Sun Devils Finish Strong at ANNIKA
LAKE ELMO, Minn. - Sun Devil Women's Golf finished their first tournament of the season on a high note, delivering a strong performance in round three of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate.
Arizona State (+5/869) matched Texas with the lowest round of the day, posting a 282 (-6) to move up two spots on the team leaderboard. The 282 is also tied for the second-lowest round of any team across all three days, as the adjustments put in place by Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye and Associate Head Coach Michelle Estill yielded big results.
"I am really proud of how this team fought back with a great round today," Coach Farr-Kaye observed. "We learned a great deal this week with this being our first tourney."
Calynne Rosholt put the finishing touches on an outstanding debut, as the freshman proved she belonged among the top female collegiate golfers in the country. She finished with a 215 (-1), which was good enough to earn a tie for 13th place. Rosholt was the fourth-highest finishing freshman in the field, giving Sun Devil fans a glimpse of her bright future.
"Calynne had a really good first tournament finishing top 15 in one of the strongest fields of the entire year," Farr-Kaye remarked. "Can't wait to see how she builds off this performance."
The other four Sun Devils had huge contributions in the team's move up the leaderboard, each carding their best round of the tournament. Ashley Menne moved up the most after a 70 (-2), climbing 13 spots. She found a groove after the first three holes, going three-under over the final 15. Matching Menne in recording a 70 (-2) was Amanda Linner, who made a similar jump in the standings. Linner started her round brilliantly, remaining four-under through the first 15 holes. This allowed her to move up 12 spots on the final day.
Alexandra Forsterling was the third Sun Devil to card 70 (-2), her second of the tournament. She finished three-under on the front nine thanks in large part to an eagle on a par-five 18th hole, the first by a Sun Devil this season. Forsterling moved up five spots into a tie for 15th, her 11th Top-20 finish of her career and second at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. Joining Forsterling in ascending the leaderboard was Alessandra Fanali, who's 72 (E) was her best round of the season. Thanks to the clutch ending, Arizona State finished eighth out of 12 in the team standings, ahead of No. 4 LSU, defending National Champion No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 16 UCLA, and host Minnesota.
"We have some work to do getting ready for the Nicklaus Cup in 2 weeks," Coach Farr-Kaye concluded. "I know our team will be focused on continuing to get better."
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will head back to a familiar place when competing at the Nicklaus Cup, which takes place Oct. 4-5. The tournament is in Columbus and named after Barbara Nicklaus, the wife of golfing legend Jack Nicklaus. It is also the same city where Arizona State finished second in the 2021 NCAA Columbus Regional. Instead of playing at Ohio State's home course, the Maroon & Gold will play at Murfield Village Golf Club.
The men's and women's golf teams will travel and participate together at this unique event, with the inaugural edition taking place this year.
"That's a golf course that would be on anyone's bucket list to get to play, so we are traveling with our men's team for the first time," Coach Farr-Kaye remarked. "It's going to be a lot of fun coaching with the men's coaches and spending that amount of time with our men's team, which we never do."
HOW TO FOLLOW
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).