Alexandra Forsterling Named Pac-12 Golfer of the Month

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sun Devil Women's Golf's Alexandra Forsterling was named the Pac-12 Golfer of the Month, the conference announced this week.

The Arizona State senior has been one of the nation's hottest golfers since the Spring season started, adding another accolade to an amazing final campaign. She has already been named to the ANNIKA Award Spring Watch List, is the No. 1-ranked European golfer in the latest Palmer Cup rankings, and earned Pac-12 Golfer of the Month back in January. Now, she is the Pac-12 Golfer of the Month once again, putting together one of the most successful months in program history.

"We are thrilled to have Lexi be named Pac-12 Golfer of the Month as a part of the strongest conference in women's golf," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye remarked. "It is a high honor for her and well-deserved. She played magnificently in March and we are really excited to see what the rest of the season holds for Lexi."

Forsterling has picked up right where she left off in the Fall and is in the midst of a memorable Spring run. The senior is showing why she is considered one of the top golfers in the country. She finished no lower than sixth at all three of her events, highlighted by winning the Individual Championship at the PING/ASU Invitational. Forsterling has been extremely consistent, but she took her play to another level this past month.

It all started when she tied for sixth at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, with her run at the individual title broadcasted nationally on GOLF Channel. ASU was the lone Pac-12 program invited to the Darius Rucker, as they finished ahead of No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Arkansas thanks in large part to Forsterling's efforts. She started the Darius Rucker out with back-to-back rounds under par.

Later in the month, she helped the Sun Devils to a fourth-place finish at the loaded Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. She personally took third place in that field, which included four other Pac-12 teams. No one from a Pac-12 school finished higher than Forsterling, as she delivered back-to-back 67's (-4) to move into position to claim bronze.

Last, but certainly not least, she put together the most impressive performance of her career at the 2022 PING/ASU Invitational. Forsterling was sensational in taking home individual medalist honors, becoming the 17th Sun Devil to win the individual crown at PING/ASU. Forsterling (-9/207) had to beat out teammate Ashley Menne for the title, as Arizona State finished 1-2 in the final player standings. She is the first Sun Devil to win at PING/ASU since Roberta Liti back in 2017.

Arizona State made it a clean sweep, as they took home both the individual and team title. Forsterling matched a career low by shooting 66 (-6), taking a commanding lead in the opening round. She would not relinquish that lead, beating out 25 other Top-100 ranked golfers, including No. 1-ranked Rose Zhang. Not only were Forsterling and the Sun Devils dominant against strong teams from around the country, but the crushed all the Pac-12 competition. Eight Pac-12 teams were at the PING/ASU Invitational and Arizona State won by an incredible 15 strokes. Forsterling finished at least two strokes ahead of every Pac-12 competitor, clinching her second-ever individual medalist honors. In nine round this month, she went over par only twice, averaging only 70 strokes per round in March.

The Berlin, Germany native becomes the first Sun Devil to win Pac-12 Golfer of the Month twice in the Missy Farr-Kaye era. To put this accomplishment in perspective, past one-time honorees included All-Americans Linn Grant (March, 2020),  Olivia Mehaffey (April, 2019), Linnea Strom (April, 2016), and Monica Vaughn (February, 2016).

Thanks to her efforts, Forsterling moved up to No. 2 in the Golfstat women's collegiate golf national rankings. She is also looked at extremely favorably in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, coming in at No. 4 in the country.

Not only has she been a great representative for Sun Devil Women's Golf at the collegiate level, but also at the international level. She recently participated in the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur, getting the chance to compete with some of the best amateurs in the world on national telelvision. She played a practice round at iconic Augusta National Golf Club a week before The Masters.

UP NEXT
Arizona State kicks off postseason play in Eugune at the 2022 Pac-12 Women's Golf Championships hosted by Oregon at the Eugene Country Club. The event runs from Apr. 18-20, with a round taking place each day. An individual and team championship will be crowned on Wednesday, Apr. 20, with live coverage starting at 10:30 am MST on the Pac-12 Networks. Visit the following link more information on how to watch the event. 

No team has enjoyed more success at the Pac-10/12 Women's Golf Championships than Arizona State. Their 13 individual champions are six more than any other team, while their eight team championships are tied for first. Most recently, Olivia Mehaffey claimed the 2019 Individual Championship and is the reigning Pac-12 Champion. The Sun Devils last one as a team back in 2009 on their way to the program's seventh of eight NCAA Championships, with Coach Farr-Kaye serving as an Assistant Coach that year.
 
Legendary Sun Devil Women's Golf Head Coach Linda Vollstedt could be considered the queen of the Pac-10/12 Championships. Her teams won it a total of six times, including the first two in 1987 & 1988. Later in her career, Arizona State ran off four straight titles during their dominant run in the mid-90s, a feat that has never been matched since. ASU has two Top-3 finishes at the conference championships under Coach Farr-Kaye, finishing third in 2016 & 2019.

ROAD TO GRAYHAWK

In the second of a three-year run as host, Grayhawk Golf Club will welcome the top men's and women's collegiate teams to decide a national champion. The event will be contested on Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor course, a par-72, 6,337-yard and broadcasted live on Golf Channel. Sun Devil fans showed their support last year and will have another chance to do so this year should Coach Farr-Kaye's squad qualify for the NCAA Championship. A veteran of NCAA Championship events, Farr-Kaye recognized that Grayhawk and Arizona State exceeded the standard set by previous hosts.

"We're really excited we got that extra year back so we get to do the three-year run. I think that the Grayhawk Golf Club and our event management staff in Sun Devil Athletics does a fantastic job. I've heard a lot of really good feedback from a lot of coaches and that it felt like a championship and that was the goal all along."

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).