FRANKLIN, Tn. – The first tournament of the 2026-27 season for head coach Missy Farr-Kaye’s squad wrapped up Sunday, highlighted by Sun Devil Women’s Golf earning a runner-up finish at -1 (851), with fifth-year Patience Rhodes finishing tied for second at -4 (209) in the final round of the Mason Rudolph Championship held at Vanderbilt Legends Club (par 71/6,390 yards) in Franklin, Tn.
The team was one of three teams to finish under par for the weekend, joined by Mississippi State who won the tournament at 2-under (850) and Florida at -1 (851). Arizona State jumped up to a tie for second after the team combined for 4-under on the final two holes. It is the fourth straight year the Sun Devils resided inside the top-5 at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
"I'm really proud of this team. It is a really solid start for us to be right in the mix and and just to lose by one shot is amazing.” said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. “Patience (Rhodes) hung in there as well. She was struggling a little bit. Just not her best but she hung in there and finished tied for second so I’m really happy to see her have a good week.”
Rhodes, in her season debut, earned her seventh career top-5 finish and marked the second time she resided in the top-5 at the Mason Rudolph Championship. In 2024, she was 10-under (206) for a tie of fifth. Sophomore Amelia Wan made her Sun Devil debut and earned her first career top-5 finish and second career top-10 finish. Wan, went bogey-free in her final 14 holes and birdied the par-5, 17th hole to secure a round of 70 (-1) to secure her place inside the top-5.
“It was a great start for Amelia with a top-5 finish and a top-20 by Natalia (Aparicio). We had solid rounds today by Fai (Rubrong) and Kate (Dillon).” added Farr-Kaye. “All-around, we did a lot of things really well and there are a few things that we can continue to work on a little bit, but I'm really proud of them with how they competed today.” exclaimed Farr-Kaye. “I'm really excited as we have three more tournaments to go this fall. A T2 is a really solid start. Florida is a really good team. Mississippi State is a good team, Vanderbilt is a good team so I am really proud of our efforts.”
Freshman Natalia Aparicio in her collegiate debut notched her first top-20 finish. She finished +1 (72) in her final round and birdied the 18th hole all three days, helping push the Sun Devils into a tie for second. Sophomore Kate Dillon finished tied for 22nd at +4 (217) and improved by eight strokes from a year before where she was tied for 54th.
Sophomore Fai Rubrong had her best round of the weekend with a 73 (+2) and provided two birdies in the final five holes. In her Sun Devil debut, Isabella Cioe had her best round of the weekend with a 71 (E) to move up 10 spots in the final round. Cioe was the second-highest-ranked individual this weekend for a tie of 39th.
Tournament Notes:
- Arizona State finished in the top-5 for the fourth straight season at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Vanderbilt Legends Club is a site for the NCAA Regionals in 2027.
- The Sun Devils as a team went -11 on the par-5’s this week, which was the best among the 15-team field.
- ASU made 46 birdies which was the most out of 15 teams, two more than Mississippi State (44).
- Patience Rhodes and Amelia Wan shot even or better in all three rounds this weekend, where only four players (of 87) in the field.
Rhodes netted her 15th career top-10 finish and her 21st career top-20 finish as a Sun Devil. - Wan, who finished tied for 54th in last years edition, resided in the top-5 for the first time in her career and had her second career top-10 finish, the first since the UCF Challenge on Jan. 27, 2026.
- Wan, went -2 on the par 3’s this weekend which was tied for the best in the field. Cioe, went even par on the par 3’s which was tied for eighth best.
Rhodes, averaged 4.42 strokes on the par 5’s, going 7-under for the weekend which was tied for the best in the tournament field. Additionally, Rhodes made 12 birdies which was tied with Olivia Wood (Vanderbilt) for the most among all players. - Rhodes and Wan were tied for the second-fewest bogeys with six apiece.
Wan and Cioe each had 39 pars, which ranked tied for third among all players.
Mason Rudolph Championship
Sept. 18-20, 2026
Vanderbilt Legends Club
Teams (15)
1. Mississippi State - 284-279-287/-2 - 850
T2. Arizona State - 283-285-283/-1 - 851
T2. Florida - 278-282-291/-1 - 851
4. Vanderbilt - 282-286-285/+1 - 853
5. Purdue - 281-301-280/+10 - 862
6. Georgia Southern - 290-289-287/+14 - 866
7. Louisville - 285-296-291/+20 - 872
8. North Carolina - 294-289-291/+22 - 874
9. Northwestern - 285-298-292/+23 - 875
10. Clemson - 291-299-293/+31 - 883
T11. Western Kentucky - 293-296-301/+38 - 890
T11. Charleston - 292-296-302/+38 - 890
13. Long Beach State - 310-300-304/+62 - 914
14. Florida Atlantic - 293-309-313/+63 + 915
15. Middle Tennessee - 298-316-309/+72 - 924
Leaders and Sun Devil Scores:
1. Paula Francisco - 66-69-73 = -6 (Florida)
T2. Patience Rhodes - 71-70-69 = -4
T5. Amelia Wan - 69-71-70 = -3
T17. Natalia Aparicio - 70-74-72 = +3
T22. Kate Dillon - 73-70-74 = +4
T39. Isabella Cioe - 73-75-73 = +8 (Ind.)
T54. Fai Rubrong = 76-76-73 = +11