TUCSON, Ariz. – The Washington State men's golf team finished 12th (+47, 899) after the final round of the Arizona Intercollegiate, Tuesday, at the Sewailo Golf Club.

After carding a third-round 291 (+7), its lowest of the tournament, WSU finished 45 strokes ahead of in-state rival Gonzaga (+92, 944). Pac-12 competitor Oregon won the tournament with a three-round score of 5-over par (857). Pepperdine finished 12 strokes back of Oregon to claim second place (+17, 869), as Washington rounded out the top three (+21, 873).

"We knew we would have some rust to work off along the way with it being our first event of the spring season, and it was good to see where our game is at compared to some really solid teams," WSU Head Coach Dustin White said. "We have to learn from this and practice productively before our next event."

Leading the Cougars was sophomore Aaron Whalen who finished his first tournament of the spring season in the top-25. Whalen shot 9-over through three rounds and tied for 23rd (222). Senior Nick Mandell moved 12 spots up the leaderboard after shooting 1-under par in the final round to tie for 26th place (+10, 223).

Sophomore AJ Armstrong carded three birdies in the third round and tied for 42nd place (+14, 227). Juniors Zach Anderson and Derek Bayley tied for 60th (+18, 231) and 66th (+20, 233), respectively.

"When these guys string it together for three days at a time, as opposed to nine holes here and there, they'll see they can achieve great things. But that's a process and we need to do a better job of getting them in that frame of mind," White said. "Winning isn't easy and winning isn't always pretty. But we all want it and we'll keep working at it."

The Cougars will return to the green Feb. 15-17, at Lihue, Hawaii, for the John Burns Intercollegiate.


Washington State Results
Team
T-23. Aaron Whalen: 75 (+4), 73 (+2), 74 (+3) = 222 (+9)
T-26. Nick Mandell: 76 (+5), 77 (+6), 70 (-1) = 223 (+10)
T-42. AJ Armstrong: 80 (+9), 74 (+3), 73 (+2) = 227 (+14)
T-60. Zach Anderson: 82 (+11), 75 (+4), 74 (+3) = 231 (+18)
T-66. Derek Bayley: 78 (+7), 79 (+8), 76 (+5) = 233 (+20)