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Women's Golf Leads After Day One at Dr. Donnis Thompson

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Women's Golf Leads After Day One at Dr. Donnis ThompsonWomen's Golf Leads After Day One at Dr. Donnis Thompson

Photo via Ocean Course Hokuala

Lihu'e, Kaua'i, HI - Sun Devil Women's Golf put together an excellent performance in the opening round of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational on Sunday.

No. 16 Arizona State fired a 280 (-8) to take the lead after the first day at Ocean Course Hokuala on the Island of Kaua'i. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye's team picked up right where they left off having just claimed the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate earlier in the month. For the second consecutive event, ASU is in front after the first round of an event.

The Maroon and Gold are on top thanks to a complete team effort, with all five Sun Devils contributing solid scores. Patience Rhodes leads the way, carding a 68 (-4) which puts her in fifth place after 18 holes. Not far behind is Ashley Menne, whose 69 (-3) has her tied for sixth. Both are in contention and within striking distance of the overall individual lead (66/-6) with plenty of golf left to play. Paula Schulz-Hanssen also delivered a round under par, starting off with a 71 (-1) as she sits in a tie for 17th. In the 93 golfer field, Arizona State has five of the Top-26, with Grace Summerhays and Beth Coulter both tied at 26 after opening with a 72 (E). No Sun Devil went over par on day one of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational.

Three different individuals combined for four Eagles, the most by the team in a round this year. Not only is ASU looking for their second straight tournament title in 2023-24, the program is attempting to capture another team championship at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. The last time Coach Farr-Kaye took her squad to this event, they came back with both the team and individual title (Linn Grant) in 2020. The Maroon and Gold will look to repeat that effort with another chance tomorrow, as the second round starts at 12 PM MST with Sun Devils spread from hole 1-4. Live scoring for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational can be found at the following link.

ROUND BREAKDOWN
Patience Rhodes (68/-4/5th)
EAGLES (2): Hole 6 (Par 5; 496 yards), Hole 10 (Par 5; 455 yards)
BIRDIES (2): Hole 2 (Par 5; 444 yards), Hole 12 (Par 4; 334 yards)
NOTABLES

-- Second-straight opening round 68. Also started the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate with a 68.
-- Finished with two Eagles on the day and now has three on the season. The first Sun Devil with two Eagles in the same round this year. One of only two golfers with two Eagles in the first round.
-- Fourth round in the 60s this season.

Ashley Menne (69/-3/T6)

BIRDIES (4): Hole 2 (Par 5; 444 yards), Hole 4 (Par 5; 470 yards), Hole 16 (Par 4; 250 yards), Hole 17 (Par 3; 117 yards)
NOTABLES

-- Seeking her 12th career Top-10 finish in her 39th career appearance.
-- Fourth round in the 60s this season (third coming in the first round of an event).
-- Matched Grace Summerhays with a team-high four birdies.

Paula Schulz-Hanssen (71/-1/T17)

EAGLES (1): Hole 2 (Par 5; 444 yards)
BIRDIES (2): Hole 4 (Par 5; 470 yards), Hole 10 (Par 5; 455 yards)
NOTABLES

-- Recorded her second Eagle of the season.
-- Seeking her ninth Top-20 finish in 20 career appearances.

Grace Summerhays (72/E/T26)

EAGLES (1): Hole 2 (Par 5; 444 yards)
BIRDIES (4): Hole 3 (Par 4; 344 yards), Hole 4 (Par 5; 470 yards), Hole 7 (Par 4; 339 yards), Hole 11 (Par 4; 377 yards)
NOTABLES

-- Recorded her third Eagle of the season, tying Patience Rhodes for most on the team.
-- Matched Ashley Menne with a team-high four birdies.

Beth Coulter (72/E/T26)

BIRDIES (3): Hole 4 (Par 5; 470 yards), Hole 7 (Par 4; 339 yards), Hole 10 (Par 5; 455 yards)
NOTABLES

-- Scoring two-under on par five scoring opportunities.
-- One of five Sun Devils in the Top-26 of a 95-golfer field.

TEAM STANDINGS

Place Team 1 To Par
1 Arizona State 280 -8
2 Sacramento State 281 -7
3 North Carolina 282 -6


INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS

Place Player 1 To Par
1 Mattingly Palmer (Texas State) 66 -6
5 Patience Rhodes 68 -4
T6 Ashley Menne 69 -3
T17 Paula Schulz-Hanssen 71 -1
T26 Beth Coulter 72 E
T26 Grace Summerhays 72 E

UP NEXT
Arizona State will begin the second round of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational on Monday morning at 12:00 PM AZT, with the field once again undergoing a shotgun start. The Sun Devils will be paired with Sacramento State, North Carolina, and Washington in the featured group with golfers beginning their rounds spread out from holes 1-4.
 
PAIRING Sacramento State, North Carolina, Washington
TIME 12 PM MST
HOLE  GOLFER
1A Ashley Menne
1B Patience Rhodes
2A Grace Summerhays
2B Paula Schulz-Hannsen
3A Beth Coulter
 

THE COMPETITION (CLIPP'D RANKINGS)
Arizona State is one of ten Top-100 teams in the field at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. The 15-team event features 6 of the Top-100 ranked golfers in the nation, including No. 63 Ashley Menne and No. 92 Grace Summerhays from Arizona State. In total, 16 of the Top-200 individuals will be in Hawaii competing for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational crown, including all five members of the Sun Devil lineup.

#16 Arizona State
#30 North Carolina #31 Washington
#57 Texas State #66 New Mexico
#77 Long Beach State #80 San Francisco
#81 Mercer #88 Sacramento State
#89 Rutgers #106 Boise State
#112 Fresno State #129 Tulane
#142 Morehead State #185 Hawaii

HISTORY AT DR. DONNIS THOMPSON INVITATIONAL
It is the 38th edition of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, with the Sun Devils last competing at the event during the 2019-20 season. Coach Farr-Kaye's team swept both the team and individual titles back in the 2020 edition. Then ranked No. 3 in the country before COVID-19 cut the season short, Sun Devil Women's Golf earned dominating victory at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. Arizona State (-12/852) proved they were in a different class compared to the rest of the field, cruising to a 19-stroke win while posting the sixth lowest total vs. par over 54 holes in program history. To put the Sun Devils total of 852 (-12) into perspective, no other team finished below par, including 12 of the 16 teams finishing 886 (+22) or worse. It is still the lowest team score in the history of the event.

In addition to the team title, freshman Linn Grant (-7/209) also took home Individual Medalist honors, capturing the first win of several wins in her collegiate career. She was tested on her way to claiming the crown, showing she can respond to pressure. After tying through 54 holes, Grant would come out on top of a five-hole playoff with TCU's Sabrina Iqbal thanks to a clutch birdie. Grant was not alone in finding success in the second visit to Hawaii, as three other Sun Devils finished near the top of the leaderboard. Four of the top seven finishers represented the Maroon & Gold, another example of how dominant of a performance it was for Coach Farr-Kaye's team. Headlining that group was Raquel Olmos (-2/214), who ended in fifth place. It is her third top-five finish of her career and sixth top-ten finish. Olivia Mehaffey (-1/215) put together her 20th career top-10 finish, tying with teammate Alessandra Fanali (-1/215) for sixth place. 

Arizona State not only took home the 2011 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational team title, former All-American and current LPGA standout Carlota Ciganda captured individual medalist honors. Despite their limited appearances, ASU is one of only three schools (Texas A&M, Arizona) that have had two individuals win the individual title. 

BEST ROUNDS IN 2023-24
66/-6 - Ashley Menne (Match in the Desert/Jan. 22, 2024)
67/-5 - Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Mason Rudolph Invitational first round/Sept. 22, 2023)
67/-4 - Ashley Menne (Stanford Intercollegiate second round/Oct. 21, 2023)
---> 68/-4 Patience Rhodes (Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational first round/March 17, 2024)
68/-4 - Patience Rhodes (McGuire Invitational second round/Sept. 11, 2023)
68/-3 - Patience Rhodes (Darius Rucker Intercollegiate first round/Mar. 4, 2024)
68/-3 - Grace Summerhays (Darius Rucker Intercollegiate first round/Mar. 4, 2024)
68/-3 - Grace Summerhays (Darius Rucker Intercollegiate second round/Mar. 5, 2024)
---> 69/-3 Ashley Menne (Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational first round/March 17, 2024)
69/-3 - Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Mason Rudolph Invitational third round/Sept. 24, 2023)
69/-3 - Beth Coulter (Mason Rudolph Invitational first round/Sept. 22, 2023)
69/-3 - Ashley Menne (McGuire Invitational first round/Sept. 11, 2023)
69/-3 - Beth Coulter (McGuire Invitational second round/Sept. 11, 2023)
69/-3 - Calynne Rosholt (Windy City first round/Oct. 2, 2023)
69/-2 - Patience Rhodes (Stanford Intercollegiate third round/Oct. 23, 2023)

TOP FINISHES IN 2023-24
T2nd - Ashley Menne (Match in the Desert)
T5th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Mason Rudolph Invitational)
6th - Ashley Menne (McGuire Invitational)
T7th - Grace Summerhays (Darius Rucker Intercollegiate)=
T12th - Patience Rhodes (Darius Rucker Intercollegiate)
T12th - Beth Coulter (Darius Rucker Intercollegiate)
T14th - Grace Summerhays (McGuire Invitational)
T14th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Match in the Desert)
T16th - Beth Coulter (Mason Rudolph Invitational)

BIRDIES BY SUN DEVIL (SEASON TOTALS)
Grace Summerhays - 58
Ashley Menne - 56
Patience Rhodes - 55
Beth Coulter - 52
Paula Schulz-Hanssen - 49
Calynne Rosholt - 27

CAREER APPEARANCES 
Ashley Menne, 39 (36 stroke; 3 match)
Grace Summerhays, 29 (26 stroke; 3 match)
Calynne Rosholt, 29 (25 stroke; 4 match)
Beth Coulter, 20 (17 stroke; 3 match)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 20 (17 stroke; 3 match)
Patience Rhodes, 9 (7 stroke; 2 match)

CAREER TOP-20 FINISHES
Ashley Menne, 22
Grace Summerhays, 12
Calynne Rosholt, 10
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 8
Beth Coulter, 6
Patience Rhodes, 3

2023-24 CAMPAIGN
Arizona State will be tested throughout 2023-24 as Coach Farr-Kaye built one of the nation's toughest slates once again. The Maroon and Gold will compete in a total of ten regular season events, four in the Fall and six in the Spring. The postseason begins April 21 at the Pac-12 Championship, with NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships scheduled for the month of May.

ARIZONA STATE WOMEN'S GOLF SCHEDULE
McGuire Invitational – Sept. 11-12 (Albuquerque, NM)
Mason Rudolph Invitational – Sept. 22-24 (Franklin, TN)
Windy City Collegiate Classic – Oct. 2-3 (Chicago, IL)
Stanford Intercollegiate – Oct. 20-22 (Palo Alto, CA)
Match in the Desert – January 22 (Gold Canyon, AZ)
Therese Hession Regional Challenge – Feb. 3-4 (Palos Verdes, CA)
Duel in the Desert (vs. Denver) – Feb. 25 (Phoenix, AZ)
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate – March 4-6 (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational – March 17-19 (Honolulu, HI)
PING/ASU Invitational – March 28-30 (Phoenix, AZ) - HOSTED BY ASU
Pac-12 Championship – April 21-23 (Pullman, WA)
NCAA Regionals – May 6-8 (Auburn/Cle Elum/College State/East Lansing/Las Vegas/Winston-Salem)
NCAA Championship – May 17-22 (La Costa, CA; Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Champions Course)

HOW TO FOLLOW
Live scoring for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational can be found at the following link. For the latest updates and information on the Sun Devil Women's Golf program, follow our X/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWGolf), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/sundevilwgolf/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Find Coach Farr-Kaye (@missymkaye) and Coach Tatman (@CoachMikayla_) on X as well.