The Arizona State women’s golf team made a statement at home, running away with the PING/ASU Invitational behind a record-setting start at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona. The Sun Devils fired rounds of 273-275-280 to finish at 36 under, 13 shots ahead of two-time defending champion Northwestern.
The Wildcats posted rounds of 279-284-278 to finish second at 23 under. Kansas took third at 11 under (287-290-276), while UCLA was the only other team to break par, finishing fourth at 3 under.
Every Arizona State scorer placed inside the top 10. The Sun Devils led the 13-team field in par-3 scoring, tied Northwestern atop the par-4 scoring leaderboard, and ranked second in par-5 scoring at 21 under. They also led the field in birdies with 61 and recorded just 27 bogeys — only one more than the Wildcats.
According to Sun Devil Athletics, the team’s 54-hole total (828) marked the second-lowest in program history. Their first- and second-round scores (273, 275) rank fourth and sixth, respectively, among all-time 18-hole rounds.
Northwestern’s Dianna Lee narrowly claimed medalist honors at 10 under despite a shaky finish. After rounds of 70-68, Lee bogeyed her 17th hole and doubled the last to shoot a final round 68, but held on to edge Arizona State’s Patience Rhodes by one.
Rhodes opened with a tournament-low 66 and followed with rounds of 71-70, including a bogey on her final hole to miss out on sharing individual honors. Teammate Isla McDonald-O’Brien finished third at 8 under (68-68-72), leading the field with 16 birdies — one more than Rhodes.
Kansas’ Lyla Louderbaugh posted the other tournament-low round of 66, firing it in the final round after opening with 71-72 to finish solo fourth. Arizona State teammates Paula Schulz-Hanssen (69-67-74) and Beth Coulter (70-72-68) rounded out the top five at 6 under.
The Sun Devils will return to action at the Big 12 Championship, held April 15–17 in Hockley, Texas.