Arizona State women’s golf struggles in spring opener

(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

After 97 days of patiently waiting, No. 13 Arizona State women’s golf emerged from winter hibernation, starting the spring season at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.

In a field stacked with the nation’s best teams, the Sun Devils (294/297/286) could not knock off the rust in an underwhelming start to the second semester, finishing 11th out of 16 teams at 25-over-par. No. 23 UCLA (282/284/278) took the tournament crown by eleven shots with the only score under par at eight-under-par.

There were little to no bright spots for ASU with no one in its lineup finishing inside the tournament’s top-20. After a fall season where the Sun Devils finished inside the top-10 as a team in all four starts, the finish marks their worst score and finish in the 2025-26 season so far.

While the Maroon and Gold were still awaking from their winter slumber, the silver lining was their third day, as it was a major improvement over the first two. ASU’s two-over-par performance on Tuesday was eight shots better than its second-best round of ten-over-par on Sunday.

While the overall result was underwhelming, the third day showed promise for the rest of the second semester, as the Sun Devils were able to shake off the cobwebs and find the game they had during the fall season.

Senior Beth Coulter (71/75/72) was ASU’s best and most consistent performer in its first tournament back. The Irish native finished in 23rd overall with a final score of five-over-par. Coulter shot even par in the opening round but was unable to maintain form and compete at the top of the leaderboard.

Fellow Irishwomen, freshman Kate Dillion (77/75/70), did not have the same consistency as Coulter but posted the Sun Devils’ lowest score of the tournament on Tuesday at one-under-par. Dillion’s closing effort was the only ASU score to touch red numbers all weekend, but similar to her team, he slow start held her back.

Sophomore Isla McDonald-O’Brien (74/75/71) also posted her best score in the final round at even par despite her slow start. The Shrewsburian rifled a level par round on Tuesday, as she was able to find her footing coming out of the winter break.

Freshman Pimpisa Rubrong (73/81/73) made her debut appearance in the Maroon and Gold in Palos Verdes. Thailand’s No. 5 player had two rounds of two-over-par but struggled on Monday with a score of ten-over-par, leading to a 68th-place finish in her debut.

Finally, senior Paula Schulz-Hanssen (76/72/75) finished 48th with a score of ten-over-par. The German had a strong middle round but could not perform consistently through the rest of the tournament.

ASU’s result was ultimately below expectations in its first tournament back; however, there was promise shown. Nearly every Sun Devil had one strong round throughout the week, but it was the lack of consistency that proved to be their fatal flaw. If they are able to consistently post those same rounds over a three-day span, they will be able to compete for titles as they did in the fall.

UCLA was able to claim the victory thanks to a winning performance from Jeonghyun Lee (69/69/70), who was left tied at the top of the leaderboard with a score of five-under-par. Lee posted three scores under par, the only player in the tournament to do so.

The Bruins were able to string together the best round on two out of the three days, including the best closing round at six-under-par that clinched their 11-shot victory.

No. 3 Texas was the closest team to UCLA at three-over-par. The Longhorns were led by the No. 5 player in the country, junior Farah O’Keefe, who finished second in the tournament, tying Lee at five-under-par.

Rounding out the podium was No. 7 Texas A&M (286/291/284), who ended with a score of nine-over-par. Freshman Brynn Kort was the lowest scoring Aggie, finishing sixth at one-under-par. Texas A&M has consistent play across the board, with its highest score being four-over-par over the weekend.

ASU did not fire out of the gates to spring season, but it will have another opportunity to find its rhythm as it will head to rival territory for the Arizona Thunderbird Intercollegiate in Tucson. The tournament will take place on Feb. 9-10, and features five top-25 teams, as the Sun Devils will look to find their groove at the start of the spring season.