ASU women's golf finished ninth in a very competitive field at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate tournament in Reunion, Florida. Sophomore Linnea Strom led the way for the Lady Sun Devils, tying for eighth in individual play.
"It's hard playing in a field this strong if you have one moderate day," head coach Missy Farr-Kaye said to Sun Devil Athletics.
Twelve teams were in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate field with likes the of Arkansas, Georgia, Southern California, and UCLA in attendance.
ASU placed above Oklahoma State, who won the team championship in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in New Mexico two weeks ago.
"I know this team will be competitive with the top teams in the country week in and week out," Farr-Kaye said. "We have a few things to work on to get better and I am confident this team will get there."
Strom set a new career-best score in the first round on Sunday with a 66, starting her sophomore debut off strong.
"Linnea's ball striking was very good this week," Farry-Kaye said. "All she needed was to make a few more putts and she would have had a chance to win."
Strom was the standout for ASU in this 3-round tournament, being the only Sun Devil to place in the top-25.
Freshman Olivia Mehaffey made her collegiate debut for the Maroon and Gold, shooting a 73, 71 and 72 in each round respectively.
Mehaffey finished the tournament tied for 27th, which was the second best placing for the Sun Devils' starting lineup.
Mehaffey and Strom were unable to participate in the first tournament for ASU due to prior commitments with their native countries for the World Amateur Team Championships that were in Mexico from Sept. 14-17.
"Linnea and Olivia have had a very busy few weeks," Farr-Kaye said. "I think the next two weeks home will be very good for them to rest, recover, get caught up in school and get ready for Stanford."
Junior Sophia Zeeb also had a career round in day one of play with a 71, tying for her second lowest score ever in her time at ASU.
Zeeb tied for 37th in individual play, along with senior Monica Vaughn and junior Roberta Liti who tied for 43rd and 55th respectively to round out the ASU field of golfers.
The Sun Devils have their next tournament in two weeks in Palo Alto, California for the Stanford Intercollegiate tournament from Oct. 14-16.
"This is just the start of the season and I know this team is capable of great things," Farr-Kaye said to Sun Devil Athletics.
This will be their second-to-last tournament of the fall season, with the Pac-12 preview tournament being held in Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 24-25.
Reach the reporter at thandlan@asu.edu or follow @Tyler_Handlan on Twitter.
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