(Photo Courtesy – Troon Golf)
Following a three week hiatus, Arizona State Women’s Golf will hit the links again Sunday for the Dual in the Desert against Denver University.
After a strong fall season to close out 2023, the Sun Devils have played in two events in 2024, thus far.
On January 22, ASU took third in a strong five-team field at the Match in the Desert. It was senior Ashley Menne who led the way, shooting a 66 (-6) and finishing second on the individual leaderboard.
Sophomore Paula Schulz-Hanssen and Junior Grace Summerhays also shot under par, helping ASU to a nine-under finish.
The sixth-ranked UCLA Bruins walked away with the win, shooting 17-under as a team, followed by the Arizona Wildcats at 14-under.
Baylor and Kansas were the two teams Arizona State was able to top in Gold Canyon.
The Sun Devils also competed in the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verde, CA, a couple of weeks back, but didn’t fare as well as they would have liked.
In the three-day match play event, the Sun Devils went 1-2, falling to Texas and Ohio State before closing out the weekend with a dominant 4.5-0.5 win over Pepperdine.
Summerhays was the lone winner for ASU against the Buckeyes in the 3-2 defeat.
Against the eighth ranked Longhorns, Schulz-Hanssen was the only Sun Devil to earn points, as she won in dominant fashion after being up five with four holes to play.
Leaving a match play tournament 1-2 certainly isn’t up to the standard that Golfweek’s preseason number 12 ranked team expects of itself, but closing out the weekend with a lopsided win over Pepperdine could prove to be exactly what ASU needed as a burst heading into this weekend.
Denver will travel to Arizona Sunday to play at ASU’s home course, Papago Golf Club, for an all day stroke play match.
It will likely be all six players on ASU’s roster teeing it up against the Pioneers at ASU’s home course.
Summerhays has been ASU’s standout in 2024, as she enters Sunday off of a 2-1 weekend in Palos Verde and a 71 (-1) at the Match in the Desert.
Redshirt freshman Patience Rhodes, sophomore Beth Coulter and junior Calynne Rosholt each are also coming off of a win in their last match play round against Pepperdine.
As for Denver, the Pioneers have gotten off to a hot start in 2024.
On Feb. 5-6, they traveled to Boca Raton, Florida, and finished second overall in a field of 13, topping the likes of Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and BYU.
Denver’s top golfer, graduate student Anna Zanusso, led the way in Florida, tying for second on the individual leaderboard.
The Pioneers picked up another top five finish in the San Diego State Classic on Feb. 12-13.
They finished fifth on the 12 team leaderboard in San Diego, and headed into the desert riding high after two strong events.
Despite Denver’s momentum, however, Arizona State heads into Sunday with the ultimate advantage of knowing the course better than anyone.
There’s nowhere the Sun Devils would rather play than Papago, and Denver will certainly have to be quick to adjust to the course, as it is just a one-day event.
Defending its home course would be a great way to kickstart ASU into a jam-packed March schedule and the final stretch towards the NCAA Championship.
