Life isn’t getting any easier for ASU with the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate right around the corner

(Photo: Brad Repplinger/Sun Devil Athletics)

As the Arizona State men’s golf team heads to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Sun Devil women’s golf team heads to another popular vacation destination themselves in Hilton Head, South Carolina, for a stacked tournament field of their own.

The Sun Devils will participate in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at the historic Long Cove Club from March 2-4, and the tournament will follow the standard stroke-play collegiate format with 54 holes over three rounds in three days.

This is an event that head coach Missy Farr-Kaye and ASU are very comfortable with, having competed in it in each of the last four seasons.

This includes a first-place team finish in 2024, narrowly edging out Northwestern and Auburn, which both return to the field this year, along with three top-six finishes or better.

The tournament also boasts one of the best fields in women’s collegiate golf. Of the 17-team field, 11 are ranked in the top 25, and seven are ranked in the top 15.

No. 5 Auburn headlines the field. The Tigers are coming off back-to-back first-place finishes in both the UCF Challenge and the Moon Golf Invitational, the only two tournaments they’ve played since the break.

The other top contenders include No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 9 Texas, No. 12 Duke, No. 14 Vanderbilt and No. 15 Ole Miss, all of which have reached the top of the podium at least once this year outside of the Longhorns.

The two headline individuals of this tournament are Southern California senior Catherine Park and Ohio State senior Kary Hollenbaugh, who sit No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the LPGA Collegiate Advancement Pathway.

As for the Sun Devils, they will still be without star redshirt junior Patience Rhodes, who is still recovering from the leg injury she sustained over the winter break. This means the Sun Devils’ depth will be imperative to have a chance to compete in this field.

The Sun Devils will be led out by sophomore Isla McDonald-O’Brien, who played decently at this event as a freshman a year ago, shooting 6-over-par over the three rounds. In her most recent outing, she shot 5-over-par at the Arizona Intercollegiate, which was the best of any Sun Devil.

Next up for ASU is freshman Kate Dillon, who has put together a very solid rookie year, appearing in every single tournament for the Sun Devils and racking up four different top 30 finishes.

She will be followed by seniors Beth Coulter and Paula Schulz-Hanssen, both of whom also participated in the event last year. Coulter brought up the rear for the Sun Devils in 2025, shooting a disappointing 11-over-par.

As for Schulz-Hanssen, she returns after shooting 5-over-par last year, but the more concerning statistic is that over her last two events and combined six rounds, she has a total score of 22-over-par.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, that’s not even the worst combined score in that time. That unfortunate honor goes to the final member of ASU participating this week, freshman Pimpisa Rubrong. Since joining the team after the winter break, Rubrong has certainly struggled, shooting 14-over-par and then 15-over-par; however, the talent is undeniable, and she could prove to be an x-factor for the Sun Devils this upcoming week.

This will be the first of three tournaments in March, the final of which, the PING ASU at Popagao Golf Club, is ASU’s home event. Taking on a field like the one this week and a stretch of tournaments like this so close together, and down your star player, will put the team to the test both mentally and physically as coach Farr-Kaye looks to find out who she can rely on in the postseason.