ASU Women's Golf Heads to Hawaii

By: Connor Smith

TEMPE - Sun Devil Women's Golf is back in action, as they head to Hawaii to compete in the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational running March 17-19.

No. 16 Arizona State is coming off their most impressive performance of the season, taking home the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate team title for the first time in program history. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye secured her 17th team championship since taking over in Tempe. The Maroon and Gold look to continue building momentum as the postseason nears with another opportunity to improve their ranking at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. ASU will make their first appearance in the event since 2020, when they won the team title and Linn Grant was the individual medalist.

COACH'S CORNER
"We are excited to be returning to the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational," Coach Farr-Kaye remarked. "This will be a different environment for us than what we are used to and I am excited to see how the team responds. It will also be a great bonding opportunity as we have a few fun activities planned."

SUN DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS
Clipp'd, backed by the NCAA, are now responsible for the 2024 NCAA Golf Rankings. Arizona State moved up to No. 16 in the ranking, gaining four spots thanks to their victory at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. Two Sun Devils are in the Top-100 after Grace Summerhays made a massive jump. Here is where each of the Sun Devils' rank in the latest Clipp'd Individual Rankings:

No. 63 Ashley Menne
No. 92 Grace Summerhays UP 73 spots
No. 101 Patience Rhodes UP 31 spots
No. 111 Beth Coulter UP 53 spots
No. 161 Paula Schulz-Hanssen
No. 287 Calynne Rosholt

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.

THE FORMAT
The annual stroke-play event, hosted by the University of Hawaii, will be held at Ocean Course Hokuala on Lihu'e, Kaua'i for the first time. The par-72 course will play at 5,929 yards. Another change is the length of the tournament, with teams now completing three rounds over the course of three days. Each team will undergo a shotgun start at 12 PM MST each morning. The top team and individual after Tuesday's final round will take home the 38th Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitaitonal Championship.

THE LINEUP
Arizona State boasts one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the country. Coming off her seventh place finish at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, junior Grace Summerhays claims the top spot. Redshirt freshman Patience Rhodes earns the No. 2 spot, with sophomore Beth Coulter following in the third position. Senior Ashley Menne, who gets ready for a busy month with ANWA coming up, will play out of the No. 4 spot. Sophomore Paula Schulz-Hanssen rounds out the lineup of the highest ranked team in the field.

1. Grace Summerhays
2. Patience Rhodes
3. Beth Coulter
4. Ashley Menne
5. Paula Schulz-Hanssen

TEE TIMES
Arizona State will begin the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on Sunday at 12 PM MST, as the field will undergo a shotgun start. ASU will initially be spread out on holes 1-4 and are paired with host school Hawaii, Washington, and Mercer.
 

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 20^th 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. 

LAST TIME OUT
Sun Devil Women's Golf won the 2024 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Club in South Carolina earlier in the month of March. Featuring live coverage on GOLF Channel, the 2024 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate was considered one of the most prestigious events of the 2023-24 women's collegiate golf schedule. In a field containing three of the Top-5, six of the Top-10, and 11 of the Top-25 teams in the nation, No. 19 Arizona State emerged victorious. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye adds yet another signature tournament victory to her decorated resume.

"We have been doing things a little bit different the past couple of months," Coach Farr-Kaye told GOLF Channel after the round. "We have been focusing on doing some training on being a positive team and what all that means on and off the golf course. Getting to that place where they understand you can only control what you can control. I am proud of how we were able to do that this week"

It was a total team effort that led the Sun Devils (+3/855) past No. 11 Northwestern, as several individuals stepped up under pressure to help ASU secure the victory. Clutch holes down the stretch from Grace Summerhays, Patience Rhodes, and Beth Coulter allowed Arizona State to clinch their first team title since the 2022 PING/ASU Invitational. 

"This week's win gives us so much confidence," Grace Summerhays remarked after the round. "This is the best field in college golf besides nationals, so to win against such a strong field feels amazing. We have known how good we are, but the results weren't showing. So to get this win is so rewarding! We will enjoy this win for a while."

Five of the Top-10, 10 of the Top-25, and 22 of the Top-50 golfers in the nation were competing for the individual crown at Long Cove. Grace Summerhays finished tied for seventh in the deep and talented field, battling some of the sport's most recognizable names for top positioning on the leaderboard. Patience Rhodes and Beth Coulter each tied for 12th, which put them ahead of seven of the Top-25 golfers in the nation. Ashley Menne and Paula Schulz-Hanssen each provided counting scores at different points throughout the week, playing a major factor in Arizona State winning the championship.

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 (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 - 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 - 54
Patience Rhodes - 53
Ashley Menne - 52
Beth Coulter - 49
Paula Schulz-Hanssen - 47
Calynne Rosholt - 27

CAREER APPEARANCES 
Ashley Menne, 38 (35 stroke; 3 match)
Calynne Rosholt, 29 (25 stroke; 4 match)
Grace Summerhays, 28 (25 stroke; 3 match)
Beth Coulter, 19 (16 stroke; 3 match)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 19 (16 stroke; 3 match)
Patience Rhodes, 8 (6 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 Twitter/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 Twitter as well.