The No. 4 ASU women’s golf team begins its season in the Dale McNamara Invitational in Tulsa, Okla., from Sept. 17 through 19.
Sophomores Emilie Alonso and Noemi Jimenez and juniors Daniela Ordonez, Justine Lee and Laura Blanco make up the opening-day lineup.
Lee begins the year as the most polished player in the starting lineup. While dealing with a shoulder injury last year, she was second on the team with a 73.97 stroke average.
“She struggled with her ball-striking and I think that was a lot from her injury,” ASU head coach Melissa Luellen said. “Hopefully we’ll see more consistency from her ball-striking.”
The group is very experienced. Alonso is the only one who did not start regularly last year, but earned significant playing time as an individual last spring.
ASU fared well in the Dale McNamara Invitational last season, placing second, and should repeat its performance again this year. The Sun Devils are the highest ranked team in the field.
The other contenders are No. 9 Florida and No. 21 Oklahoma State, the victors of the invitational last year. Only five of the 15 schools are from the “power six” conferences.
Luellen is the daughter of Dale McNamara, who the third-annual tournament is named after.
Luellen was an All-American for the host school, Tulsa, as a player in the late 1980s.
Men’s Golf seeks rebound
After finishing ninth in the Gopher Invitational, the ASU men’s golf team aspires for an early-season turnaround.
“I’m still optimistic about where we’re going to be at the end of the year,” men’s golf coach Tim Mickelson said.
ASU heads to the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational in Bremerton, Wash., on Sept. 17 and 18, where they will be one of 15 schools competing.
No. 5 Washington, the host school, is the highest rated school entering play. No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 Oregon and No. 17 San Diego State are the other teams that are currently ranked in the Top 25.
Highly-touted freshman Alberto Sanchez will finally make his ASU debut. Sanchez played in the U.S. Open over the summer as an amateur and was one stroke away from making the cut.
Sanchez replaces sophomore Austin Quick in the lineup, who struggled at the season opener in Minnesota, shooting 28-over. Quick will still compete for ASU in the upcoming invitational, but will do so as an individual.
In all, ASU is bringing eight players, including three individuals. The last time ASU brought this many players to an invitational was when the Sun Devils hosted the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.
Sophomore Mathias Schjoelberg, junior Spencer Lawson, and freshman Jon Rahm Rodriguez and Max Rottluff remain in the starting lineup.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu
