Women's Golf Opens Season with ANNIKA Intercollegiate
TEMPE, Ariz. - No. 6 Sun Devil Women's Golf opens the 2022-23 season at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate taking place Sept. 12-14 at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.
For the second consecutive year, Arizona State will begin their campaign at one of the nation's most challenging tournaments. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye's gets ready to compete in one of four Fall events in 2022, joined by 10 Top-25 teams at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. Follow the action with Golfstat live scoring provided at the following link. Here is more information about the 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate:
COACH'S CORNER
"We're excited to head to the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. It's one of the top collegiate tournaments of the year and a great way to start the season. It always has an impressive field and the golf course is great, designed by Annika Sorenstam and Arnold Palmer. We've played in this event several times, so we have some experience with it, which is helpful."
"The team had a really good and close qualifying round. We have a very hungry team with three freshmen coming in who want to get off to a good start here at ASU. It's exciting to watch, their energy is contagious. They are a little nervous, but also very excited."
"The lineup could change every single week because I feel we have so much depth. This group is very competitive and pushing each other to be their best. They are all focused on our goal, which is to return to Grayhawk and the NCAA Golf Championship."
THE FIELD
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate once again features one of the most prestigious fields in all of collegiate golf. Ranked teams Duke, Auburn, Arizona State, Texas, Virginia, Wake Forest, Florida, Oregon, South Carolina, Alabama, and Michigan are joined by host Minnesota in a battle for early bragging rights. 11 of the Top-25 teams in the country will be in Minnesota this weekend.
THE LINEUP
After a grueling qualifying session, five from Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye's team earned the right to compete in the lineup this weekend. Grace Summerhays, Calynne Rosholt, Beth Coulter, Ashley Menne, and Paula Schulz-Hanssen will represent Sun Devil Women's Golf in the first event of the season. The five claimed a spot in the five-golfer rotation due to their efforts in the qualifying rounds held leading up to the first event.
TEE TIMES
Starting on Hole 1 paired with Wake Forest and South Carolina
Grace Summerhays - 6:50 AM MST
Calynne Rosholt - 7:00 AM MST
Beth Coulter - 7:10 AM MST
Ashley Menne - 7:20 AM MST
Paula Schulz-Hanssen - 7:30 AM MST
HISTORY AT ANNIKA INTERCOLLEGIATE
Sun Devil Women's Golf is making its fifth appearance at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, also competing back in 2021, 2019, 2016, & 2014. A season ago, Calynne Rosholt made her collegiate debut in style, finishing in a tie for 13th place in her first tournament at Arizona State. ASU looks to build off the momentum they left off with at the end of last year's event, where they delivered the second-lowest round of the tournament to move up two spots on the leaderboard on a team on the final day.
In 2019, Linn Grant led the way finishing tied for eight, while ASU placed fourth as a team among a loaded field at one of the most prestigious tournaments of the season. The Maroon & Gold ended up ahead of several talented teams in the standings at the end of the three-day event, including No. 1 USC, No. 2 Duke, No. 6 UCLA, and No. 12 Arizona. Arizona State also participated back in 2014 & 2016 when the tournament was in Orlando. During the 2016 ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Linnea Strom recorded one of her 20 career Top-10 individual finishes, earning a tie for eighth. Back in 2014, Noemi Jiminez put together a strong performance, finishing in the Top-5 of the individual race.
THE COURSE
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate will be hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota for the fourth time. The par-72, 6,410-yard course is 18-holes, however the front and back nine are distinct. The first nine holes were designed by Annika Sorenstam and are known as the Queen's Nine. The back nine holes are known as the King's Nine and were designed Arnold Palmer. The venture was Palmer's last project and Sorenstam's first in the U.S.
SUN DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS
Arizona State is a unanimous Top-10 team in the preseason rankings as the expectations are high in Tempe once again. The Maroon & Gold were tabbed as high as No. 6 (Golfweek), while the WGCA slotted them at No. 7 and GOLF Channel at No. 10.
Golfweek: 6th
WGCA: 7th
GOLF Channel: 10th
LAST TIME OUT
Head Coach MIssy Farr-Kaye's team is coming off a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championship. Following the third day of competition, the Maroon & Gold were able to survive the Top-15 cut to advance to the final day of stroke play at the NCAA Championship. They missed a berth in Match Play by just two strokes, but collected 69 crucial points for the Director's Cup. Ashley Menne, Amanda Linner, Calynne Rosholt, Grace Summerhays, and Breyana Matthews all return from the 2021-22 team that was a contentder for the national title.
2023 NCAA WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Arizona State and the Thunderbirds will host the NCAA Men's and Women's Golf Championships for the third consecutive year, taking place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale May 19-31. This is the final of successful three-year run as the host school of the most prestigous event in all of college golf. Don't miss your last chance to check out the top individuals and teams in the nation square off for the ultimate prize in your own backyard.
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). Follow @ANNIKA_Fdn, @RoyalGolfClubMN, and @3M for additional behind-the-scenes content.