TEMPE, Ariz. – After bringing home the program's nation-leading eighth NCAA championship in May, National Coach of the Year Missy Farr-Kaye announces the team's 2017-18 schedule, highlighted by the East Lake Cup (Oct. 30-Nov. 1) as well as their own PING ASU Invitational (Mar. 23-25).
The Sun Devils were led to the 2017 championship by recent graduate Monica Vaughn who earned NCAA individual medalist honors, sixth all-time for the program, also a nation-leading mark. While losing Vaughn to graduation, the team returns two All-Americans in Linnea Strom (First Team) and Olivia Mehaffey (HM), both of which also received First Team All-Pac-12 honors.
WGCA All-American Scholars and Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorees Roberta Liti, Sophia Zeeb, and Madison Kerley round out the returners while freshman Raquel Olmos Ros (Spain) continues adding to the international flavor of the team, joining the Sun Devils in Tempe this fall. Assistant coach Michelle Estill also starts her first full season on staff as she joined her alma mater in November of 2016.
Sept. 15-17 – Mason Rudolph Championship (Franklin, Tenn.)
The 17th annual Mason Rudolph Women's Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt, takes place at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in the Nashville suburb of Franklin. The then-No. 5 Sun Devils last competed at the tournament in Sept. 2013 when they finished second behind a top-10 finish by Noemi Jimenez.
Oct. 2-3 – Windy City Collegiate Classic (Highland Park, Ill.)
The Sun Devils return to the Chicago area for the first time since winning the national championship in nearby Sugar Grove. This time, ASU heads north of the city to Highland Park for the 10th annual Windy City Collegiate Classic hosted by NCAA runner-up Northwestern. ASU took a season off from the tournament last year, finishing fourth in Oct. 2015, just one stroke out of a three-way tie for the lead. Madison Kerley, Monica Vaughn, and Linnea Strom all finished in the top-10.
Oct. 9-10 – Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational (Austin, Texas)
Hosted by the University of Texas, the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational features 36 holes on day one followed by 18 on the final day of play. ASU holds two spots in the top-10 in lowest 18-hole team rounds of the tournament, shooting 286 (2012) and 287 (2009), respectively. The Sun Devils won the tournament in consecutive seasons (1980 and 1981), while Jeannette Kerr (1980) and Lisa Kluver (1981) also won back-to-back individual medalist honors. ASU finished second in their last appearance in the tournament in Oct. 2013.
Oct. 23-24 – Pac-12 Preview (Kona, Hawai'i)
The annual tournament is hosted by the University of Hawai'i and features the Pac-12's 11 women's golf teams. Considered to be one of the best women's golf conferences in the nation, the tournament serves as a benchmark for both the spring's Pac-12 championships as well as NCAA Regional and National Championships. The Sun Devils ended their 2016 fall season on a high note by winning the tournament, ultimately beating out Arizona after going neck-in-neck down the stretch. Sophia Zeeb, Linnea Strom, and Monica Vaughn finished in a three-way tie for ninth.
Oct. 30-Nov. 1 – East Lake Cup (Atlanta)
Arizona State earned a place in this year's East Lake Cup by virtue of finishing in the top four at NCAA's, as the tournament is essentially a rematch of the NCAA semifinals and finals. Expanding to a three-day tournament in 2016, the East Lake Cup models itself after the final three days of NCAA championships – one round of stroke play to determine an individual champion as well as seeding for two days of match play. Taking place at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the tournament will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel and, alongside the Sun Devils, features Northwestern, Stanford, and USC.
Feb. 11-13 – Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Kicking off the spring season, ASU heads just west to the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge for the first of three repeat tournaments for the Sun Devils from last season. An overall team and individual winner as well as a team winner from each region represented will be determined. In 2016, the Sun Devils started their run to the national championship with a second-place finish in Palos Verdes, one stroke out of the lead, earning their regional crown ahead of Alabama, Arizona, Oklahoma State, and UNLV.
Mar. 2-4 – Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Hilton Head, S.C.)
Last season, Arizona State made a huge leap from No. 14 to No. 4 in the nation prior to the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate and earned their third consecutive top-three finish among a strong field featuring five of Golfweek's Top 10. Linnea Strom and Sophia Zeeb finished in second and third, respectively, marking the first time of the season, but certainly not the last, the team had multiple top five finishers.
Mar. 16-18 – Clover Cup (Mesa, Ariz.)
The Sun Devils will play their first of two straight tournaments at or near home with mid-March's Clover Cup, hosted by Notre Dame, at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa. A year ago, the team won their second tournament of the season at the 2016 Clover Cup, marking their fifth top-three tournament finish of the season. Linnea Strom and Monica Vaughn finished second and third while Olivia Mehaffey earned her first top-10 collegiate finish.
Mar. 23-25 – PING/ASU Invitational (Tempe, Ariz.)
The 46th annual PING/ASU Invitational returns to Tempe, this time two weeks earlier than in 2017. The Sun Devils have won the most titles in the tournament's history by far (20), adding to their tally with a dominating victory in Apr. 2017. Earning a new tournament low record (839/-25) as well as a new 18-hole low as a team (273/-15), ASU won by 20 strokes for their first home tournament victory in 10 years. Roberta Liti not only earned the first top-10 finish of her collegiate career but won the individual title outright with the lowest three-round total of her career (206/-10), the 17th individual medalist in tournament history for ASU. Monica Vaughn earned runner-up accolades, just one stroke back from Liti.
Apr. 8-10 – Silverado Showdown (Napa, Calif.)
The fifth-annual Silverado Showdown at Napa's Silverado Resort and Spa is co-hosted by the University of Oregon and University of Colorado. This will be the Sun Devils' first all-time appearance in the tournament.
Apr. 22-24 – Pac-12 Championships (Seattle)
The 2018 Pac-12 Championships takes place at Broadmoor Golf Club, near the University of Washington campus between Seattle's Montlake and Madison Park neighborhoods. The Territorial Cup® series point will be up for grabs to the higher finisher between ASU and Arizona, who each have a conference-leading eight Pac-10/12 championships going into this season. The Sun Devils last won the Pac-12 championship in 2009 when Carlota Ciganda earned individual medalist honors in a playoff vs. teammate Jennifer Osborn and USC's Jennifer Song, who finished in a three-way tie for first.
May 7-9 – NCAA Regionals (TBD)
In 2017, the NCAA Regionals served as the last momentum swing back in ASU's favor prior to the National Championships, as the Sun Devils won their fifth all-time NCAA Regionals and first since 2009. Among the other three Regional winners, ASU (-22) had the lowest three-round score vs. par by 15 strokes (Alabama shot 7-under, Stanford shot 2-over, and Florida/South Carolina shot +22 over). Monica Vaughn won individual medalist honors, the first titlist at Regionals for ASU since Noemi Jimenez in 2014, and seventh all-time. In 2018, Regionals are hosted by Stanford, Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida State.
May 18-23 – NCAA Championships (Stillwater, Okla.)
After a rollercoaster six days, five days of competition, a day-long rain delay, and a seemingly impossible comeback, the Sun Devils earned the program's eighth national championship in May 2017. On the verge of elimination at the end of stroke play, the Sun Devils skyrocketed to the third seed in match play as Monica Vaughn won the program's sixth individual NCAA title. Arizona State defeated Florida in match play quarterfinals in the first sweep of the NCAA match play era before making a remarkable comeback vs. Stanford in the semifinals. Finally, the Sun Devils defeated Northwestern in front of a hometown crowd to clinch the crown. Starting in 2020, Arizona State will play host to the men's and women's NCAA championships for three consecutive seasons, something unmatched to date in NCAA Division I collegiate golf. The 2020, 2021, and 2022 championships will take place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Sun Devils were led to the 2017 championship by recent graduate Monica Vaughn who earned NCAA individual medalist honors, sixth all-time for the program, also a nation-leading mark. While losing Vaughn to graduation, the team returns two All-Americans in Linnea Strom (First Team) and Olivia Mehaffey (HM), both of which also received First Team All-Pac-12 honors.
WGCA All-American Scholars and Pac-12 Academic All-Conference honorees Roberta Liti, Sophia Zeeb, and Madison Kerley round out the returners while freshman Raquel Olmos Ros (Spain) continues adding to the international flavor of the team, joining the Sun Devils in Tempe this fall. Assistant coach Michelle Estill also starts her first full season on staff as she joined her alma mater in November of 2016.
.@SunDevilWGolf dominates on all fronts!
— Sun Devil Athletics (@TheSunDevils) July 6, 2017
? Power Five leading 5 All-American Scholars
? National Championshttps://t.co/TZYbjYIHi7
Sept. 15-17 – Mason Rudolph Championship (Franklin, Tenn.)
The 17th annual Mason Rudolph Women's Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt, takes place at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in the Nashville suburb of Franklin. The then-No. 5 Sun Devils last competed at the tournament in Sept. 2013 when they finished second behind a top-10 finish by Noemi Jimenez.
Oct. 2-3 – Windy City Collegiate Classic (Highland Park, Ill.)
The Sun Devils return to the Chicago area for the first time since winning the national championship in nearby Sugar Grove. This time, ASU heads north of the city to Highland Park for the 10th annual Windy City Collegiate Classic hosted by NCAA runner-up Northwestern. ASU took a season off from the tournament last year, finishing fourth in Oct. 2015, just one stroke out of a three-way tie for the lead. Madison Kerley, Monica Vaughn, and Linnea Strom all finished in the top-10.
Oct. 9-10 – Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational (Austin, Texas)
Hosted by the University of Texas, the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational features 36 holes on day one followed by 18 on the final day of play. ASU holds two spots in the top-10 in lowest 18-hole team rounds of the tournament, shooting 286 (2012) and 287 (2009), respectively. The Sun Devils won the tournament in consecutive seasons (1980 and 1981), while Jeannette Kerr (1980) and Lisa Kluver (1981) also won back-to-back individual medalist honors. ASU finished second in their last appearance in the tournament in Oct. 2013.
Oct. 23-24 – Pac-12 Preview (Kona, Hawai'i)
The annual tournament is hosted by the University of Hawai'i and features the Pac-12's 11 women's golf teams. Considered to be one of the best women's golf conferences in the nation, the tournament serves as a benchmark for both the spring's Pac-12 championships as well as NCAA Regional and National Championships. The Sun Devils ended their 2016 fall season on a high note by winning the tournament, ultimately beating out Arizona after going neck-in-neck down the stretch. Sophia Zeeb, Linnea Strom, and Monica Vaughn finished in a three-way tie for ninth.
What a sweet way to end our fall season. Recap: https://t.co/wIQEfSeoyZ #Team @pac12 pic.twitter.com/XnHa2uy7Ua
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) October 26, 2016
Oct. 30-Nov. 1 – East Lake Cup (Atlanta)
Arizona State earned a place in this year's East Lake Cup by virtue of finishing in the top four at NCAA's, as the tournament is essentially a rematch of the NCAA semifinals and finals. Expanding to a three-day tournament in 2016, the East Lake Cup models itself after the final three days of NCAA championships – one round of stroke play to determine an individual champion as well as seeding for two days of match play. Taking place at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the tournament will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel and, alongside the Sun Devils, features Northwestern, Stanford, and USC.
Congratulations to @SunDevilGolf on taking home their 8th #NCAAGolf Women's National Title. 8???? (Photocredit: @GolfChannel) pic.twitter.com/b2UZ5vnjyF
— East Lake Cup (@eastlakecup) May 25, 2017
Feb. 11-13 – Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Kicking off the spring season, ASU heads just west to the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge for the first of three repeat tournaments for the Sun Devils from last season. An overall team and individual winner as well as a team winner from each region represented will be determined. In 2016, the Sun Devils started their run to the national championship with a second-place finish in Palos Verdes, one stroke out of the lead, earning their regional crown ahead of Alabama, Arizona, Oklahoma State, and UNLV.
The #14 Devils won their region at the @northropgrumman Regional Challenge, finishing ahead of Alabama, Arizona, UNLV, and OK State! pic.twitter.com/D9WqmNWgHp
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) February 15, 2017
Mar. 2-4 – Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Hilton Head, S.C.)
Last season, Arizona State made a huge leap from No. 14 to No. 4 in the nation prior to the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate and earned their third consecutive top-three finish among a strong field featuring five of Golfweek's Top 10. Linnea Strom and Sophia Zeeb finished in second and third, respectively, marking the first time of the season, but certainly not the last, the team had multiple top five finishers.
We couldn't leave the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate without meeting the man himself! #DRI17 #Allin17 @dariusrucker pic.twitter.com/nwJRnrAiLy
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) March 6, 2017
Mar. 16-18 – Clover Cup (Mesa, Ariz.)
The Sun Devils will play their first of two straight tournaments at or near home with mid-March's Clover Cup, hosted by Notre Dame, at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa. A year ago, the team won their second tournament of the season at the 2016 Clover Cup, marking their fifth top-three tournament finish of the season. Linnea Strom and Monica Vaughn finished second and third while Olivia Mehaffey earned her first top-10 collegiate finish.
The Sun Devils won their second tourney of the year, earned fifth top-3 finish this season #Allin17 https://t.co/ODnEY0YZ53 pic.twitter.com/kFHPwnDBLD
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) March 20, 2017
Mar. 23-25 – PING/ASU Invitational (Tempe, Ariz.)
The 46th annual PING/ASU Invitational returns to Tempe, this time two weeks earlier than in 2017. The Sun Devils have won the most titles in the tournament's history by far (20), adding to their tally with a dominating victory in Apr. 2017. Earning a new tournament low record (839/-25) as well as a new 18-hole low as a team (273/-15), ASU won by 20 strokes for their first home tournament victory in 10 years. Roberta Liti not only earned the first top-10 finish of her collegiate career but won the individual title outright with the lowest three-round total of her career (206/-10), the 17th individual medalist in tournament history for ASU. Monica Vaughn earned runner-up accolades, just one stroke back from Liti.
ASU wins PING/ASU Invitational for first time since '07 while @RobiLiti wins first career tourney, @Mvaughn13 finishes runner-up #Allin17 pic.twitter.com/aA55NkYtt9
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) April 9, 2017
Apr. 8-10 – Silverado Showdown (Napa, Calif.)
The fifth-annual Silverado Showdown at Napa's Silverado Resort and Spa is co-hosted by the University of Oregon and University of Colorado. This will be the Sun Devils' first all-time appearance in the tournament.
Beautiful afternoon at @SilveradoResort pic.twitter.com/m2AMYJcFkc
— Silverado Showdown (@SilveradoShwdwn) April 14, 2014
Apr. 22-24 – Pac-12 Championships (Seattle)
The 2018 Pac-12 Championships takes place at Broadmoor Golf Club, near the University of Washington campus between Seattle's Montlake and Madison Park neighborhoods. The Territorial Cup® series point will be up for grabs to the higher finisher between ASU and Arizona, who each have a conference-leading eight Pac-10/12 championships going into this season. The Sun Devils last won the Pac-12 championship in 2009 when Carlota Ciganda earned individual medalist honors in a playoff vs. teammate Jennifer Osborn and USC's Jennifer Song, who finished in a three-way tie for first.
So proud of our @pac12 All-Conference First Teamers @linneaasstrom @OliviaMehaffey @Mvaughn13 & Honorable Mention @SophiaZeeb #Allin17 pic.twitter.com/DatDKPQgbQ
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) April 26, 2017
May 7-9 – NCAA Regionals (TBD)
In 2017, the NCAA Regionals served as the last momentum swing back in ASU's favor prior to the National Championships, as the Sun Devils won their fifth all-time NCAA Regionals and first since 2009. Among the other three Regional winners, ASU (-22) had the lowest three-round score vs. par by 15 strokes (Alabama shot 7-under, Stanford shot 2-over, and Florida/South Carolina shot +22 over). Monica Vaughn won individual medalist honors, the first titlist at Regionals for ASU since Noemi Jimenez in 2014, and seventh all-time. In 2018, Regionals are hosted by Stanford, Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida State.
.@SunDevilGolf claims a regional title -- decisively. ??
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) May 10, 2017
Your Sun Devils are headed to the #NCAAWGolf CHAMPS!#BackThePac pic.twitter.com/vHpVvnyWjm
May 18-23 – NCAA Championships (Stillwater, Okla.)
After a rollercoaster six days, five days of competition, a day-long rain delay, and a seemingly impossible comeback, the Sun Devils earned the program's eighth national championship in May 2017. On the verge of elimination at the end of stroke play, the Sun Devils skyrocketed to the third seed in match play as Monica Vaughn won the program's sixth individual NCAA title. Arizona State defeated Florida in match play quarterfinals in the first sweep of the NCAA match play era before making a remarkable comeback vs. Stanford in the semifinals. Finally, the Sun Devils defeated Northwestern in front of a hometown crowd to clinch the crown. Starting in 2020, Arizona State will play host to the men's and women's NCAA championships for three consecutive seasons, something unmatched to date in NCAA Division I collegiate golf. The 2020, 2021, and 2022 championships will take place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
#FearTheFork@TheSunDevils take home their first Women's #NCAAGolf title since 2009. pic.twitter.com/o8aW5KHWhQ
— NCAA (@NCAA) May 25, 2017
.@TheSunDevils and Grayhawk to host the 2020, 2021 & 2022 NCAA Division I Men's & Women's Golf Championships. #GoDevils pic.twitter.com/Nr2daaSImE
— Sun Devil Athletics (@TheSunDevils) June 13, 2017