Sun Devils in First After Day Two at PING/ASU Invitational

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Sun Devil Women's Golf wrapped up the second round at PING/ASU Invitational hosted at Papago Golf Club. 
 
The host Sun Devils started the day in second place, but quickly found themselves in first after a strong start. They would hold off Michigan to claim a two-stroke lead after 36 holes, the only team to hit even with a score of 576. Arizona State shot a 291 today, which was nine strokes better than day one leader Stanford.
 
"We could have made a few more putts, but we still managed to have a solid day," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye observed. "Our goal is to get out there and make sure our best day is our last day. Get some more birdies on the scorecard. This team is fired up because they want to win at their home event."

         TEAM STANDINGS
1       Arizona State      285   291   576
2       Michigan             291   287   578
3       Northwestern      293   287   580
4       Arizona               292   289   581
5       Denver                291   291   582
 
Familiar with the course and equipped with one of the top coaching staff's in the country, it was no surprise the Sun Devils have had the best approaches to most holes, especially on par four opportunities. They lead the field with a 4.02 stroke average on such opportunities and a tournament-leading 126 pars.
 
Sun Devil Women's Golf star Linn Grant is in contention for what would be a historic fifth-consecutive title, thanks to a 72 (E) today. She sits at 140 (-4) and just one stroke behind Northwestern's Kelly Sim for the overall lead, who she will be paired with on the final day. Grant is tied with Stanford's Rachel Heck for second place.
 
"Linn Grant might be one of the easiest people to coach in the world," Coach Farr-Kaye added. "My goal is to stay out of her way because she is so good. Linn has not turned on the after burners this week yet. Not many putts went in for her. Winning is what she is all about, so I know she will have a really good plan in place. She is just a smart golfer that knows when to press and knows when to pull back. She navigates a golf course with tremendous strategy."
 
Grant is not the only Sun Devil in contention, as Amanda Linner sits just four strokes back of first place playing as an individual. Linner cut her score down by three strokes, carding a 70 (-2) to move up 15 spots on the leaderboard. Of the nine individual competitors, she is currently leading the pack. 
 

1       Kelly Sim           Northwestern      69     70     139
T2     Linn Grant        Arizona State    68     72     140
T2     Rachel Heck      Stanford             67     73     140
T4     Emilie Paltrinieri UCLA                 71     70     141
T4     Yu Sang Hou      Arizona              70     71     141
11     Amanda Linner  Arizona State   73     70     143
 
 
With an even score of 144, Ashley Menne finds herself just outside the Top-10 in a tie for 12th. She is joined by Alessandra Fanali in the Top-20 who is tied for 18th, giving the Sun Devils four of the 18 after two days of play. 
 
Thanks to a two-stroke improvement form yesterday, Olivia Mehaffey ascended 12 spots on the leaderboard, a big reason why the Sun Devils were able to move into first place.
 
Arizona State will be paired with a pair of Big Ten foes, as Michigan and Northwestern sit in second and third place respectively. The Sun Devils will get started at 9 am tomorrow morning, with the team starting at Hole #1. The two individuals will tee-off on Hole 10. Here is how the Maroon & Gold will tee-off tomorrow morning: 
 
HOLE 1: Linn Grant – 9:36 AM
HOLE 1: Ashley Menne – 9:27 AM
HOLE 1: Alessandra Fanali – 9:18 AM
HOLE 1: Olivia Mehaffey – 9:09 AM
HOLE 1: Alexandra Forsterling – 9:00 AM
HOLE 10: Amanda Linner – 9:00 AM
Hole 10: Breyana Matthews – 9:18 AM

HOW TO FOLLOW
Live scoring will be provided by Golfstat at the following link. For the latest updates and information on the PING.ASU Invitational 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).

 
HISTORY AT THE BRUIN WAVE
This is the 12th edition of the Bruin Wave Invitational, which is an annual event jointly-hosted by Pepperdine and UCLA. Arizona State will be participating in the event for the fourth time in program history and looking for their first title. The Sun Devils have previously finished as the runner-up twice and third at their last appearance in 2019.
 
Olivia Mehaffey won the first of three Individual Titles during a brilliant 2018-19 campaign at the 2019 Bruin Wave Invitational. She became the first Sun Devil to win the event and joined Carlota Ciganda (2010), who finished fifth back in 2010, as the only Sun Devils to finish in the Top-5.