at Omni La Costa
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Drone flyover video of Omni La Costa North Course par-3 16th hole
Omni La Costa is hosting the NCAA mens and womens golf championships for a second year in a row. The North Course's 16th hole is the final par-3.
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Connor Williams estimates he has played roughly 100 rounds of golf at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
The North Course is hosting this week's 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship, where Williams and his Arizona State teammates have raced to the lead at the halfway point of stroke play. The Sun Devils sit at 13 under after 36 holes, three strokes in front of Oklahoma and five ahead of defending national champion Auburn, and Williams is tied for the individual lead at 9-under 135.
Williams grew up in Escondido, a little more than half an hour from Carlsbad, and he credit his comfortability at the course with his blazing start.
"I've played this course a bunch of times. Obviously, it got redone a little bit, so it's a different look, but I still feel very comfortable," Williams said. "I feel like I'm playing within myself and picking the course apart in the right spots and trying to be safe on the right holes where they're playing pretty tough. So I think I've done a pretty good job that so far."
More: NCAA Men's Golf Championship live updates: Arizona State races to lead; top teams rise
Williams signed for a bogey-free 5-under 67 on Saturday, and he's tied with Ole Miss junior Michael La Sasso for the individual lead, with the duo four shots ahead of the closest chasers after the morning wave.
Starting on No. 10, Williams got hot making the turn, birdieing Nos. 16-18 and then No. 1 for four consecutive circles. He added one more on the par-5 sixth. Add in 13 pars, it was a clean card and a big lead for Williams, who is enjoying his time close to home.
"He works so hard, and he's been playing amazingly at home," ASU coach Matt Thurmond said. "In practice, he had a stretch this spring where he wasn't playing very well and kind of found himself again, and he's doing everything right right now.
"He just played ridiculous today."
Sun Devils respond after missing NCAAs a year ago
The start is also pivotal for fifth-ranked Arizona State, which missed the NCAA Championship last year after failing to advance from the NCAA Rancho Santa Fe Regional, placing sixth. At the time, the Sun Devils became the fifth No. 1 seed to fail to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
Omni La Costa is 7.3 miles from Rancho Santa Fe, and the Sun Devils were thought to be a title favorite last year before they failed to advance. This year has been one withered in patience, as ASU grinded through the regular-season schedule and first year in the Big 12 just waiting for the chance to get through regionals.
"I think we had that monkey on our back all year," Thurmond said. "I know for me, personally, it's like all year, no matter what we did, it never felt that great because nothing really mattered until we got through regionals. And personally, for me, I felt just a huge just a huge relief after regionals.
"We put way too much pressure on ourselves, and I know I shouldn't, but still at ASU, you're not supposed to miss regionals. So I was really happy with how we developed as a team all year."
Thurmond credited seniors Josele Ballester, the 2024 U.S. Amateur champion, and Preston Summerhays for bearing the burden of pressure so their teammates could flourish. Ballester, Summerhays and Williams were all in the lineup at the regional last year and dealt with overcoming the failure of making the national championship.
This year, ASU leads the field in par-5 scoring at 15 under through two rounds, and it's tied with Oklahoma State for the most birdies through two rounds (36). On Saturday, Michael Mjaaseth shot 1-under 71, and he was the drop score.
The Sun Devils are finally at Omni La Costa, and they're taking full advantage.
"Last year we put a bit too much pressure on ourselves to try and get here and just focus on winning golf tournaments," Williams said. "And I think that's where we messed up. It was a ton of pressure. We were obviously a good enough team to be here, but things didn't go our way. And I think this year we've we've kind of looked at the season as a whole and been a lot more focused on our process instead of just trying to win events.
"If we control the small things as a group, we tend to compete very well and be in contention every week. So I think just having that mentality, especially at the national championship, obviously you're going to feel the pressure, but the less you can feel that and just go and play free, you're gonna play better."