The Sun Devil women's golf team is tied for second place after the first round of the PING/ASU Invitational held Friday at the ASU Karsten Golf Club (par-72/6,337 yards). UCLA, who is ranked third by Golfstat, has the lead with a 7-under 281, while ASU shot a 1-under 287 and is tied with UNLV.
Freshman Linnea Strom is tied for third with a 3-under 69 that included five birdies, while sophomore Sophia Zeeb is tied for eighth at 1-under 71.
"We started slowly but hung in there and then started making assertive swings," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "After we made the turn, we started playing a solid round and made some putts fall. I am very pleased with how well we hung in there after a tough start."
Strom is coming off a second-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational, where she shot a 6-under 210.
"I'm so happy for Linnea for how well she did today and how well her game is progressing," noted Farr-Kaye. "She is getting more confident every single competitive round."
Sophomore Roberta Liti shot even par 72 (tied for 12th) while junior Monica Vaughn, who tied for the Ping title last year, is at 3-over 75. Freshman Madison Kerley is at 7-over 79.
UCLA's Bronte Law shot an ASU Karsten record 64.
PING/ASU INFORMATION FACTS
TEAMS: Alabama, Arizona State, Arizona, Baylor, Colorado, Denver, Hawaii, Northwestern, Oregon State, Texas, UCLA, UNLV, Washington, Washington State
FORMAT: On Saturday, April 9, teams will tee-off from 8:00 a.m. to 10:06 a.m. (PT) on holes #1 and #10. On Sunday, April 10, teams will tee-off from 7:30 a.m. to 9:22 a.m. (PT) on holes #1 and #10.
2015 TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION: Arizona, 861 (-3). Arizona State's Monica Vaughn and Texas's Bertine Strauss shared individual medalist honors each finishing at 6-under 210.
PAST CHAMPIONS: Alabama (1) Arizona (3) Arizona State (19) California (1) Florida (1) Oklahoma State (2) San Jose State (1) SMU (1) South Carolina (2) Stanford (1) Tulsa (5) UCLA (5) USC (2)
TEAM RECORD: 845 (-19), Alabama (2013)
INDIVIDUAL RECORD: 206 (-10), Anna Nordqvist, Arizona State (2007)