Due to the ASU women’s golf team’s lack of golfers on its fall roster, it is unable to compete as a team, but that doesn’t stop its individuals from making a splash on the leader board.
The Sun Devils hit the links at the Mason Rudolph Women’s Challenge in Nashville, Tenn. over the weekend and ended with one top 10 finish.
Junior Carlota Ciganda continued to establish herself as one of the nation’s top collegiate golfers, finishing the tournament tied for ninth place with a weekend score of 211.
After shooting a 74 in the opening round, Ciganda unleashed a 67 on day two to soar into contention.
“I was playing good, I was hitting good shots, but I didn’t score low,” Ciganda said. “The second day I played really good, hitting great shots, making the putts. It was a great day.”
Ciganda sunk six birdies during her second round to jump from a tie for 51st place to a several-player tie for 10th.
On the third and final day, Ciganda fired a score of 70 to seal her top 10 finish.
Junior Giulia Molinaro also competed in the event and finished in a tie for 67th place. Molinaro shot 75 in both of the first two rounds of the tournament before shooting a 76 on the final day, to end up 10 shots over par for a final score of 226.
ASU coach Melissa Luellen believes there is more to Molinaro’s performance than just the scorecard.
“Sometimes a score doesn’t reveal how close a player is to playing well,” Luellen said. “She had so many birdie chances. She just really struggled with her confidence with her putter. She hit it quite well. Sometimes you go through a period with a faulty putter. You just have to keep working at it and believing that you can make putts.”
Molinaro is confident her putting struggles were only temporary.
“If I fix my putting, my game will be great,” Molinaro said. “I just really want to work on my putting and try to get that right. Then the scores will really be low, much lower than what I’ve been playing lately.”
Sun Devils sign local standout
Luellen announced the signing of Chandler native Brittany McKee on Friday. McKee intends to graduate from Chandler Hamilton High School in December, and then join the Sun Devils for the spring season in January.
McKee brings an impressive resume to ASU. The future Sun Devil won the PING Northern Arizona Junior Classic last June. McKee also qualified for the Trusted Big 1 Championship, the Callaway Junior World Golf Championship and the Junior America’s Cup.
“Obviously, not only did we need players, we need good players,” Luellen said. “Brittany is completely under people’s radar; she really hasn’t played outside the state that much. Her talent is really immense.”
Reach the reporter at Gregory.dillard@asu.edu
