Women's Golf Moves Up at Clover Cup
Player Standings | Team Standings | Tee Times | Leaderboard
MESA, Ariz. – No. 7 Sun Devil Women's Golf moved into second place following a strong second round at the Clover Cup hosted at Longbow Golf Club.
Arizona State (-5/571) improved their score by five strokes from yesterday, allowing them to leapfrog UNLV and Houston into second, sitting six strokes behind the overall lead heading into the final day. The 583 carded by the Maroon & Gold was the best score of the day and matches the second-lowest by any team at the Clover Cup. Two Sun Devils currently sit in the top three, both in the hunt for an individual title.
"We had a much better day today and I was pleased with the execution," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye mentioned. "It is going to be a battle for the individual and team titles on the final day, but we will be ready to go."
Linn Grant (-6/138) is in second place through 36 holes after scoring her second consecutive 69 today. Grant is only one stroke off the lead, putting her firmly in contention for a historic fourth-consecutive individual title. She remained extremely successful on par-four opportunities, boasting the second-best scoring average on those holes. Grant is tied for the team lead and is third overall with nine birdies through two rounds.
Matching Grant in the birdie category and nearly on the leaderboard was Alexandra Forsterling. Playing as an individual, Forsterling is only two strokes away from the lead, in a battle with Grant, Clemson's Ivy Shepherd, and the Hou sisters from Arizona for the tournament championship. Forsterling fired a 69 and recorded five birdies, improving one stroke from yesterday.
"Linn and Lexi (Alexandra) have been playing extremely well," Coach Farr-Kaye remarked. "Linn is on a roll right now and it will be exciting to see her chase medalist honors. It has been great to see Lexi play motivated golf, you can tell she is hungry for her first title."
A big reason why the Sun Devils were able to make up ground in the team standings was the play of Ashley Menne and Olivia Mehaffey. Menne (-3/69) shaved six strokes from yesterday's score, helping her move up 18 spots and into a tie for 15th. Menne finished the round with five birdies and enjoyed a bogey-free front nine. Olivia Mehaffey (-1) also improved her scored significantly, trimming four strokes off her score from yesterday. Her 71 (-1) moved her up 16 spots and into a tie 17th place, giving the Sun Devils five in the Top-20 heading into the final day.
The fifth Sun Devil in the lineup, Amanda Linner, has accounted for a team-high 25 pars. In only her second round as a collegiate golfer, Breyana Matthews began to find her groove on the back nine today. She carded three birdies, including one on each of the last two holes to give her momentum and confidence going into the final 18 holes.
The seven Sun Devils will tee-off all throughout the morning tomorrow, as they compete for the tournament championship. The two individual competitors will tee-off separately at 8:45 am. Arizona State's official start will be when Amanda Linner tees-off, followed by Olivia Mehaffey. Their three will begin their rounds every nine minutes. Here is how Arizona State will tee-off in round two:
HOLE 1: Linn Grant – 9:39 AM MST
HOLE 1: Alessandra Fanali – 9:30 AM MST
HOLE 1: Ashley Menne – 9:21 AM MST
HOLE 1: Olivia Mehaffey – 9:12 AM MST
HOLE 1: Amanda Linner – 9:03 AM MST
HOLE 1: Alexandra Forsterling (i) – 8:45 AM MST
HOLE 10: Breyana Matthews (i) – 8:45 AM MST
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live scoring will be provided by Golfstat at the following link. For the latest updates and information on the Clover Cup 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).