Arizona State men’s golf roster features five international players

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Michael Mjaaseth and Fifa Laopakdee offer differing takes on why the Arizona State men’s golf roster features five international players.

Laopakdee credits the team’s social media accounts.

“They have a very good social media platform, and we can check how ASU is as a program,” Laopakdee said. “That’s enough for me to trust the program.”

Mjaaseth, who is Norwegian, credits the vastly different weather from his home nation.

“You’re not playing golf the whole year, so you’re kind of all wintry,” Mjasseth said of Norway. “You’re hitting into a net or a simulator, so you’re just kind of not seeing the ball or not feeling any grass.”

Whatever the genesis of the Sun Devils’ roster makeup, the international flavor is on display this weekend and beyond at the NCAA Division I men’s golf championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Five of the nine players on the roster are international students, with two participating in this year’s NCAA championship.

Sun Devils coach Matt Thurmond is proud that ASU attracts so many international prospects to compete at the highest level of collegiate golf, but he noted that this is a long-running tradition at ASU.

“For 60, 70 years, ASU’s been producing world class golfers and having big success,” Thurmond said. “They’ve been all over the PGA Tour, Live, and various versions of the European Tour. You’re gonna find Sun Devils wherever there’s great golf being played.”

Mjaaseth, a senior, and Laopakdee, a junior, have been the engine of this roster for the last few seasons. Mjaaseth is from Oslo, while Laopakdee was born in Rayong, Thailand.

“It’s good that we have different cultures trying to fit into one,” Laopakdee said. “I feel like it makes a team better when you have such culture from here, there, different places, and we try to bond into one kind of community. We did a great job with that, and it created a very positive environment.”

While the Sun Devils’ social media accounts were a plus, Laopakdee knew that he wanted to play in North America.

“My goal was always to play college golf,” he said. “That was my path I chose since I was young.”

Mjasseth has been to the NCAA championships three times in his four years with Arizona State. He was named to the freshman All-America team in 2022-23, earning All-American honors again as a junior at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

“I was open to my impact, but I guess I surprised myself a little bit, coming in,” Mjasseth said. “It’s my third NCAA championship. It feels good to be back here. It’s a little different — more people in the back of the course, more action. It’s fun.”

Mjasseth, ranked as the 11th best collegiate golfer according to the PGA Tour University rankings, was 1-over-par through the first two rounds in Carlsbad. Laopakdee sat at 10-over after two rounds.

While the Sun Devils compete to win championships and there is little doubt about the passion they have for the game, Laopakdee said that sometimes, the best way to progress is to take a step back from the spotlight and be together as a team.

“Maybe we should go do something without any golfing — go to the beach, play some bowling, just have some good team bonding outside of golf,” he said. “Just stick to the process, stay present mentally, and let the result take care of itself.”

Thurmond fully supports this holistic approach

“We bowl, we mini-putt, we go to shows,” he said. “Just normal things that people do.”

Thurmond said he is honored to have the opportunity to coach this group. He believes that the team environment affords them the chance to make lifelong friends. The mix of cultures represents the type of program he wants to run.

“They know that there’s a lot of great places in the world,” Thurmond said. “They know that there’s a lot of great people in the world, and they learn a lot about each other. They travel to each other’s homes, their roommates get to know each other’s families, cultures, religions, and languages. It’s just a beautiful thing.”

When Round 2 of the 2026 NCAA men’s golf championship wrapped up on Saturday, No.13 Arizona State found itself in 19th place heading into the pivotal cut day. In order to earn a chance to play on, the Sun Devils will need to crack the top 15. 

“The mistake would be to focus on the 15-team cut line,” Thurmond said. “Who cares about that? We need to get into match play. We need to have two good days, and we’ll be right there.”

After two days, junior Connor Williams was tied for fourth on the individual leaderboard. He sat at 7-under-par after a stellar 6-under round on Friday, three strokes off the lead set by Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik.

The individual champion will be crowned Monday, with the team championship decided on Wednesday.

The Sun Devils were scheduled to tee off at 12:12 p.m. on Sunday.

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