TEMPE, Ariz. – On Monday, the Arizona State women’s golf team will start the 2015-16 season with a new, yet familiar head coach.
“There’s no question it is a little bit different,” coach Missy Farr-Kaye said in preparation for her first tournament as head coach after 13 years as an assistant. “It’s exciting and a little nervous. I think if you’re not nervous then you’re probably not breathing. I think it’s good to feel that way.”
Farr-Kaye and the ladies have been practicing in the heat for months, and getting off the range and into the mountains of Vail, Colo. for the Golfweek Conference Challenge – and in cooler weather nonetheless – has been long awaited.
“I think they’re just ready to go play,” Farr-Kaye said. “They know what they need to do and they’re very focused. They want to go in and play really well in the first tournament.”
Earlier this week, Golfweek.com released their 2015-16 preseason top-10 players in women’s college golf, and freshman Linnea Strom was ranked No. 9 without swinging a club yet for Arizona State. Junior Monica Vaughn – who finished fifth at the 2015 NCAA Championships – earned a second-team ranking and what would be No. 14 on their list.
“Linnea has acclimated extremely well to a new country, dorm life, food differences and all of that,” Farr-Kaye said. “She’s extremely focused and very dedicated to being a great golfer and student-athlete. I really can’t wait to go watch her play.
“Mo is a tremendous asset to this team. Her leadership on and off the golf course and how much she’s grown as a young lady and a golfer the last two years has been fun to watch.”
The women’s team features three freshmen – Strom, Madison Kerley and Taylor Coleman – with Strom and Kerley both competing in the first tournament.
All the way from Sweden, Strom placed second in the 2015 Ladies British Open Amateur Championship while also taking the Gold Medal in the Mixed Team event at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympics.
Kerley’s high school résumé is impressive, boasting an individual state championship and four team state championships in Arizona.
Sophomores Sophia Zeeb and Roberta Liti return this season and will start the tournament as the No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, with Vaughn, Strom and Kerley.
The Golfweek Conference Challenge starts Monday morning at Red Sky Golf Club with the final round being played on Wednesday. You can follow along on Golfstat.com.