TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 10 Sun Devil Women's Golf team begins the 2019-20 campaign with a trip to Lake Elmo, Minnesota for the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, running September 16-18.
Arizona State is part of a loaded field at the sixth edition of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, competing against some of the top teams in the country in their first tournament of the season. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye recognizes and embraces the challenge her team faces.
"We are excited to start our season off competing in the Annika Intercollegiate," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye remarked. "Our team has been working hard and we are ready to compete in a great field."
Senior Olivia Mehaffey enters her last year as a Sun Devil, confident her team will be ready to play early in the season.
"It's been a great couple of weeks preparing together and we are all excited to finally hit the road," Mehaffey said. "We are ready to get this season underway."
The Sun Devils take the course for a practice round on Sunday, September 15th, before the action gets underway on Monday. The first round starts on Monday with ASU's five golfers teeing off between 7:25 a.m. – 8:05 a.m. MST. The teams will then be treated to a Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox baseball game later in the evening. Tee times for the second and third round of the event will be determined based on the scores from the previous rounds.
THE FIELD
Named a Top-10 College Tournament to Watch in the Fall by AmateurGolf.com, the ANNIKA Intercollegiate is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the women's collegiate golf season. Each of the 12 team in the field made at least one of the Preseason Top-25 poll with the exception of the host school, Minnesota. The Sun Devils are one of six teams that come into the tournament ranked in both the Golfweek and Golf Channel preseason Top-10. The consensus preseason No. 1 USC Trojans highlight the field, joined by defending national champion Duke and last year's runner-up, Wake Forest. Texas and South Carolina represent the other Top-10 teams who will present a challenge to the Sun Devils at the start of the season. 2018 ANNIKA Champion Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, and Minnesota round out the rest of the field.
THE LINEUP
With five extremely talented golfers on her roster, there weren't many decisions for Coach Farr-Kaye to make when setting her lineup. Senior Olivia Mehaffey will be in the top spot for the Sun Devils, while Linn Grant starts as the No. 2 in her first collegiate tournament. Sophomore Alexandra Forsterling will occupy the third spot followed by junior Raquel Olmos. A demonstration of how deep the lineup is this year, the talented sophomore Alessandra Fanali gives Arizona State one of the strongest 1-5's in the country. ANNIKA Intercollegiate Lineup (Tee Time):
Olivia Mehaffey, Senior (8:05 a.m.)
Linn Grant, Freshman (7:55 a.m.)
Alexandra Forsterling, Sophomore (7:45 a.m.)
Raquel Olmos, Junior (7:35 a.m.)
Alessandra Fanali, Sophomore (7:25 a.m.)
THE COURSE
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate will be hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota for the second year in a row. The par-72, 6,410-yard course is 18-holes, however the front and back nine are distinct. The first nine holes were designed by Annika Sorenstam and are known as the Queen's Nine. The back nine holes are known as the King's Nine and were designed Arnold Palmer. The venture was Palmer's last project and Sorenstam's first in the U.S.
HISTORY AT THE ANNIKA
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M is a college golf tournament founded by the ANNIKA Foundation in 2014. The 54-hole stroke play event is now held annually at the Royal Golf Club in Minneapolis, and features 12 of the top Division I women's programs in the country.
"Annika has provided an outstanding event for women's collegiate golf and we are thrilled to be a part of the event," Coach Farr-Kaye said.
This will be the Sun Devils third appearance in the event, also competing back in 2014 & 2016 when the tournament was in Orlando. During the 2016 ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Linnea Strom recorded one of her 20 career Top-10 individual finishes, earning a tie for eighth. Back in 2014, Noemi Jiminez put together a strong performance, finishing in the Top-5 of the individual race.
QUICK NOTES ON EACH SUN DEVIL...
HOW TO FOLLOW
You can track the scores of your favorite Sun Devils on Golfstat at the following link. Stay tuned to our social media platforms (@SunDevilWGolf) and our website (thesundevils.com) for the latest information and updates after each day of the tournament. For more behind-the-scenes coverage, follow the ANNIKA Foundation twitter page (@ANNIKA_Fdn).
Arizona State is part of a loaded field at the sixth edition of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, competing against some of the top teams in the country in their first tournament of the season. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye recognizes and embraces the challenge her team faces.
"We are excited to start our season off competing in the Annika Intercollegiate," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye remarked. "Our team has been working hard and we are ready to compete in a great field."
Senior Olivia Mehaffey enters her last year as a Sun Devil, confident her team will be ready to play early in the season.
"It's been a great couple of weeks preparing together and we are all excited to finally hit the road," Mehaffey said. "We are ready to get this season underway."
The Sun Devils take the course for a practice round on Sunday, September 15th, before the action gets underway on Monday. The first round starts on Monday with ASU's five golfers teeing off between 7:25 a.m. – 8:05 a.m. MST. The teams will then be treated to a Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox baseball game later in the evening. Tee times for the second and third round of the event will be determined based on the scores from the previous rounds.
9 days | @SunDevilWGolf #ANNIKAInter pic.twitter.com/wRwaqj4dyk
— ANNIKA Foundation (@ANNIKA_Fdn) September 6, 2019
THE FIELD
Named a Top-10 College Tournament to Watch in the Fall by AmateurGolf.com, the ANNIKA Intercollegiate is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the women's collegiate golf season. Each of the 12 team in the field made at least one of the Preseason Top-25 poll with the exception of the host school, Minnesota. The Sun Devils are one of six teams that come into the tournament ranked in both the Golfweek and Golf Channel preseason Top-10. The consensus preseason No. 1 USC Trojans highlight the field, joined by defending national champion Duke and last year's runner-up, Wake Forest. Texas and South Carolina represent the other Top-10 teams who will present a challenge to the Sun Devils at the start of the season. 2018 ANNIKA Champion Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, and Minnesota round out the rest of the field.
| Golfweek | Golf Channel | WGCA | ||
| USC | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Duke | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Texas | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| UCLA | 5 | 12 | 6 | |
| Wake Forest | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| Arizona State | 10 | 7 | 10 | |
| South Carolina | 11 | 10 | 14 | |
| Arizona | 14 | 14 | 12 | |
| Arkansas | 26 | 22 | 18 | |
| Virginia | NR | 24 | 22 | |
| Alabama | NR | NR | 24 | |
| Minnesota | HOST SCHOOL | |||
A special message to @SunDevilWGolf from @SolheimCupEuro members @AzaharaGOLF, @ANordqvist and @carlotagolf ahead of the #ANNIKAInter presented by @3M.#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/5gTRpurRxF
— ANNIKA Foundation (@ANNIKA_Fdn) September 10, 2019
THE LINEUP
With five extremely talented golfers on her roster, there weren't many decisions for Coach Farr-Kaye to make when setting her lineup. Senior Olivia Mehaffey will be in the top spot for the Sun Devils, while Linn Grant starts as the No. 2 in her first collegiate tournament. Sophomore Alexandra Forsterling will occupy the third spot followed by junior Raquel Olmos. A demonstration of how deep the lineup is this year, the talented sophomore Alessandra Fanali gives Arizona State one of the strongest 1-5's in the country. ANNIKA Intercollegiate Lineup (Tee Time):
Olivia Mehaffey, Senior (8:05 a.m.)
Linn Grant, Freshman (7:55 a.m.)
Alexandra Forsterling, Sophomore (7:45 a.m.)
Raquel Olmos, Junior (7:35 a.m.)
Alessandra Fanali, Sophomore (7:25 a.m.)
THE COURSE
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate will be hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota for the second year in a row. The par-72, 6,410-yard course is 18-holes, however the front and back nine are distinct. The first nine holes were designed by Annika Sorenstam and are known as the Queen's Nine. The back nine holes are known as the King's Nine and were designed Arnold Palmer. The venture was Palmer's last project and Sorenstam's first in the U.S.
HISTORY AT THE ANNIKA
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M is a college golf tournament founded by the ANNIKA Foundation in 2014. The 54-hole stroke play event is now held annually at the Royal Golf Club in Minneapolis, and features 12 of the top Division I women's programs in the country.
"Annika has provided an outstanding event for women's collegiate golf and we are thrilled to be a part of the event," Coach Farr-Kaye said.
This will be the Sun Devils third appearance in the event, also competing back in 2014 & 2016 when the tournament was in Orlando. During the 2016 ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Linnea Strom recorded one of her 20 career Top-10 individual finishes, earning a tie for eighth. Back in 2014, Noemi Jiminez put together a strong performance, finishing in the Top-5 of the individual race.
QUICK NOTES ON EACH SUN DEVIL...
- Olivia Mehaffey: Three-time All-American has a chance to become just the third four-time All-American in school history…Individual victories last season at the Bruin Wave Invitational, Pac-12 Championship, and the Norman Regional…Golfweek Preseason All-American…Earned a spot on the Preseason ANNIKA Award Watch List
- Linn Grant: Currently the No. 16-ranked female amateur in the world…Golfweek Preseason All-American…Named to the Preseason ANNIKA Award Watch List…Golfweek Top 10 Freshman to Watch…Extensive international experience, competing at the European Ladies Team Championship and U.S. Women's Open Championship
- Alexandra Forsterling: One of only two Sun Devils to play in all 12 tournaments last year…Four Top-20 finishes in 2018-19, including tying for eighth at the Bruin Wave Invitational…Recorded an Eagle on the par-five 15th hole in the second round of her first appearance at the NCAA Championship
- Raquel Olmos: Posted the second-highest stroke average (74.24) on the team last year…Finished in the Top-20 top on seven occasions, highlighted by a second-place finish at the Windy City Invitational where she recorded her first collegiate hole-in-one…Second Team Academic All-Pac-12 selection
- Alessandra Fanali: Four Top-30 finishes out of the eight events she competed at…Finished strong at the Pac-12 Championships, moving up nine spots on the individual leaderboard on the final day to earn a tie for 13th… Finished the highest of any Sun Devil individual at the NCAA Championships (T-43rd)
HOW TO FOLLOW
You can track the scores of your favorite Sun Devils on Golfstat at the following link. Stay tuned to our social media platforms (@SunDevilWGolf) and our website (thesundevils.com) for the latest information and updates after each day of the tournament. For more behind-the-scenes coverage, follow the ANNIKA Foundation twitter page (@ANNIKA_Fdn).