More than the weather looked bleak for the No. 1 ASU women’s golf team after the first round of the Bruin/Wave Invitational on Monday.
After the first hole on the Robinson Ranch Golf Course in Santa Clarita, Calif., the Sun Devils were already 4-over par with a bevy of challenging holes ahead.
The result was a 6-over 294 first round for the team, which put it in a tie for sixth.
But a rocky road at the start, created by several missed putts and what coach Melissa Luellen called “mismanagement of the course,” paved the way for what may have been the Sun Devils’ strongest performance of the season, as the defending national champions bounced back in rounds two and three to finish second, just two strokes behind event champion USC.
“We didn’t get off to a very good start,” Luellen told golfstat.com after Tuesday’s second round. “[Tuesday] we were definitely looking to move up, and I was very pleased with how tough they were, and they knew they had to have a good day today to win the tournament.”
ASU improved those chances further during Wednesday’s final round, bettering its score with a 2-under and falling just short of a second straight tournament win.
While freshman Jennifer Johnson paced the Sun Devils’ second-round comeback bid with a 3-under 69, it was sophomore Giulia Molinaro stepping up over the final 18 holes on the way to a 69 of her own.
“Things were going really well for me [in the final round],” Molinaro said during a telephone interview as the team prepared to board a flight home. “Thankfully I started making my putts, and that really helped my score.”
Luellen said an improvement in Molinaro’s mindset has made a big difference for the sophomore.
“I think the more she plays, the better she gets,” Luellen said. “She used to be really hard on herself, and now she’s to the point where if she’s gets a bogey, she’s not getting down on herself.”
Johnson and Molinaro, who tied for seventh place in the tournament at even-par, were joined in the top 10 by ASU’s top finisher, sophomore Carlota Ciganda.
The defending Pac-10 champion shot a 1-under par with consistent scorecards of 72, 71 and 72, respectively, which was good enough for a fifth place finish.
Given the team’s first-round score, and a rare off-week for senior Juliana Murcia, who had been the team’s top scorer heading into the tournament, Luellen said she was very pleased with her squad’s performance.
“I thought they played great the last two rounds,” Luellen said. “To have a chance to win when they didn’t have a good first day — I thought that said a lot.”
Junior Jaclyn Sweeney finished tied for 25th at 5-over and Murcia carded an 11-over to tie for 43rd.
The Sun Devils have more than a month off before they host the ASU Invitational at Karsten Golf Course on April 9.
Luellen said the team will participate in some community service events but will also have some time off before the home tournament.
“After back-to-back tournaments, the girls are a little tired,” Luellen said.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
