In a tough field at the Stanford Intercollegiate, the ASU women’s golf team played well — but not great — to secure a seventh place finish.
The finish was moderately disappointing for a team that had a goal of finishing in the top five.
The field, which included the top teams from all around collegiate golf, was arguably one of the toughest that ASU has seen all year.
“I didn’t think we played bad but I didn’t think we played great,” coach Melissa Luellen said. “We played good. You have to play good to great to finish in the top five of the tournaments we are in because the fields are so good.”
The duo of sophomore Justine Lee and senior Giulia Molinaro continued to lead the Sun Devils, although they did not post numbers as low as ASU was used to. In fact, it was the first time Lee finished outside the top 10 all season, and she ended her tournament tied for 25th.
“Justine didn’t hit the ball well this week and it just shows all the work that she’s put in on her game,” Luellen said. “Her short (game) was just beautiful. You don’t have to hit it great every single week to score. That’s the sign of a really great player. She didn’t have that element last year.”
Molinaro, who finished tied for 14th, still has yet to finish outside the top-15 in any event and has the lone individual win for the Sun Devils this season. The two have finished top of the team in all tournaments thus far this season.
Luellen said that it has been Molinaro’s maturity that has helped her take the leap to being one of the best golfers in the nation.
“She used to make a couple of bogeys and she would get so upset,” Luellen said. “Now she’s been able to learn to control that and dealt with that and move on, instead of dwelling on it. It’s showing up in her scores. She’s seeing the fruits of her labor.”
The players that make up the rest of the lineup, sophomore Daniela Ordonez, freshman Noemi Jimenez and sophomore Laura Blanco, also played well, but all three went through difficult rounds.
Ordonez recorded a five-over-par 218; Jimenez recorded a six-over-par 219; and Blanco recorded a seven-over-par 220.
Only UCLA and Vanderbilt, who finished first and second respectively, had better scores recorded by their highest scoring member, which shows ASU’s depth.
However, each of the girls had at least one round of a three-over-par 74.
“One to five we are pretty solid. Each day we feel that we don’t know who is going to count,” Luellen said. “It’s a good thing being a team member that you’re relying on each other, that somebody has your back if your having a bad day.”
With one more tournament to go in this fall season the Sun Devils turn their attention to the Pac-12/SEC Challenge which will possibly present a even more difficult field as both conferences lead the way in collegiate golf.
Reach the reporter at jjmckelv@asu.edu
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