(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)
Expectations were high for Arizona State’s women’s golf as it entered the season No. 5 in NBC’s preseason rankings. Despite the promising projections, the team stumbled out of the gate in its season opener at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn.
A late charge on Wednesday couldn’t stop the Sun Devils (298-299-290/887) from finishing 10th out of 12 teams, with Wake Forest (294-281-281/856) claiming the championship at eight-under par.
After an opening day 10-over-par finish, the Sun Devils had four out of their five players shoot over par. Only freshman Isla McDonald-O’Brien finished at even par. As a team, ASU closed 11 shots off the lead, tied for seventh.
The second round saw no improvements as the Sun Devils went a combined 11-over-par, moving them down the leaderboard three spots to tenth. The lone bright spot to the lackluster second day was redshirt sophomore Patience Rhodes, who carded a three-under 69, catapulting her up the leaderboard and moving her to one-over-par (145) for the week.
After a disappointing opening 36 holes, the Sun Devils finally showed signs of life during a cold-weather final round on Wednesday. The team was able to piece together a steady two-over-par round, led by McDonald-O’Brien’s bogey-free 69 and Rhodes firing two-under-par 70.
Although the team’s opening result left a lot to be desired, both McDonald-O’Brien and Rhodes started their years strongly. McDonald-O’Brien finished at two-over-par (72-77-69/218), good enough for 19th, and Rhodes finished in a tie for 10th at one-under-par (76-69-70/215).
Junior Paula Schulz-Hanssen carded five-over-par (221), landing her in 28th place, followed by freshman Johanna Axelsen who finished 19-over-par (235) and junior Beth Coulter who found herself at 20-over-par (236).
The young Sun Devils have four tournaments remaining in the fall season and will look to bounce back and build off their solid finishing round in Minnesota. They will be back in action in nine days when they head to Franklin, Tenn., for the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club, where they will compete against four other top-30 teams in the three-day tournament.
