Two current Sun Devil golfers had strong showings at the 2014 World Amateur Tournament this week in Karuizawa, Japan. Senior Noemi Jimenez represented her home country of Spain while freshman Roberta Liti played for her nation of Italy.
Jimenez, currently ranked eighth in the world by World Amateur Golf Ranking, led the Spanish team to a 13th-place finish. Individually Jimenez finished in the top-12, shooting a 9-under.
Jimenez’s strongest round came on Thursday where she shot 6-under with eight birdies. Jimenez shot 1-over in the fourth and final round with four bogeys, the only round where she shot over par.
Spain shot 10-under-par as a team for its 13th place finish.
Freshman Roberta Liti , ranked in the top 250 by WAGR, used a strong third round to help the Italian team to a 15th place finish in the tournament. In her third round, Liti shot 4-under par with five birdies to get her under par for the first time in the tournament.
Liti couldn’t quite keep the momentum of her third round going into the fourth, where she shot a double bogey on the par-4 sixth hole and a bogey on the par-3 seventh hole. Liti was able get her total back to par with birdies on the 10th and 13th holes in her final round.
Former Sun Devil Laura Blanco, who graduated after last season, also participated in the tournament in Japan representing her country of Colombia who finished tied for 25th. Blanco finished the tournament at 7-over par.
The Australian team won the tournament and took home the 26th Espirito Santo Trophy after shooting 29-under par as a team.
Jimenez and Liti will now return to ASU and being their preparations for the first event of the Sun Devil golf season, the Annika Invitational beginning on Sept. 28 in Orlando, Florida.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @bill_slane
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