Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i – Sun Devil Women’s Golf came into the day tied with UCLA and Stanford but outlasted both of them, emerging victorious at 33-under (843), winning by seven strokes over the Bruins and the Cardinal shooting 12-under (280) on the day at Nanea Golf Club.
Hear from Coach Missy Farr-Kaye:
“(Associate Head Coach) Ryan (Heisey) and I are excited about our win today. We played really well the last three days on a difficult golf course with difficult wind conditions. We beat some great top 10 teams along the way,"said Farr-Kaye. “I told the team that we are going to win this year, it's not about if, it's about when and I think this is the first of many great things to come from this team and it’s a lot of fun.” added Farr-Kaye.
“It's a seven person team when we have two players at home that have contributed to our really good fall season. [It is] our best fall in a couple of years and we're excited to hit the off-season and reset. This is a great way to end the fall season!.”
Champions of the Nanea Invitational!! 🏆🌺 The Sun Devils are coming home with some well deserved hardware after finishing -33 (843) and outlasting UCLA and Stanford after entering the day tied! #ForksUp /// @TheSunDevils https://t.co/1OOKH2Xil6
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) October 27, 2026
Sophomore Kate Dillon shot one of the best rounds in college golf this season with a 64 (-9), going bogey-free with seven birdies and one eagle to finish third at -11 (208) for the week. DIllon’s round of 64 is tied for the second lowest by a Sun Devil in program history and was the lowest round of the entire tournament. In addition, it was her career-best and her second career top-3 finish as a Sun Devil.
A round to remember! 👏 Kate Dillon shoots the second-lowest round (to par) in program history with a 64 (-9) with seven birdies and one eagle to secure a third-place finish in the Nanea Invitational! 🔱 #ForksUp /// #O2V https://t.co/WZSdCUt2sQ
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) October 28, 2026
“It is great to see Kate (Dillon) really start to come into our own as a player. Her third-place finish is well-deserved as her round today was amazing. It just seemed really easy watching her. She just really moving to a different level in her game and it's really fun to watch.” said Missy Farr-Laye.
Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye earns her 22nd team title for Arizona State and the program’s first since the 2025 PING/ASU Invitational. It is the second win at Nanea Golf Club, with the first coming in the 2016 Pac-12 Preview, which was Farr-Kaye’s first team title as head coach.
For the second time this fall, fifth year Patience Rhodes earned a runner-up finish shooting 14-under (205) with a round of 70 (-3) in today’s final round. Rhodes made her second eagle of the season and closed with a birdie to finalize the win for the Sun Devils. It is Rhodes’ fifth career top-3 finish and her second this fall.
“It was great to see Patience get another runner-up finish. Her win is around the corner. She's been playing great and had a great fall.” said Farr-Kaye.
Sophomore Fai Rubrong had her lowest round of the week, after a slow start on the front 9 shooting 2-over. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year made three straight birdies to jump into red figures and maintain a lead over the Bruins and the Cardinal. Rubrong would finish +1 (220) in a tie for 25th.
Freshman Natalia Aparicio obtained her third top-20 finish in her fourth collegiate tournament at 4-under, (215). Following a slow start in the final round, she finished strong with birdies in three of her last six holes helping keep ASU’s lead. Sophomore Amelia Wan finished tied for 45th at 11-over, but her opening round of 69 (-4) helped set the second-lowest team record in program history at -20 under to put ASU in first place to start the tournament.
It takes a team:
- The win is the team’s first victory since the 2025 ASU/PING Invitational and is the 102nd team title since 1982. It’s Missy Farr-Kaye’s 22nd team title as head coach.
- ASU’s score of -33 (843) is the second-best score in program history and only the second time they have had a tournament at 30-under or better.
Arizona State’s quick start of 20-under (272) is the second-best score in program history in the first round. - The Sun Devils third round of 12-under, (280) was the best by any team in today’s final round.
- ASU was one of three teams to shoot under-par on the par 3’s, averaging 2.96 strokes for 2-under.
- The Sun Devils were one of four teams with multiple eagles (Texas A&M, Washington, Stanford) throughout the week.
- It’s the first time since the 2023 ASU/PING Invitational that the Sun Devils have defeated Stanford in a stroke-play tournament.
Patience is key
- Patience Rhodes obtained her fifth career top-3 finish as a Sun Devil and her second runner-up finish of the year. Additionally, it’s her fourth career second-place finish of her collegiate career.
- The two-time All-American finished -14 (205) which is tied with Ashley Menne for the lowest score by a Sun Devil in program history, who set the markat the 2024 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational
- Rhodes’ round of 65 (-8) is a career-best and is the third lowest round by a Sun Devil all-time.
- Rhodes’ runner-up finish is her fourth consecutive tournament residing in the top-10, marking the ninth top-10 appearance in her last 11 starts.
- Rhodes’ had a span of going bogey-free through 37 holes without dropping a shot, starting from the 12th hole in the first round to the 6th hole in the third round.
- Rhodes’ and Kate Dillon ranked among the best on the par 5’s, each going 8-under, averaging 4.33 strokes.
- Rhodes’ 16 birdies were second-most in the tournament field this week, additionally, she made the fewest bogeys with only two in 56 holes.
- The Bath, England native played in her 100th career round as a Sun Devil, yesterday shooting -3 (70).
Kate the Great
- Kate DIllon’s third-place finish is her second career top-3 finish and her second top-10 as a Sun Devil.
- The sophomore’s score of 11-under is tied for the third-lowest score (vs. par) in program history.
- Kate DIllon managed a 12 stroke turnaround on Tuesday, shooting the lowest score of the tournament and jumping 16 spots up the leaderboard to help the team secure the title.
- Dillon went Bogey-free for 30 holes, dating back to the second hole of last week’s Abilene Christian Tournament until her fifth hole (hole 14) in today’s second round.
- Additionally, Dillon is the only player in the tournament field (60) to shoot multiple bogey free rounds during the week.
- The sophomore made her first eagle as a Sun Devil this week.
- On the par 3’s, Dillon was tied for the best on the team shooting -2, averaging 2.78 strokes with Natalia Aparicio.
Re-Writing the Record Book
Top Team 54-Hole Scores (vs. par)
822 (-42) 2024 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, par 72
843 (-33) 2026 Nanea Invitational, par 73
839 (-25) 2022 PING/ASU Invitational, par 72
839 (-25) 2017 PING/ASU Invitational, par 72
Top Individual 54-Hole Scores (vs. par)
202 (-14) Ashley Menne 2024 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, par 72
205 (-14) Patience Rhodes, 2026 Nanea Invitational, par 73
210 (-12) Brandie Burton 1989 Bruin Desert Classic, par 74
205 (-11) Patience Rhodes 2024 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, par 72
205 (-11) Jimin Kang 2001 New Mexico St. Intercollegiate, par 72
205 (-11) Wendy Ward 1995 PING/ASU Invitational, par 72
208 (-11) Kate Dillon, 2026 Nanea Invitational, par 73
Top Individual 18-Hole Scores (vs. par)
62 (-10) Olivia Mehaffey 2021 Clover Cup, par 72 (third)
64 (-9) Kate Dillon, 2026 Nanea Invitational, par 73 (third)
64 (-8) Ashley Menne 2024 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, par 72 (second)
64 (-8) Monica Vaughn 2017 PING/ASU Invitational, par 72 (first)
65 (-8) Patience Rhodes, 2026 Nanea Invitational, par 73 (first)
Top Team 18-Hole Scores (vs. par)
266 (-22) 2024 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, par 72 (second)
272 (-20) 2026 Nanea Invitational, par 73 (first)
275 (-17) 2022 Pac-12 Preview, par 73 (first)
272 (-16) 2017 NCAA Regionals, par 72 (third)
273 (-15) 2017 PING/ASU Invitational, par 72 (third)
Top-10 Finishes for Patience Rhodes:
2026: Nanea Invitational - 2
2026: Abilene Christian Intercollegiate - T6
2026: Windy City Collegiate Classic - T10
2026: Mason Rudolph Championship - T2
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2026: NCAA Stanford Regional - T6
2026: Big 12 Championships - 4th
2025 Nanea Invitational - 10th
2025: Stanford Intercollegiate - 5th
2025: ANNIKA Intercollegiate - T10
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2025: NCAA Regionals - 2nd
2025: PING/ASU Invitational - 2nd
2025: Clover Cup - 7th
2025: Darius Rucker Intercollegiate - 6th
2025: Therese Hession Regional Challenge - T8
2024: Windy City Collegiate Classic - T5
2024: Mason Rudolph Invitational - T5
2024: ANNIKA Intercollegiate - T6
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2024: Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational - 3
Leaders and Sun Devil Scores:
1. Meja Örtengren - 70-65-66 = 201/-18 (Stanford)
2. Patience Rhodes - 65-70-70 = 205/-14
3. Kate Dillon = 68-76-64 = 208/-11
12. Natalia Aparicio = 70-71-74 = 215/-4
T25. Fai Rubrong = 74-74-72 = 220/+1
T45. Amelia Wan = 69-78-83 = 230/+11
Nanea Invitational
Oct. 26-27, 2026
Nanea Golf Club (6,168/Par 72)
Teams (11)/(Clippd Top-25 Ranking)
1. Arizona State (15) - 272-291-280 = 843/-33
2. UCLA (14) - 286-277-287 = 850/-26
3. Stanford (5) - 283-280-289 = 852/-24
4. Texas (11) - 279-288-289 = 856/-20
5. Texas A&M (16) - 287-286-289 = 862/-14
6. California - 292-282-301 = 875/-1
7. Oregon State - 289-290-298 = 877/+1
8. San Jose State - 296-298-301 = 895/+19
9. Colorado - 298-308-293 = 899/+23
10. Washington - 301-313-294 = 908/+32
11. Hawai'i - 307-302-313 = 922/+46
About Nanea Golf Club
Since the inaugural event in 2013, the Nanea Invitational (formerly Pac-12 Preview) has been permanently hosted at the Nanea Golf Club located in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii. The Par-73, 6,449-yard private course opened in 2003. Billionaires Charles Schwab and George Roberts partnered up to create the club located on the slopes of Mount Hualalai.