GOLF, Ill. – The No. 8 Sun Devil Women's Golf team completed the first 36 holes on day one of the 2019 Windy City Collegiate Championship hosted by Northwestern University at Glen View Club.
A weekend full of rain in the Chicago area brought foggy morning conditions that eventually gave away to the sun after causing a slight delay in the start of the first round. The Sun Devils managed to adjust with a long day of golf ahead of them. They put together a pair of solid rounds, ending up in fifth place (-1/575) among a strong 15-team field heading into tomorrow's final round.
A strength of the team today was their success on Par 3 holes, going two-under with a 2.95 stroke average, the second-best of the tournament. A major contributor to that was the play of Alexandra Forsterling, who finished two-under on Par 3 opportunities. ASU took advantage of Par 5 chances, ending the day four-under accounting for nine birdies.
South Carolina's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard leads the individual race as she posted a 135 (-9). Three Sun Devils are in the Top-15 at the end of day one, with Linn Grant (-1/143) leading the way currently sitting in a tie for 12th place. Olivia Mehaffey and Alexandra Forsterling both finished their day even (144), joining Grant in inside the Top-15.
No. 6 Florida (-10/566) is on top of the team standings, followed closely behind by No. 14 South Carolina (-9/567) and No. 4 USC (-8/566). No. 9 Duke (-2/574) and the Sun Devils (-1/575) round out the Top-5. Arizona State is currently ahead of several Top-20 teams including No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 11 Arizona, in addition to host school No. 21 Northwestern.
Coach Farr-Kaye sees an opportunity for improvement tomorrow if the Maroon & Gold can catch some breaks on the greens. "I saw a lot of putts barely miss today," Coach Farr-Kaye commented. "If we can get our putters hot tomorrow, watch out for the Sun Devils in the final round of the Windy City." SECOND ROUND As was the case in the initial morning round, the Sun Devils began their second round on the 10th hole. Forsterling bounced back nicely after an early setback with a birdie on her second hole of the round. This started a bogey-free, 15-hole stretch that she ended at three-under. Fanali was consistent on the front nine, hitting every par to complete first nine holes even. Thanks to a Mehaffey birdie on 13 and a Grant birdie on 15, they both also managed to go even on the front nine. The team only had four total bogeys through the first 45 holes.
Grant played her best stretch of golf on the back nine, collecting three birdies on her way to a two-under over the final eight holes. The freshman moved up 12 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 12th after matching her career-low of 70 (-2). Mehaffey was as steady on the back nine as she was on the front nine, finishing even to give her back-to-back 72's on the day and a place in the Top-15 of the individual standings.
The Sun Devils improved their score by two strokes on the back nine, thanks in large part to eight birdies. In total, Arizona State birdied 19 holes on the back nine in the first two rounds. With many teams struggling to find their footing, ASU is only one stroke behind fourth place Duke, but six strokes ahead of sixth place Virginia as they continue to create separation as part of the top third of the field.
FIRST ROUND Arizona State started their day on the 10th hole and made their way through the front nine with weather conditions improving. Raquel Olmos felt at home in a tournament that she finished second in last season, as she birdied two of her first four holes. Linn Grant also accomplished the feat, as three different Sun Devils (Olmos, Grant, and Mehaffey) birdied the 13th hole.
The Maroon & Gold managed to record 11 birdies on the back nine as they began to find a rhythm. For the second consecutive tournament, Alessandra Fanali had a strong first round. She carded the best score by a Sun Devil, shooting a 71 (-1) to temporarily earn a spot in the Top 10. Olivia Mehaffey did her best work on the back nine, birdieing 3 of 5 holes helping her finish three-under over the final eight holes. Mehaffey and Olmos (E/72) both shot their best round of the season.
ASU caught fire on a four-hole stretch on the back nine, as they accounted for six birdies on holes 2-5. Two Sun Devils birdied the second, fifth, and sixth holes during that stretch. A big part of the surge was Alexandra Forsterling, as she fired a 72 to end the round at even thanks to three birdies on the back nine.
Alessandra Fanali (T23, +1) – 6:24 A.M.
Olivia Mehaffey (T15, E) – 6:33 A.M.
Alexandra Forsterling (T15, E) – 6:42 A.M.
Linn Grant (T12, -1) – 6:51 A.M.
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.
A weekend full of rain in the Chicago area brought foggy morning conditions that eventually gave away to the sun after causing a slight delay in the start of the first round. The Sun Devils managed to adjust with a long day of golf ahead of them. They put together a pair of solid rounds, ending up in fifth place (-1/575) among a strong 15-team field heading into tomorrow's final round.
"We had a solid day today," Coach Farr-Kaye remarked after the first two rounds. "Every player counted. Weather conditions were warm and the course is handling the previous rain fairly well."The Sun Devils ?? put together a pair of solid rounds as they sit in 5th place after 36 holes on the first day of the Windy City Collegiate! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/LSvo8XMYPK
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) October 1, 2019
A strength of the team today was their success on Par 3 holes, going two-under with a 2.95 stroke average, the second-best of the tournament. A major contributor to that was the play of Alexandra Forsterling, who finished two-under on Par 3 opportunities. ASU took advantage of Par 5 chances, ending the day four-under accounting for nine birdies.
South Carolina's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard leads the individual race as she posted a 135 (-9). Three Sun Devils are in the Top-15 at the end of day one, with Linn Grant (-1/143) leading the way currently sitting in a tie for 12th place. Olivia Mehaffey and Alexandra Forsterling both finished their day even (144), joining Grant in inside the Top-15.
No. 6 Florida (-10/566) is on top of the team standings, followed closely behind by No. 14 South Carolina (-9/567) and No. 4 USC (-8/566). No. 9 Duke (-2/574) and the Sun Devils (-1/575) round out the Top-5. Arizona State is currently ahead of several Top-20 teams including No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 11 Arizona, in addition to host school No. 21 Northwestern.
Coach Farr-Kaye sees an opportunity for improvement tomorrow if the Maroon & Gold can catch some breaks on the greens. "I saw a lot of putts barely miss today," Coach Farr-Kaye commented. "If we can get our putters hot tomorrow, watch out for the Sun Devils in the final round of the Windy City." SECOND ROUND As was the case in the initial morning round, the Sun Devils began their second round on the 10th hole. Forsterling bounced back nicely after an early setback with a birdie on her second hole of the round. This started a bogey-free, 15-hole stretch that she ended at three-under. Fanali was consistent on the front nine, hitting every par to complete first nine holes even. Thanks to a Mehaffey birdie on 13 and a Grant birdie on 15, they both also managed to go even on the front nine. The team only had four total bogeys through the first 45 holes.
Grant played her best stretch of golf on the back nine, collecting three birdies on her way to a two-under over the final eight holes. The freshman moved up 12 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 12th after matching her career-low of 70 (-2). Mehaffey was as steady on the back nine as she was on the front nine, finishing even to give her back-to-back 72's on the day and a place in the Top-15 of the individual standings.
The Sun Devils improved their score by two strokes on the back nine, thanks in large part to eight birdies. In total, Arizona State birdied 19 holes on the back nine in the first two rounds. With many teams struggling to find their footing, ASU is only one stroke behind fourth place Duke, but six strokes ahead of sixth place Virginia as they continue to create separation as part of the top third of the field.
FIRST ROUND Arizona State started their day on the 10th hole and made their way through the front nine with weather conditions improving. Raquel Olmos felt at home in a tournament that she finished second in last season, as she birdied two of her first four holes. Linn Grant also accomplished the feat, as three different Sun Devils (Olmos, Grant, and Mehaffey) birdied the 13th hole.
The Maroon & Gold managed to record 11 birdies on the back nine as they began to find a rhythm. For the second consecutive tournament, Alessandra Fanali had a strong first round. She carded the best score by a Sun Devil, shooting a 71 (-1) to temporarily earn a spot in the Top 10. Olivia Mehaffey did her best work on the back nine, birdieing 3 of 5 holes helping her finish three-under over the final eight holes. Mehaffey and Olmos (E/72) both shot their best round of the season.
ASU caught fire on a four-hole stretch on the back nine, as they accounted for six birdies on holes 2-5. Two Sun Devils birdied the second, fifth, and sixth holes during that stretch. A big part of the surge was Alexandra Forsterling, as she fired a 72 to end the round at even thanks to three birdies on the back nine.
LOOKING AHEAD The final round of the Windy City Collegiate Championship will take place tomorrow morning at Glen View Golf Club. Arizona State will be paired with Duke and Virginia with the first Sun Devil teeing-off at 6:15 A.M. (MST). Raquel Olmos (T35, +3) – 6:15 A.M.Olivia Mehaffey has 2? birdies in her last 3? holes and the Sun Devils have 6? birdies as a team over the last 4? holes! #ForksUp ??????
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) September 30, 2019
LIVE SCORING: https://t.co/Z04wkp6568 pic.twitter.com/pSwBFw31Fe
Alessandra Fanali (T23, +1) – 6:24 A.M.
Olivia Mehaffey (T15, E) – 6:33 A.M.
Alexandra Forsterling (T15, E) – 6:42 A.M.
Linn Grant (T12, -1) – 6:51 A.M.
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.