No. 2 ASU women's golf finished in sixth place at the Pac-12 Championships with a team score of 31-over par at the Sewailo Golf Club Casino Del Sol in Tucson.
It was a disappointing finish for a Sun Devil squad that entered the competition considered the favorite by many. UCLA ran away with the competition as the only team to record a score under par (-2). Colorado placed third at 19-over par.
“We didn't achieve our goal and that's always disappointing, but I'm very proud of this team,” ASU women's golf head coach Missy Farr-Kaye said through Sun Devil Athletics. “I feel like this is going to position us and motivate us to move in the right direction to focus and get ready for regionals and the National Championships.”
Sophomore Linnea Strom, who the individual Pac-12 championship last year, led the way for the Sun Devils this season, finishing tied for third in the individual standings at 1-over par along with Stanford’s Andrea Lee.
“Linnea (Strom) had a beautiful tournament, and it was definitely a great defense of her championship last year. I'm very proud of her,” Farr-Kaye said.
Junior Sophia Zeeb was the second Sun Devil on the individual standings in 21st place, completing the course after three days with a score of 11-over par.
Freshman Olivia Mehaffey came in right behind Zeeb at 12-over for the event and tied for 22nd place individually.
Junior Roberta Liti completed competition with a score of 14-over par and tied for 30th place with two other golfers.
Senior Monica Vaughn rounded out play for ASU and finished with a final score of 15-over par and tied for 33rd overall.
So proud of our @pac12 All-Conference First Teamers @linneaasstrom @OliviaMehaffey @Mvaughn13 & Honorable Mention @SophiaZeeb #Allin17 pic.twitter.com/DatDKPQgbQ
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilGolf) April 26, 2017
While UCLA won the team competition, a Bruin also took the top spot individually. Sophomore Lilia Vu finished at 7-under par to pace the individual leaderboard.
Next Up:
ASU returns to Tempe to prepare for the upcoming NCAA Regionals, running May 8-10. Despite a bit of a disappointing showing in the conference championships, Farr-Kaye said she'd rather make the necessary adjustments now when there's still golf left to be played.
“It's like having three U.S. Open's in a row – conference, regionals, nationals – and they're all very important,” Farr-Kaye. “I would rather some of our weaknesses show up a little bit now so we know what to work on.”
Reach the reporter at michael.baron@asu.edu or follow @Michael_Baron96 on Twitter.
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