TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State women's golf team starts their regular season on the road in Palos Verdes, Calif. for the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge hosted by Ohio State University from Sunday, Feb. 7 to Tuesday, Feb. 9.
The tournament is played at the Palos Verdes Golf Club, which plays 6,017 yards of narrow fairways, tight greens and extensive bunkers for a par-71.
"We're really excited to start the spring off with this tournament," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "We've played in this tournamen tsince its inception and it's a fantastic golf course. The good teams rise in this golf tournament and I think we're one of those teams."
The No. 13 Sun Devils are coming off a strong fall, including second, third and fourth-place finishes. They have already faced several of the teams participating this weekend, including No. 6 UCLA, No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Arizona.
The experience and familiarity gained in the fall against the other premiere teams further matures the two starting freshmen and only provides confidence for the women moving into the spring.
"In this tournament you have the top three girls in the country and our freshmen aren't intimidated by any of them," Farr-Kaye said. "They've certainly earned their rankings and they are great teams, but I like the fact that my team feels like this is where we belong playing with these teams."
As for the independent variable -- the golf course -- Palos Verdes Golf Club is described as a course with narrow fairways, "potato-chip" greens and has nearly as much sand as the beach that lays parallel to it. Playing smart golf will be key for the Sun Devils.
"This is a golf course that is really true to take it one shot at a time and you need to be mentally strong and patient," Farr-Kaye said. "Those are the players that play this golf course well. It is very receptive to good play with a lot of birdies to be made.
"The stronger you are mentally, the better you are going to play."
Bigger picture, Farr-Kaye just wants her young squad to take it one tournament at a time and the rest will take care of itself in the 2015-16 season
"I continue to tell this team to believe in themselves and what they can do," she said. "It doesn't matter what everyone else is saying or not saying about us. I feel we're a little bit of an underdog and I'm perfectly fine with that. I know what this team is capable of."
The Sun Devil women may encompass the underdog aspect due to them playing with just five women for the entirety of the season due to injuries and redshirting. It didn't phase the women in the fall and Farr-Kaye doesn't expect it to in the spring either with proper preparation.
"It has its upsides and downsides; the upside is they know they're playing and there's no qualifying," she said. "Their mindset is they'll be playing in every tournament and they can schedule their lives around that. The downside is trying to keep everyone fresh. As a coach, it's figuring out when I can push and when I can pull back."
You can follow the tournament on Golfstat.com here.