No. 6 Women’s Golf in 2nd at 2014 PING/ASU Invitational

By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations

TEMPE, Ariz.—Led by senior Justine Lee, the sixth-ranked Arizona State women’s golf team is in second place ahead of No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Duke, and No. 5 Oklahoma after the first round of the 2014 PING/ASU Invitational on Friday.  The Sun Devils shot a 1-under 287 at the par-72, 6,223-yard ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

Ani Gulugian of UCLA and Katelyn Dambaugh of South Carolina are tied for first, both shooting a 4-under 68 through 18 holes.  No. 11 Washington sits atop the team leader board with a 4-under 284.  The Huskies and the Sun Devils are the only two teams in the 15-team field under par after round one. 

Lee, golfing in the No. 2 spot for the Sun Devils, started the round with three straight birdies on holes 10, 11, 12.  After hitting a rough patch midway through the front nine, Lee finished strong with two birdies on holes eight and nine.  After round one, Lee is tied for sixth overall.

Both Noemi Jimenez (No. 1) and Monica Vaughn (No. 5) shot an even-par 72 and are tied for 20th, while Emilie Alonso (No. 3) and Dani Ordonez (No. 4) are tied for 28th after shooting a 1-over 73. 

Laura Blanco, competing as an individual in her first tournament of the spring season, shot a 2-under 70 for the day.  Blanco carded three birdies and is tied for sixth place.

Saki Iida and Nicole Jones, also competing as individuals, finished round one with a 4-over 76 and a 5-over 77, respectively.  Iida is tied for 48th and Jones is tied for 57th. 

The second round of the 2014 PING/ASU Invitational starts tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. at ASU Karsten Golf Course.  Live scoring for the tournament is available at www.golfstat.com.