Menne Shines on Day Two of Sun Devil Winter Classic
Leaderboard | Team Results | Individual Results | Third Round Tee-Times
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Women's Golf completed the second round of the Sun Devil Winter Classic, hosted at Talking Stick Golf Club on Tuesday.
Arizona State (E/576) is in second place heading into the final round tomorrow, only one stroke behind USC. Four Sun Devil golfers currently sit in the Top-11, all in contention for an individual title.
"We hung in there today with the wind getting a little tricky," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye reflected. "We left a few shots out there on the course, but I know with a little better strategy we can pick those up tomorrow!"
The consistency and reliability of Linn Grant's play is a big reason why the Sun Devils are in a position for the team championship. Grant (-4/140) recorded her second-consecutive 70 (-2) to claim the lead through two rounds along with UCLA's Emma Spitz. The sophomore has a tournament-best 2.75 stroke average on par-three opportunities.
"Linn is doing a great job leading us," Coach Farr-Kaye observed. "We are excited to come out tomorrow and finish strong!"
The talk on the course revolved around the performance of freshman Ashley Menne, as she wasted no time showing Sun Devil fans what she is capable of. In just her second collegiate round, Menne carded a 66 (-6), the lowest round of any golfer so far at the Sun Devil Winter Classic.
"I am also thrilled with our Freshman Ashley Menne playing as an individual shooting 66 today," Coach Farr-Kaye exclaimed. "That was a fantastic round of golf and I am so proud of her."
Menne showed the poise and maturity beyond of a veteran, making the necessary adjustments in order to improve her score by 13 strokes in 24 hours.
"Hitting more greens today really helped me get off to a good start and I kept the momentum going by making solid putts," Menne mentioned after the round. She moved up 32 spots on the leaderboard thanks to her excellent play. Her eight birdies on the day give her a team-high nine for the tournament, the third-most of anyone in the field.
The 66 is the lowest by any Sun Devil since Alessandra Fanali accomplished the feat in the third round of the 2020 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. The highly-touted recruit who finished her career as the four-time State Golfer of the Year showed why she pursued by the top programs in the country, getting to fulfill a dream at the Sun Devil Winter Classic by donning the Maroon & Gold.
"It feels amazing to be playing in a collegiate event," Menne reflected. "It has been so surreal to be a part of a team made up of great players. I'm very proud to call myself a Sun Devil."
Amanda Linner put together her second consecutive solid round, finding herself in seventh-place after finishing even on the day (72). She was outstanding on the back nine, going two-under thanks in large part to back-to-back birdies on 14 & 15. Linner's stroke average on par-four and par-five holes is good enough for Top-5 among the field in each category.
Grant, Linner, and Menne are joined in the Top-11 by Alexandra Forsterling (-1/71), who jumped nine spots into a tie for eighth. Forsterling recorded five birdies on the day, pulling her withing four strokes of the lead.
Alessandra Fanali and Olivia Mehaffey look to have bounce-back rounds as the Sun Devils sit only one stroke back of the lead. Mehaffey will attempt to build upon a strong front nine in which she finished two under.
TEAM STANDINGS
| Southern California | 289 | 286 | 575 |
| Arizona State | 286 | 290 | 576 |
| Oregon | 285 | 302 | 587 |
| UCLA | 294 | 293 | 587 |
| Arizona | 298 | 294 | 592 |
| Colorado | 295 | 299 | 594 |
| Washington | 307 | 295 | 602 |
| Washington State | 301 | 302 | 603 |
| California | 298 | 306 | 604 |
| Oregon State | 302 | 305 | 607 |
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
| T1 | Emma | Spitz | UCLA | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| T1 | Linn | Grant | Arizona State | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| 3 | Alexa | Melton | Southern California | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| T4 | YuSang | Hou | Arizona | 70 | 72 | 142 |
| T4 | Alyaa | Abdulghany | Southern California | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T4 | Allisen | Corpuz | Southern California | 71 | 71 | 142 |
| 7 | Amanda | Linner | Arizona State | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| T8 | Malak | Bouraeda | Colorado | 72 | 72 | 144 |
| T8 | Amelia | Garvey | Southern California | 74 | 70 | 144 |
| T8 | Alexandra | Forsterling | Arizona State | 73 | 71 | 144 |
| T11 | Ashley | Menne | Arizona State | 79 | 66 | 145 |
The seven Sun Devils will tee-off all throughout the morning tomorrow with the first-ever Sun Devil Winter Classic Championship up for grabs. Raquel Olmos is the first one to tee-off, followed by Ashley Menne. Their five teammates wait until mid-morning to begin their rounds. Here is how Arizona State will tee-off in round three:
Raquel Olmos – 7:45 AM
Ashley Menne – 7:54 AM
Olivia Mehaffey – 9:42 AM
Alessandra Fanali – 9:51 AM
Alexandra Forsterling – 10:00 AM
Amanda Linner – 10:09 AM
Linn Grant – 10:18 AM
HOW TO FOLLOW
For the latest updates and information on the Sun Devil Winter Classic and the Sun Devil Women's Golf program, follow our Twitter/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWGolf), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/sundevilwgolf/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com).