No. 24 ASU falls just short of No. 1 Stanford in Hawaii

(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)

With the fall season winding to a close, No. 24 Arizona State women’s golf went into its final round at the Nanea Invitational in Hawaii with one finger on the crown and a gaggle of top-ranked teams right on its heels.

Heading into the Wednesday finale at Nanea Golf Club with a one shot advantage, the Sun Devils (275/287/289) had no answer for a questioning No. 1 Stanford squad (282/281/269), which sailed to victory amidst the Pacific blue with a dominant closing performance – winning the tournament by a staggering 19 strokes with a score of 44-under-par.

While ASU missed out on gold, the Sun Devils were able to fend off No. 6 Auburn (271/298/286) and No. 10 Texas (287/281/289) in a battle for second place, riding a wave of 59 birdies to its best finish of the fall season at 25-under-par.

The peak of the Nanea Invitational’s individual leaderboard saw a three-way tie, all three repping different colors. Senior Longhorn, Cindy Hsu (69/69/71), Sophomore Cardinal, Meja Örtengren (71/72/66), and Junior Tiger, Anna Davis (66/70/73), all shared the top spot with a final score of ten-under-par.

The driving force behind ASU’s silver medal mark this week was all five of its players finishing inside the top 20 and under par on the week.

Coming off a top-five performance at the Stanford Intercollegiate, redshirt junior Patience Rhodes (68/75/69) led the way for the Maroon and Gold once again, scoring seven-under-par. Despite the second-round stutter, Rhodes had enough firepower at both ends of the tournament to finish just inside the top ten and finish her fall season on a high note.

One stroke behind her was senior Beth Coulter (70/72/71), whose consistent play landed her in 11th place at six-under-par. The native of Ireland finished in the red numbers all three days in what was her best fall finish by a large margin.

Sophomore Isla McDonald-O’Brien (66/74/75) also wrapped up her fall campaign with a solid outing. The Shrewsburyan came out swinging, finishing round one in a tie for second but could not maintain that form, ultimately finishing at four-under-par in 14th.

German senior Paula Schulz-Hanssen also posted her best performance of the harvest season with a three-under-par mark, good enough for 16th place. Schulz-Hanssen’s performance was also highlighted by consistency, carding only three bogeys through her first 36 holes.

Rounding out the Sun Devil squad was true freshman Kate Dillion (71/70/76), whose score did not count, despite her being inside the top 20. Dillion fired a steady two-under-par over three days as she settled into her new home in Tempe.

Consistency was a notable stumbling block for ASU earlier in the fall, but clearly a point of improvement, as it only climbed leaderboards as the leaves changed colors. Sparky and the gang finished their Fall campaign with three top tens through four tournaments as a team and eight individual top 15 placements.

ASU’s stellar seaside finish puts a bow on its fall season as it embarks on a three-month hiatus where its focus will likely shift towards the Thunderbirds Golf Complex. The Sun Devils will return to the links on the first day of February as they will tee it up in Palos Verdes, California, for the Therese Hession Regional Challenge and the start of the spring season.