The ASU women's golf team is preparing to host its only home tournament of the spring, the 2013 PING/ASU Invitational from April 12 to April 14.
The three-day, 54-hole event is to be held at the par-72, 6,223-yard Karsten Golf Course in Tempe.
"We're very excited," women's coach Melissa Luellen said. "It's always great to play here. (The PING/ASU Invitational) is one of the longest running tournaments in the country. There's a lengthy waiting list to join our event every year, and our girls are very excited to be able to host it."
ASU stands at No.13 in the Golfweek.com national collegiate rankings and stands to go up against one of the toughest fields of the season.
The 17-team field includes 10 teams ranked within the nation's top 25 and the remaining squads all ranked inside the top 75.
The field includes No. 1 USC, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Duke, No. 6 UA, No. 8 UCLA, No. 10 Washington, No. 14 Stanford, No. 16 Texas, No. 23 Texas A&M;, No. 25 UC Davis, No. 37 Cal, No. 39 Oregon, No. 40 South Carolina, No. 43 UNLV, No. 53 Texas Christian and No. 74 Colorado.
"We've got four of the top five teams competing in our event," Luellen said. "A few more are ranked ahead of us, and our goal is always to beat teams ranked ahead of us. We should have the upper hand, because we have a better idea of how to play Karsten and know what to stay away from."
The Sun Devils have taken the crown at their home tournament 19 times since its inception in 1973. However, UCLA is the three-time defending champion at the PING/ASU Invitational, a feat Luellen's squad want to put an end to at the end of the weekend.
"They've had great team," she said. "We've finished second a couple of times to them. We'd love to get a win this spin around — it would be great. It would help give us a good push going into the conference championship, regionals and then the national championship."
In their most recent tournament, the Anuenue Spring Break Classic, the Sun Devils (-2) placed third after shooting an eight under round as team in the contest's final round. The result in Hawaii marked three-straight top-five finishes in a row, a streak ASU looks to continue at home.
"We'll have to play some of our best golf of the season to make it happen," Luellen said. "We're going to have some good competition. It's kind of a mini preview of the national championship."
The team's recent success can be credited to the team's improved health. Junior Justine Lee, who came off a wrist injury in march, is healing at a good pace, Luellen said.
"Everyone is feeling good compared to where we were at early in the season," Luellen said. "Justine has struggled a little, but that comes with her injury. She's making good strides."
By any means, the upcoming contest won't be an easy task for ASU, but it's not the talent-heavy field Luellen is most worried about.
"We've gotten out on the course a lot," the coach said. "The rough is thicker, greens are faster and firmer than we're used to. Getting out and used to it is the biggest challenge we face going into the tournament."
The No. 46 ASU men's golf team also is set to face tough competition throughout the weekend. In their final tournament before the Pac-12 championships, the Sun Devils are looking to get back on track at the Transamerica/WFG Western Intercollegiate hosted by San Jose State.
The Western consists of three 18-hole rounds played over a span of two days at the par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif., from April 13 to April 14. Pasatiempo was designed by Alister MacKenzie, who also designed the home of the Masters Tournament, Augusta National.
"The greens are undulated and pitched from back to front," men's coach Tim Mickelson said. "It's the most difficult golf course we've played all year."
Behind freshman Jon Rahm Rodriguez, who placed 11th individually in the Thunderbird Invitational Sunday, ASU plans to be a contender in the 67th edition of the Western.
"Jon has been putting in a lot of work this week and looks prepared for it," Mickelson said.
Also joining Rodriguez will be freshmen Alberto Sanchez, Max Rottluff and Trey Ka'ahanui, sophomore Austin Quick and junior Spencer Lawson.
Scoring of the tournament will take each team's top five of six overall scores.
Most recently, in the Thunderbird Invitational, ASU placed 12th in what was its only home tournament of the spring. The Sun Devils have shaken off the tough finish and have their eyes set in the future.
"We did not play well the first 36 holes last week," Mickelson said. "I'm making sure they're better prepared and go into the tournament ready to compete."
ASU will face familiar opposition in northern California. The field includes No. 1 Cal, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Washington, No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 USC, No. 41 Oregon, No. 52 San Diego State, No. 72 Fresno State, No. 76 UC Irvine, No. 90 San Jose State, Denver, Hawai'i and UTEP.
"We're certainly familiar with these teams, particularly the ones in the Pac-12, and it happens to be they're the best teams in the field," Mickelson said. "The other teams are also very good, and we can't take them for granted."
Nearing post-season play, teams need to have an above .500 record to be in contention for the playoffs. ASU, which sits at 83-68-3, is just ahead of the benchmark.
"The .500 rule is always a concern," Mickelson said. "We've got two tournaments left in the Western and conference. As long as we play good to decent we have a good shot at making it."
In order to stay in contention for the national championship, ASU must first worry of its task at hand.
"We have to play flawless golf and hope we make a few birdies," Mickelson said. "We have to go out, play our own game and execute."
Live scoring of the PING/ASU Invitational and the Transamerica/WFG Western Intercollegiate will be available at www.golfstat.com.
Reach the reporter at adrian.martinez.1@asu.edu
