Whether it’s being able to sleep in your own bed or familiarity with the home field, there is something about playing at home in sports that brings out the best in athletes.
The ASU women’s golf team hopes for a little home-course advantage when they host the annual ASU/Ping Invitational on March 30 to April 1.
Coach Melissa Luellen said the team should have a little edge by playing at home because the team practices about four times a week on its home course.
Because most invitationals consist of upward of 15 teams, an individual school typically hosts just once per calendar year.
“It’s the only time we play at home because we’re always traveling to away tournaments,” Luellen said. “It’s just nice to be at home and not have the wear and tear of travel.”
The competition No. 5 ASU will face is tough. According to Golfweek rankings, four top-five schools and six top-10 players in the country will face off in Tempe.
One star-studded group on Friday is comprised of three top-four players.
The squad consists of USC sophomore Sophia Popov, UCLA freshman Erynne Lee, and ASU senior Giulia Molinaro. They are ranked second, third, and fourth in the country.
Popov won the ASU/Ping Invitational last year as a freshman and is the highest-ranked player in the field.
Popov and No. 3 USC captured victories in the Battle at Rancho Bernardo Invitational two weeks ago.
ASU is fresh off a second-place finish in the San Diego invitational, losing to USC by two strokes.
The finish was ASU’s highest in an invitational all season.
Molinaro led the Sun Devils there with a plus-two score. She is joined in the upcoming invitational by sophomores Laura Blanco, Justine Lee and Daniela Ordonez.
Freshman Noemi Jimenez rounds out the starting five after playing as an individual in San Diego. Freshman Emilie Alonso beat out Jimenez in the intra-squad competition prior to the departure to San Diego for her first career start.
Before each invitational, ASU holds an intra-squad competition. Two players, Molinaro and Lee, are exempt because of their strong past performances.
“We give the players a chance to earn exemptions, and if they don’t earn that exemption, they go and qualify,” Luellen said. “Laura, Dani, Noemi and Emilie all went back to qualify. I took the low scores from qualifying (and put them in the lineup).”
Alonso played as an individual in the team’s first two invitationals this semester and will do so again this weekend in Tempe.
Karsten course conditions
Despite the desert surrounding, the ASU Karsten Golf Course has a few water hazards to avoid. On holes nine, 16 and 18, a pond or lake directly rests parallel to the fairways.
“It’s not too complicated when you first play it, but there are a lot of places you don’t want to be in,” Luellen said. “You’ll get penalized if you’re there.”
Friday and Saturday are expected to have temperatures in the 90s.
Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu
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