NORMAN, Okla. – The Sun Devil Women's Golf team wrapped up the second round of the Norman Regional Tuesday morning at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
After turning-in the fifth best round of the day, Arizona State finds itself in position for a Top-6 finish which would advance them to the NCAA Championships. With their score of 579 (+3) through two rounds, the Sun Devils currently sit in fifth place. They made up ground throughout the morning, moving up three spots by the end of the day while giving themselves two strokes of separation from sixth place.
"We climbed up the leader board with some solid golf today," Coach Missy Farr-Kaye mentioned following the round.
The best round by an individual thus far at the Norman Regional belongs to Olivia Mehaffey, as she looked comfortable during her second day on the course. Her 66 (-6) helped her leap Memphis' Michaela Fletcher and has her sitting at 135 (-9) for the tournament, three strokes clear of the rest of the field heading into the final day.
Mehaffey was consistent in her play, starting and ending her round strong. She built off the three birdies recorded on the front nine, following that up with a four-birdie back nine. Mehaffey was special on the final two holes of the day, registering back-to-back birdies to give her plenty of confidence and momentum. It represented the second consecutive and fifth overall round in the 60s for Mehaffey this season. She finished one stroke shy of matching her season-low 65, which she recorded at PING/ASU Invitational earlier this season.
"Another outstanding round by Olivia at 6-under," Coach Farr-Kaye remarked in regards to Mehaffey's play.
"We handled the good course better today," Coach Farr-Kaye said in reference to her team's improvement. "We continue to work on getting a few more puts to drop."
Mehaffey was not the only reason the Sun Devils were able to make up some ground, as her teammates had several important moments. Freshman Alessandra Fanali improved by a stroke on the second day, tying her for 33rd and giving her the second-best score (147, +3) of the tournament thus far for the Maroon and Gold. She ended the day on a high note, recording a birdie on 18 to help her climb the leader board.
Freshman Alexandra Forsterling followed her teammate Fanali's lead by recording a birdie of her own on 18, tying her for 43rd when the day was all said and done. Shortly behind Forsterling on the leader board is senior Madison Kerley, whose play is a big reason why the Sun Devils have the third most pars at the Norman Regional. Kerley is currently tied for 49th, giving Arizona State four competitors in the Top-50 overall through two rounds. Sophomore Raquel Olmos shaved three strokes off of her score from yesterday, starting the day with six consecutive pars before converting a birdie on 10.
Bad weather is anticipated in the area beginning this evening and continuing into the morning, so course officials have scheduled a shotgun start with competitors teeing-off starting tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. MST. This is nothing that Coach Farr-Kaye and her staff haven't prepared for.
"We are expecting some possible bad weather tomorrow, so we will be ready for whatever comes our way," Coach Farr-Kaye stated about the challenges of playing through weather.
Weather permitting, the final round of the Norman Regional will take place tomorrow with plenty still at stake. Top-seed Texas (568, -8) enjoyed the best round of the day as a team and overtook third-seeded Florida for the top spot in the team standings. Florida (569, -7) remains within striking distance, sitting in second place only a stroke behind. With their current spot in fifth place, the Sun Devils trail Purdue and Wake Forest, the only other two teams with a score under par. Tee times for tomorrow are listed below and can also be found at the following link.
A reminder that each of four regionals features 18 teams and six teams per regional (24 total) will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 17-22 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. The Arizona State Women's Golf program is looking to add to their record 34 appearances in the NCAA Championship. The top three individuals at each regional not from qualifying teams (12 total) will also advance to Stillwater.
Olivia Mehaffey is in control of the individual medalist race as the final round approaches. She is no stranger to success at an NCAA Regional, finishing second behind teammate Monica Vaughn at the 2017 Lubbock Regional. She is looking to become the eighth Sun Devil all-time to earn medalist honors at a Regional, which would put her name on a prestigious list.
ASU ALL-TIME REGIONAL MEDALISTS (7):
Monica Vaughn, 2017
Noemi Jimenez, 2014
Carlota Ciganda, 2009
Miriam Nagl, 2000
Grace Park, 1998
Wendy Ward, 1995
Linda Ericsson, 1993
Live results for the regional will be available on Golfstat.com. Tournament Central can be found at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=17530. For more information on the Norman Regional, visit the Championship Central page.
After turning-in the fifth best round of the day, Arizona State finds itself in position for a Top-6 finish which would advance them to the NCAA Championships. With their score of 579 (+3) through two rounds, the Sun Devils currently sit in fifth place. They made up ground throughout the morning, moving up three spots by the end of the day while giving themselves two strokes of separation from sixth place.
"We climbed up the leader board with some solid golf today," Coach Missy Farr-Kaye mentioned following the round.
The best round by an individual thus far at the Norman Regional belongs to Olivia Mehaffey, as she looked comfortable during her second day on the course. Her 66 (-6) helped her leap Memphis' Michaela Fletcher and has her sitting at 135 (-9) for the tournament, three strokes clear of the rest of the field heading into the final day.
Mehaffey was consistent in her play, starting and ending her round strong. She built off the three birdies recorded on the front nine, following that up with a four-birdie back nine. Mehaffey was special on the final two holes of the day, registering back-to-back birdies to give her plenty of confidence and momentum. It represented the second consecutive and fifth overall round in the 60s for Mehaffey this season. She finished one stroke shy of matching her season-low 65, which she recorded at PING/ASU Invitational earlier this season.
"Another outstanding round by Olivia at 6-under," Coach Farr-Kaye remarked in regards to Mehaffey's play.
As a team, the Sun Devils made and continue to make some adjustments that paid off during today's round. Arizona State was one of only four teams in contention to improve their score from yesterday, a majority of the field struggled to master a challenging course.Take a bow, @OliviaMehaffey! #ForksUp
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) May 7, 2019
Her 5?th round in the 60's this season could not have come at a better time!
The Norman Regional overall leader is looking to become @SunDevilWGolf's eighth individual Regional medalist pic.twitter.com/aInDIKJm0y
"We handled the good course better today," Coach Farr-Kaye said in reference to her team's improvement. "We continue to work on getting a few more puts to drop."
Mehaffey was not the only reason the Sun Devils were able to make up some ground, as her teammates had several important moments. Freshman Alessandra Fanali improved by a stroke on the second day, tying her for 33rd and giving her the second-best score (147, +3) of the tournament thus far for the Maroon and Gold. She ended the day on a high note, recording a birdie on 18 to help her climb the leader board.
Freshman Alexandra Forsterling followed her teammate Fanali's lead by recording a birdie of her own on 18, tying her for 43rd when the day was all said and done. Shortly behind Forsterling on the leader board is senior Madison Kerley, whose play is a big reason why the Sun Devils have the third most pars at the Norman Regional. Kerley is currently tied for 49th, giving Arizona State four competitors in the Top-50 overall through two rounds. Sophomore Raquel Olmos shaved three strokes off of her score from yesterday, starting the day with six consecutive pars before converting a birdie on 10.
Bad weather is anticipated in the area beginning this evening and continuing into the morning, so course officials have scheduled a shotgun start with competitors teeing-off starting tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. MST. This is nothing that Coach Farr-Kaye and her staff haven't prepared for.
"We are expecting some possible bad weather tomorrow, so we will be ready for whatever comes our way," Coach Farr-Kaye stated about the challenges of playing through weather.
Weather permitting, the final round of the Norman Regional will take place tomorrow with plenty still at stake. Top-seed Texas (568, -8) enjoyed the best round of the day as a team and overtook third-seeded Florida for the top spot in the team standings. Florida (569, -7) remains within striking distance, sitting in second place only a stroke behind. With their current spot in fifth place, the Sun Devils trail Purdue and Wake Forest, the only other two teams with a score under par. Tee times for tomorrow are listed below and can also be found at the following link.
| TIME (MST) | GOLFER | HOLE |
| 7:00 A.M. | Olivia Mehaffey | 4 |
| 7:00 A.M. | Alessandra Fanali | 5 |
| 7:00 A.M. | Madison Kerley | 7 |
| 7:00 A.M. | Alexandra Forsterling | 6 |
| 7:00 A.M. | Raquel Olmos | 8 |
A reminder that each of four regionals features 18 teams and six teams per regional (24 total) will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 17-22 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. The Arizona State Women's Golf program is looking to add to their record 34 appearances in the NCAA Championship. The top three individuals at each regional not from qualifying teams (12 total) will also advance to Stillwater.
Olivia Mehaffey is in control of the individual medalist race as the final round approaches. She is no stranger to success at an NCAA Regional, finishing second behind teammate Monica Vaughn at the 2017 Lubbock Regional. She is looking to become the eighth Sun Devil all-time to earn medalist honors at a Regional, which would put her name on a prestigious list.
ASU ALL-TIME REGIONAL MEDALISTS (7):
Monica Vaughn, 2017
Noemi Jimenez, 2014
Carlota Ciganda, 2009
Miriam Nagl, 2000
Grace Park, 1998
Wendy Ward, 1995
Linda Ericsson, 1993
Live results for the regional will be available on Golfstat.com. Tournament Central can be found at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=17530. For more information on the Norman Regional, visit the Championship Central page.