It would have been easy for them to pack it in.
After freshman Jennifer Johnson and sophomore Giulia Molinaro had to withdraw from the Pac-10 Women’s Golf Championship during Tuesday’s second round, No. 1 ASU no longer had a chance to what it traveled to Eugene, Ore., to do: Win a conference title.
But the remaining three golfers hardly laid off the gas. Instead, they put the pedal to the floorboard, each playing arguably their best tournaments of the spring season.
The result: A 1-2-3 finish. There was no team title. But there certainly was domination.
Sophomore Carlota Ciganda became the first golfer in Pac-10 history to claim back-to-back individual titles, and only the second golfer in the conference’s history to win two — former ASU golfer Wendy Ward was the Pac-10 medalist in 1993 and 1995.
Ciganda won the tournament in a one-hole playoff over senior teammate Juliana Murcia. Ciganda stuck her approach shot five feet from the hole on the Par-4 10th and was able to drain the birdie putt for the victory.
Last year, Ciganda defeated teammate Jennifer Osborn in a playoff to win the title.
Junior Jaclyn Sweeney shot a 3-over 219 (72, 75, 72) to tie for third place.
The Spaniard Ciganda was consistent throughout, posting rounds of 71, 72, 71 to finish the tournament at 2-under par.
Her 72 on Tuesday was a better round than the even-par score indicates. Rainy weather conditions forced the pin locations to be moved to the back of the greens, and some of the greens were covered in areas by water.
Murcia’s finish required a strong comeback during the final round. The Sun Devils’ lone senior stormed out of the gates during Monday’s first round, shooting a 4-under 68 that put her just one shot off the pace after the first 18 holes. But a 5-over 77 on Tuesday left her in a tie for fourth heading into Wednesday’s final round.
But Murcia nearly matched her Round 1 performance over the final 18 holes, carding a 3-under 69 (a round that featured no bogeys) to force the playoff with Ciganda.
With ASU out of the mix, UA captured the Pac-10 team title, finishing three strokes ahead of UCLA.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
