Expectations are high for the ASU men’s golf team even after a disappointing last place finish a week ago.
The No. 9 Sun Devils are determined to prove that their performance at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational was a one-time deal.
ASU returns to the golf course Sunday in Stillwater, Okla. for the Ping/Golfweek Preview. Reigning NCAA Champion Augusta State, two-time defending tournament champion Oklahoma State, and four Pac-10 teams are among the competitors ASU will face.
The Sun Devils enter the tournament with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove.
“It would be really nice to play well, and show all the other teams there that Olympia Fields was a fluke,” junior Spencer Fletcher said. “That we aren’t going to be finishing last in every tournament this year.”
Following the team’s trip to the Tokyo, Japan, the Sun Devils returned home only to turn around and fly to Chicago for last weekend’s tournament, possibly contributing to the team’s poor play.
“I definitely think that at Olympia Fields a big part of the problem was that everyone was a little exhausted with the about 16 hour time change in the one day turn around coming back from Japan,” Fletcher said. “That probably played a part in it.”
With time to adjust and rest, the rejuvenated Sun Devils are focused on playing at their highest level.
“We just need to play, the guys on the team know how good we are,” ASU coach Randy Lein said. “It’s just a matter of going out on a very difficult course, which traditionally for us, are the type of courses we play that much better.”
The tournament begins Sunday at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater.
Women travel to Tennessee
With only two golfers competing throughout the fall season, the ASU women’s golf team is determined to take advantage of the individual opportunities presented to them.
Juniors Carlota Ciganda and Giulia Molinaro will compete in the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship in Franklin, Tenn. against 14 nationally ranked teams.
While ASU is unable to compete as a team, the Sun Devils continue to receive invitations to play against the nation’s best collegiate golfers.
“It’s a wonderful complement to Arizona State, and the history that this program has been used to and the respect that it has in the golf collegiate community,” ASU coach Melissa Luellen said. “That they have allowed us to come, and allow our good players to come compete. They know they make the field better.”
Vanderbilt University will host the event at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. With the Men’s Championship being held at the same time, the women will play the par-72 North course.
Ciganda and Molinaro each started off slowly in the earlier rounds of the NCAA Fall Preview last weekend. However, Luellen believes the unfamiliarity of the new season is gone, and expects strong starts from each of her golfers.
“This tournament is just really about being ready to play,” Luellen said. “It was a little weird being at a tournament not having a team, and then they’re playing together, just so many unusual circumstances. I think that newness that weirdness has kind of worn off.”
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu