A Sun Devil sweep at the PING/ASU Invitational
Courtesy of Arizona State Athletics
Behind medalist
Alexandra Forsterling, the Arizona State Sun Devils put the wraps on their 22nd team title at the PING/ASU Invitational on Sunday at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix.
The ninth-ranked Sun Devils flexed their desert muscle for three days at Papago, shooting 25-under 839 for the 54-hole event to earn a 15 shot win over No. 2 Oregon while top-ranked Stanford was a distant third at 2-under 862.
After carding a 17-under score of 275 in Saturday's second round, the Sun Devils enjoyed a 17-stroke lead over Oregon heading into Sunday's play and were never threatened. ASU cruised home with a 4-under 284 on Sunday to cap off a wire-to-wire victory.
It marked the second victory of the season for the Sun Devils and the 22nd time Arizona State claimed its own tournament.
Alexandra Forsterling Plaing in her final home event,
Forsterling picked up her second collegiate victory, shooting 9-under 207 to earn a two-stroke win over teammate
Ashley Menne and
Emma Spitz of UCLA. The native of Berlin, Germany began the day two strokes behind Menne, but shot a final-round 2-under 70 to overtake her teammate to earn medalist honors. Spitz's final round 69 moved her tie with Menne at 7-under 209.
Stanford's
Aline Krauter finished fourth at 6-under 210 while
Kelly Sim of Northwestern,
Briana Chacon of Oregon and
Gurleen Kaur of Baylor tied for fifth at 5-under 211.
The win has been a long time coming for Forsterling, who had four top-10 finishes in her seven previous events this season heading into the PING/ASU Invitational, including a third-place showing at the Northrup Grumman Challenge just two weeks ago. The reigning German Amateur champion opened the tournament with a 6-under 66 and then carded rounds of 71-70 to lock down the first outright victory of her career.
ASU freshman
Calynne Rosholt joined Forsterling and Menne in the top-10, tying for 10th at 3-under 213 with five players, including Stanford's
Rose Zhang.
Forsterling and Menne will be a part of the field at the Augusta National Women's Amateur which gets underway on Wednesday in Georgia.
The Sun Devils will be back in action on April 4, when they join a strong field at the Silverado Showdown in Napa, Calif.
ABOUT THE PING/ASU Invitational
54-hole college tournament hosted by the
Arizona State University women's team. Team (best
four scores out of five players) and individual
competitions.
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