(Photo Courtesy – Ben Parris)
2023 is shaping up to be an eventful year for Arizona State Golf.
Both the Sun Devils’ men’s and women’s golf teams entered the season with legitimate National Championship aspirations.
After playing in just a few tournaments in September, each team has shown it has the talent to compete at the top, and the women’s team is already placing well at events.
In its first tournament, the Arizona State women’s golf team placed third behind Pepperdine and Kansas at the McGuire Invitational.
In the Sun Devils’ second tournament, the Mason Rudolph Invitational, they were able to finish fourth in a field of 18 teams, five who were ranked in the preseason top 25.
ASU sophomore Paula Schultz-Hanssen had a solid tournament in the Mason Rudolph invitational, shooting seven-under and finishing tied for fifth.
After two good performances for the Sun Devils, it appears there’s clarity around what the typical lineup will be, as the participants for ASU were the same in each of the first two events.
The five golfers to tee it up thus far have been Schultz-Hanssen, redshirt-freshman Patience Rhodes, sophomore Beth Coulter, junior Grace Summerhays, and senior Ashley Menne.
Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye has been pleased with how her lineup has played, especially in the way it closed out the Mason Rudolph classic.
“Overall we had a good tournament,” said Farr-Kaye after the recent tournament, “Our strong finish today propelled us up the leaderboard to 4th place against some good teams.”
This team appears to be on the right trajectory early into the season as it heads into the Windy City Classic next week to participate in a field that Farr-Kaye described as, “stacked.”
And stacked it is, the two-day event starting on October 2 features nine teams who were ranked in the NBC preseason top 25 including No. 2 USC, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 7 Texas and many more national championship hopefuls.
The USC Trojans, specifically, not only stand out as a team, but come in with three of NBC’s preseason top 25 players, led by junior Amari Avery who ranked fourth in the nation to begin the season.
Wake Forest enters with the best player in the tournament according to NBC, Rachel Kuehn, who began the season as the second best women’s golfer in America.
On the Sun Devils’ side of things, sure the competition is stiff next week, but Arizona State has the talent to compete with anybody, as well.
Thus far, ASU players have scored under par five times, including a seven-under performance by Hanssen and done twice by Summerhays.
This years’ Arizona State team also features an interesting mix of both young talent and experience.
While three of the five players are underclassmen, the other two have a lot of experience with ASU and Farr-Kaye is in her ninth season as the head coach.
With the talent this roster has combined with the immense coaching and playing experience the head coach brings, it’s reasonable to believe the Sun Devils will be well prepared and ready to take on next week’s challenge.
That challenge, however, goes beyond just the competition.
A battle with the Trojans, Longhorns and Blue Devils is already difficult in itself, but the course is always the biggest hurdle to overcome in the game of golf.
The Windy City Invitational will be played at Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois, the ideal city for a tournament full of title contenders.
Glen View Club features one of the most historic and prestigious courses in the midwest, as the club was founded in 1897 and has held the U.S. Open.
The Par 72, 6368 yard course provides challenges for all players, especially when the course is groomed for a big event.
Seven of the final nine holes force players to carry water, as the back nine sits in the valley of the North Fork of the Chicago River.
The sights will certainly be beautiful, but with that amount water comes added pressure on players to hit good shots.
All the different variables at play in Illinois will certainly bring the best out some of the top players in America.
The Sun Devils will look to make a statement and prove why they believe they should be one of the favorites heading into the heart of the season.
The two day battle for the Windy City Invitational Championship will certainly be one to keep up with to see which team will prevail in an early tournament with high-stakes.
