After a dominant showing in the Fall Preview in Tennessee, the No. 5 ASU women’s golf team travels a little closer to home in search of its first win.
Despite still having to board a plane, ASU head coach Melissa Luellen said she will feel more comfortable playing on the course of the Stanford Intercollegiate she and associate coach Missy Farr-Kaye know so well.
“During the practice round we will be able to tell them a few things so that they are comfortable when they walk out there,” Luellen said. “We have to figure out how to play it in as few strokes as possible.”
ASU won’t be the only team that is comfortable on the course though. They drew the host team, Stanford, to play with alongside No. 14 Virginia.
Seven Pac-12 teams will be participating in the event. This will be a change for an ASU team that has only competed against four conference opponents so far.
However, No. 1 UCLA is the only team ranked ahead of the Sun Devils in the field, setting up a unique opportunity for ASU and its top individual, No. 5 senior Giulia Molinaro, to make a statement.
“Pac-12 is very strong,” Molinaro said. “We are one of the best conferences. So it’s nice to know that your conference is one of the strongest but I don’t think it makes a difference as long as you know the field’s going to be strong, whether it is going to be more Pac-12 teams or less Pac-12 teams.”
Molinaro, who said she has been managing her expectations since she got to ASU, has shown the ability to avoid the pressures of being the top golfer early on, but it’s only going to get tougher as the year goes on.
“Yes, I have goals,” Molinaro said. “Yes, I have expectations, because you can’t just cancel them out. It’s just natural. But do I put a set goal on myself? No. I’ve been doing good and I’m been playing well. If I keep my mental state the way it is, I know I will do well.”
Molinaro’s main competition might be playing for her own team, as No. 31 sophomore Justine Lee has stormed into the national spotlight with two straight top-ten finishes this year.
“She is the player who has improved the most since the spring,” Luellen said. “She is just so much more comfortable with school and managing her time.”
ASU only has two tournaments left to play this season heading into the Stanford Intercollegiate. The team will also head out for the Pac-12/SEC Challenge on Sept. 21.
These two tournaments will be crucial to how the team’s going into the mid-point of its season.
“We had a meeting the other day and our goals are very clear for both tournaments,” Luellen said. “They are ready to play. They have been practicing enough they are ready to play.”
Reach the reporter at jjmcklev@asu.edu
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