ASU Women's Golf Opens Spring with Match in the Desert

By: Connor Smith

TEMPE - Sun Devil Women's Golf will make their first appearance in the state of Arizona when they travel to Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club for the Match in the Desert on Monday, Jan. 22.

The one-day event will take place in Gold Canyon and represents the start of the Spring portion of the 2023-24 season. Arizona State will enter the event having won four of the past five titles. This will be the first opportunity for fans to check out the Maroon & Gold in action. Kansas will host for the third consecutive year, with the tournament taking place on one day.

In the 2023 version, Arizona State (-11/277) overcame cold weather and a frost delay, maintaining their focus on their way to delivering a spectacular round in their home state.  Ashley Menne birdied her first hole which set the tone for what would become an eight-birdie round, matching a career-low 65 (-7) in the process. She was named Co-Champion of the event after finishing tied with UCLA's Caroline Canales. Arizona State matched the sixth-lowest team score vs. par in program history on their way to a second-place finish at the Match in the Desert. The 277 (-11) was just one stroke shy of eventual team champion UCLA, as ASU finished ahead of Top-25 teams Baylor and Arizona. 

COACH'S CORNER
"This Fall was a tremendous opportunity to grow as a team," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye observed. "All six of our student-athletes have been working extremely hard to improve their game. We had some strong moments over the past few months and look forward to building on that."

"The best has yet to come for this group," Coach Farr-Kaye added. "It is exciting that our fans have a couple chances in the state of Arizona to watch us play, because you are going to have the chance to see some exciting golf. Coach Tatman and I are encouraged by the attitude of the team and optimistic for the Spring season."

SUN DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS
Clipp'd, backed by the NCAA, introduced their first edition of the 2024 Collegiate Golf Rankings earlier in the month. Arizona State begins the Spring at No. 21 in the rankings after gaining five spots thanks to their performance to end the Fall at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Here is where the Sun Devils' rank in the first Clipp'd Individual Rankings of the season:

No. 58 Ashley Menne
No. 106 Paula Schulz-Hanssen
No. 120 Patience Rhodes
No. 149 Beth Coulter
No. 177 Grace Summerhays
No. 284 Calynne Rosholt

THE COMPETITION (GOLFWEEK RANKINGS)
Arizona State is joined at the Match in the Desert by several extremely talented teams. This will represent a strong test to start the Spring for the Sun Devils. ASU is one of four teams ranked in the Top-50 of the Clipp'd rankings.

THE FORMAT
Arizona State will compete in an 18-hole, one-day competition with four other teams. The first and only round will take place on Monday, Jan. 22. An individual and team champion will be crowned following the conclusion of the round. Tees times will be staggered throughout the morning from 9-10:36 AM AZT on the first hole.

THE LINEUP
Arizona State boasts one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the country, making qualifying for the lineup extremely difficult. Because of the proximity of the tournament to campus, all six Sun Devils are traveling to participate in the first event of the Spring. Only five scores will count towards the team score, with one compete as an individual. Sophomores Beth Coulter and Paula Schulz-Hanssen occupy the top two spots, followed by senior Ashley Menne. The five-golfer lineup is rounded-out by Patience Rhodes and Grace Summerhays. ASU has the luxury of entering Calynne Rosholt as an individual competitor who is eligible for the individual title.

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

TEE TIMES
Arizona State will begin the Match in the Desert Monday morning at 9:56 AM MST, with a Sun Devil starting their round every 8 minutes on the first hole. ASU is paired with Baylor and Arizona.
 

HISTORY AT THE MATCH IN THE DESERT
This is the sixth consecutive edition of the Match in the Desert that the program has competed in and second held at Prospector Golf Course at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club. Arizona State won three-straight team titles at this event, coming away with victories in 2019, 2020, and 2022. The 2021 edition was reduced to an intra-squad round for the Sun Devils due to COVID-19. In the 2022 Match in the Desert, Alexandra Forsterling finished in second place on her way to earning Pac-12 Golfer of the Month honors for January of 2022. Arizona State finished at the top of an outstanding field that included No. 2 Oklahoma State, capturing their third consecutive Match in the Desert team championship. 

LAST TIME OUT
STANFORD INTERCOLLEGIATE (OCT. 20-22)
Sun Devil Women's Golf completed the Fall portion of the 2023-24 campaign at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Arizona State finished in seventh place out of 19 teams in a loaded field at Stanford Golf Course. Ashley Menne led the way individually, earning a spot in the Top-25 among a field of 100 golfers. Patience Rhodes enjoyed the best day of any Sun Devil, firing a 69 (-2) to move 15 spots up the leaderboard and into the Top-30. All five Sun Devils enjoyed stretches of strong play during the Fall, giving Sun Devil Women's Golf fans plenty to be excited about heading into the Spring.

THE COURSE
For the second-straight year, the Match in the Desert will take place at the Prospector Course at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club. The par-72 course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and his son, Gary. It has played host to several LPGA and other professional events since it opened in 1998.

BEST ROUNDS IN 2023-24
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)
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
T5th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Mason Rudolph Invitational)
6th - Ashley Menne (McGuire Invitational)
T14th - Grace Summerhays (McGuire Invitational)
T16th - Beth Coulter (Mason Rudolph Invitational)
T17th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen (McGuire Invitational)
T17th - Patience Rhodes (McGuire Invitational)

BIRDIES BY SUN DEVIL
Ashley Menne - 41
Paula Schulz-Hanssen - 40
Grace Summerhays - 40
Patience Rhodes - 40
Beth Coulter - 36
Calynne Rosholt - 23

CAREER APPEARANCES 
Ashley Menne, 31
Calynne Rosholt, 24
Grace Summerhays, 22
Beth Coulter, 14
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 14
Patience Rhodes, 4

CAREER TOP-20 FINISHES
Ashley Menne, 21
Calynne Rosholt, 10
Grace Summerhays, 10
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 7
Beth Coulter, 5
Patience Rhodes, 2

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 nine regular season events, four in the Fall and five 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. 4-6 (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 Match in the Desert 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.