Arizona State Set to Host NCAA Women's Golf Championship

TEMPE, Ariz. – The 10th-ranked Sun Devil Women's Golf team prepares to host the 2021 NCAA Championship, which begins Friday morning at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The championship format consists of 24 teams and 12 individuals completing 54 holes of stroke play (Friday-Sunday). Following the first three rounds, the top-15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team proceed to the final day of stroke play Monday to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in match play for the NCAA Championship on Tuesday & Wednesday. 

Monday's fourth round of stroke play, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday's match play, will broadcast live on the Golf Channel. See below for the Golf Channel broadcast schedule throughout the championships (all times Eastern Time). The Golf Channel can also be viewed online at www.golfchannel.com or on the Golf Channel app.

GOLF CHANNEL LIVE COVERAGE SCHEDULE 
Monday, May 24 – 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. (Live final round, individual stroke play coverage)
Tuesday, May 25 – 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (Live quarterfinals coverage)
Tuesday, May 25 – 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. (Live semifinals coverage)
Wednesday, May 26 – 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. (Live finals, match play coverage)

The Sun Devil lineup is one of the most talented and deepest in the country, as Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye has the benefit of having six talented golfers. All six will make the trip down to Scottsdale, with an alternate allowed in case of injury or substitution.
 
"I am very excited, this is what we train all year for," Olivia Mehaffey remarked. "This is a great team and know everyone is really looking forward to the week."
 
ANNIKA Award Finalist and WGCA Player of the Year Candidate Linn Grant will take her familiar role in the No. 1 spot. Olivia Mehaffey will compete in her fourth NCAA Championship, occupying the No. 2 spot. Ashley Menne will make her NCAA Championship debut as the No. 3. First Team All Pac-12 seleciton Alessandra Fanali is ready for her second NCAA Championship as the No. 4 golfer. Amanda Linner rounds out one of the strongest groups of five in the nation. Alexandra Forsterling will serve as the alternate golfer.
 
"This team is pretty relaxed, we just want to enjoy it and go and compete," Mehaffey added. "Getting to play at home is exciting and everyone enjoys that. We are very focused on being present and our preparations."

Arizona State will tee off at 12:36 p.m. MST, with a new golfer starting their round every 11 minutes. The Sun Devils will be paired with fellow Columbus Regional participant No. 11 Georgia and No. 12 Baylor. Golfstat will be providing live scoring throughout the tournament at the following link. A full listing of tee times is provided below:

Missy Farr-Kaye and the Sun Devils are no strangers to the challenge that the NCAA Championship presents. This is the fourth-consecutive time the team has qualified for nationals under Farr-Kaye, and the 36th time overall. After capturing the 2017 national championship, Farr-Kaye added to her already impressive resume. She has now won a national title at ASU as a player (1990), assistant coach (2009), and head coach (2017). Coach Farr-Kaye and assistant coach Michelle Estill, both Sun Devil alums, played under legendary head coach Linda Vollstedt. Vollstedt led the program to a total of six NCAA championship in the 1990's. Veteran Olivia Mehaffey was a member of the 2017 team that defeated Northwestern to earn the program's eighth crown.
 
The Sun Devil Women's Golf program has done something unmatched by any other NCAA Division I team in their sport – they have won eight NCAA National Championships, including three straight, five in six years, and six within nine years (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2017). ASU also has a nation-leading six individual NCAA champions including Danielle Ammaccapane (1985), Emilee Klein (1994), Kristel Mourgue d'Algue (1995), Grace Park (1999), Azahara Munoz (2008), and Monica Vaughn (2017). Prior to women's sports competing in the NCAA, the Sun Devils had four other national champions including Cathy Gaughan (1970), Jane Bastanchury-Booth (1969), Carol Sorenson (1962), and Joanna Gunderson-Carner (1960).

Arizona State is one of six teams to have both the women's and men's teams qualifying for NCAA championships in 2021. The Sun Devils are joined by Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Wake Forest. ASU is also the only school to have won a National Title in both men's and women's golf in the same season (1990).
 
NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

 
SUN DEVIL WOMEN'S GOLF YEAR-BY-YEAR POSTSEASON FINISHES (Since 1990)

 
It is worth noting that the NCAA Regionals routinely knock out good program. Even with the top-six teams advancing due to weather at the Baton Rouge Regional, four teams will be staying home who were ranked in the Golfstat Top-25 coming into this week. Top-six seeded teams staying home include No. 11 Virginia, No. 17 Arkansas, No. 23 Texas Tech, and No. 24 Vanderbilt.
 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
SEC (7): Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina
Pac-12 (6): Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC
ACC (5): Duke, Florida State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Big 12 (3): Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas
Big Ten (2): Michigan, Michigan State
MAC (1): Kent State

GRAYHAWK GOLF CLUB

Arizona State University and Grayhawk Golf Club will host the 2021 through 2023 NCAA Division I Men's & Women's Golf Championships on Golf Channel in Scottsdale, Ariz. It becomes the first time a university and golf course will host the championships for three consecutive seasons.
 
"Its' so special to compete at home, I've been looking forward to this for the last couple of years now," Olivia Mehaffey mentioned. "We are very lucky to have a lot of support in Arizona, so it will be great to have some spectators out there this week."
 
It will be the first time ASU has hosted an NCAA Golf Championship since the women hosted in 1992. This becomes the first time either the men's or women's championship has been hosted in the southwest since the 2012 men's tournament in Pacific Palisades, Calif. and the 2008 women's tournament in New Mexico.
 
Established in 1994, Grayhawk Golf Club features two par-72 golf courses – Talon and Raptor – engineered with their own distinctive personalities. Talon offers a desert-style test of golf that skirts thick stands of Sonoran Desert and box canyons on the way to large multi-tiered greens. Raptor delivers more traditional challenges clearly laid out come-and-get-it style with generous fairways and deep greenside bunkers guarding crowned greens. Both of the highly acclaimed layouts at Grayhawk Golf Club are widely considered to be among the best golf courses in Scottsdale.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Golf Channel will have live coverage May 24-26, the final three days of the NCAA Championship. Stayed tuned for more details on the upcoming NCAA Women's Golf Championship, hosted by Arizona State at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. Visit the Championship Central webpage.
 
For the latest updates and information on 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).