In case you haven't heard, the ASU women's golf team is really, really good.
The Sun Devils are currently ranked 10th in the NCAA rankings and are ranked second heading into the season. Early on, they showed they could compete with anyone.
AYYYYYY!! #PreSeasonRankings pic.twitter.com/q95uB2KJbS
— Monica Vaughn (@Mvaughn13) September 2, 2016
So far, ASU is off to a great start, coming in second and ninth in their first two tournaments.
But the Sun Devils' head coach Missy Farr-Kaye seems to think those finishes were just the tip of the iceberg.
"We had a better day today but still missed a few chances to move up higher on the leaderboard," Farr-Kaye said to Sun Devil Athletics. "It's hard playing in a field this strong if you have one moderate day. This is just the start of the season and I know this team is capable of great things."
Farr-Kaye has great reason to believe this too, because the ASU women's golf team has three golfers ranked in the top 20 women world amateurs.
Those three would be freshman Olivia Mehaffey, sophomore Linnea Strom and senior Monica Vaughn, all of whom have contributed nicely to the team.
Mehaffey, originally from Belfast, Ireland, is the highest ranked Sun Devil golfer on the team and fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Before arriving in Tempe, Mehaffey already had her fair share of accolades, winning both the Irish Women's Open Championship and the Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship in 2016. She also has a scoring average of 72.33.
Strom, who came to ASU by way of Sweden, had an excellent freshman year in 2015. The swede ended the season ranked sixth in the nation, named a first-team All-American by the Women's Golf Coaches Association and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
The veteran on the team, Monica Vaughn, has started off fast again this season. Last year, she earned a spot on the 2016 Curtis Cup USA team and was a second-team All-American.
Many consider this group to be the best trio in women's collegiate golf, and a national championship is not out of the realm of possibilities.
All three of these lady Sun Devils have a shot to be professionals, and it seems like this team is still rounding into form. With a young group, Farr-Kaye has to be happy about her team's performance.
"This is just the start of the season and I know this team is capable of great things," she said to Sun Devil Athletics after the team's win at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate tournament in late September.
One thing is also abundantly clear: this team mean's business.
we are just as scary on the golf course pic.twitter.com/vBzodUYQw0
— Madison Kerley (@madisondion) August 23, 2016
Reach the columnist at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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