McDonald-O'Brien Tied for Lead at Nanea Invitational

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - Sun Devil Women's Golf is being led by a freshman through two rounds at the Nanea Invitational.

In a field features three of the Top-10 teams in the latest Scoreboard rankings, No. 8 Arizona State (-10/574) is tied for third in the 11-team field. They trail No. 1 Stanford by eight strokes and No, 6 Texas by five, with No. 47 San Jose State and Colorado rounding out the rest of the Top-5. The Maroon and Gold combined for 38 birdies as a team through 36 holes, second-most in the field behind only Stanford.

Freshman Isla McDonald-O'Brien was once again the standout, as she remains in contention for an individual title. She fired a 71 (-2), her second straight round under par. This has placed her in a tie for first place with two other golfers with only 18 holes remaining. McDonald-O'Brien is looking to become the first Sun Devil to win a title in her freshman year since Linn Grant in 2020. Joining McDonald-O'Brien in the Top-10 is junior Paula Schulz-Hanssen, who also delivered a round under par. Schulz-Hanssen is in a tie for ninth place and only four strokes off the pace after a six-birdie effort. Redshirt Freshman Patience Rhodes makes it three Sun Devils in the Top-20, as she finds herself even (146) through two rounds. Both senior Grace Summerhays and junior Beth Coulter are part of the logjam at 26th place in the top-half of the 60-golfer field.

Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye's team is still in contention for the team lead, with Isla McDonald-O'Brien tied in the individual race. A big reason for the Sun Devils' strong performance is their play on par-four opportunities. They have a 4.03 scoring average on such holes, the second-lowest in the field. Isla McDonald-O'Brien has done her best work on par-five holes, matching the best in the field with a 4.13 scoring average. Arizona State will look to finish the Fall season on a high note play in the final of three rounds starting tomorrow at 10:30 AM MST.

Live Scoring

Round breakdown
Isla McDonald-O'Brien (-8/138/T1)
Today's Round: 71 (-2)
Birdies (6): Hole 2 (Par 4; 342 yards), Hole 4 (Par 5; 466 yards), Hole 5 (Par 4; 319 yards), Hole 6 (Par 5; 462 yards), Hole 13 (Par 5; 464 yards), Hole 18 (Par 5; 536 yards)

Paula Schulz-Hanssen (-4/142/T9)
Today's Round: 72 (-1)
Birdies (5): Hole 4 (Par 5; 466 yards), Hole 7 (Par 4; 390 yards), Hole 12 (Par 4; 400 yards), Hole 15 (Par 4; 372 yards), Hole 16 (Par 4; 346 yards)

Patience Rhodes (E/146/T19)
Today's Round: 75 (+2)
Birdies (2): Hole 7 (Par 4; 390 yards), Hole 14 (Par 4; 303 yards)

Grace Summerhays (+3/149/T26)
Today's Round: 76 (+3)
Birdies (1): Hole 5 (Par 4; 319 yards)

Beth Coulter (+3/149/T26)
Today's Round: 75 (+2)
Birdies (1): Hole 17 (Par 3; 191 yards)

Quotables
"We struggled a little bit today," Coach Farr-Kaye mentioned after the round. "We just were not as sharp today as we were yesterday.  Isla finished strong which was great to see. I am very proud of this team of young women and I believe we will play our best tomorrow."

Team standings

Individual standings

Tee times
Arizona State will begin the final round of the Nanea Invitational on Wednesday at 10:30 AM MST, as the field will undergo a shotgun start. ASU will be paired with Stanford, San Jose State, and Texas for the second straight day, which are the top three teams in the standings. The Sun Devils will be spread out between holes 1-5 to begin their round.

The competition (Scoreboard Rankings)
The Nanea Invitational features a competitive field with ranked teams including #1 Stanford, #6 Texas, and #8 Arizona State. In total, seven of the 11 teams in Hawaii for the event are ranked inside the Top-50.

In the Field (11 Teams): BYU, California, Colorado, Hawaii (Host), Michigan, San Jose State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington

The format
Holes: 54 (18 each day)
Days: 3 (Mon.-Wed.)
Scoring: 5 count 4
Par: 73
Yardage: 6,449

The course
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.

History at Nanea Invitational
Previously called the Pac-12 Preview, the Nanea Invitational reunites some teams from the disbanded conference with Hawaii serving as the host. It will be the 12th time in the past 13 years that Sun Devil Women's Golf has had the opportunity to compete at an event in Hawaii. During their last appearance, Coach Farr-Kaye's squad set a new program record for 18-hole team score vs. par, shooting -17 to open the 2022 event. Arizona State wraps up the Fall and will have a three-month break before resuming play in the Spring. 

2024-25 Arizona State Women's Golf Schedule
Arizona State will be tested throughout the campaign 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, five in the Fall and five in the Spring. The postseason begins April 15 at the Big 12 Championship, with NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships scheduled for the month of May.

ANNIKA Intercollegiate – Sept. 9-11 (Lake Elmo, MN)
Mason Rudolph Championship – Sept. 20-22 (Franklin, TN)
Windy City Collegiate Classic – Sept. 30 - Oct. 1 (Wilmette, IL)
Stanford Intercollegiate – Oct. 18-20 (Stanford, CA)
Nanea Invitational - Oct. 28-30 (Kailua-Kona, HI)
Match in the Desert – January 27 (Gold Canyon, AZ)*
Therese Hession Regional Challenge – Feb. 2-4 (Palos Verdes, CA)
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate – March 3-5 (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Clover Cup – March 10-12 (Litchfield Park, AZ | Wigwam Golf Club)*
PING/ASU Invitational – March 28-30 (Phoenix, AZ | Papago Golf Club)*
Big 12 Championship – April 15-17 (Hockley, TX)
NCAA Regionals – May 5-7 (Columbus, Ohio; Lexington, Kentucky; Norman, Oklahoma; Lubbock, Texas; Charlottesville, Virginia; Gold Canyon, Arizona)*
NCAA Championship – May 16-21 (La Costa, CA; Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Champions Course)
Italicized = Home Tournament
*Held in the state of Arizona

Empty the notebook

• Arizona State is one of ten teams that made the 2024 NCAA Championship and returns four members from that team.
• The Sun Devils will face a team in the Top-10 of GOLF Channel's preseason rankings a total of 28 times this year.
• Missy Farr-Kaye enters her ninth season as the Head Coach of Sun Devil Women's Golf. She is tied with Bobby Hurley (Men's Basketball) and Greg Powers (Hockey) as the second-longest tenured Sun Devil Athletics Head Coach. She trails only Zeke Jones, who is getting ready for his 10th year at the helm of the Sun Devil wrestling program.
• ASU has the chance to play in the state of Arizona up to four times this year. Regular season events have them playing Superstition Mountain Golf Club (Gold Canyon), Wigwam Golf Club (Litchfield Park), and Papago Golf Club (Phoenix). Should they qualify for a regional, the Sun Devils would compete at Superstition Mountain Golf Club a second time, serving as one of six regional hosts.

Top finishes in 2024-25
T5th - Beth Coulter, Stanford Intercollegiate
T5th - Patience Rhodes, Windy City Collegiate Classic
T5th - Patience Rhodes, Mason Rudolph Championship
T6th - Patience Rhodes, ANNIKA Intercollegiate
T9th - Beth Coulter, ANNIKA Intercollegiate
T10th - Beth Coulter, Windy City Collegiate Classic
T10th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen, Windy City Collegiate Classic
14th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen, ANNIKA Intercollegiate
T15th - Isla McDonald-O'Brien, Windy City Collegiate Classic
T16th - Paula Schulz-Hanssen, Mason Rudolph Championship
T18th - Grace Summerhays, Windy City Collegiate Classic
T18th - Isla McDonald-O'Brien, Stanford Intercollegiate
12 TOTAL TOP-20 FINISHES BY SUN DEVILS THIS YEAR

Best rounds in 2024-25
---> 67/-6 Isla McDonald-O'Brien (Nanea Invitational First Round/Oct. 28, 2024)
67/-5 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Mason Rudolph Championship Third Round/Sept. 22, 2024)
67/-5 Patience Rhodes (Mason Rudolph Championship Second Round/Sept. 21, 2024)
68/-4 Isla McDonald-O'Brien (Mason Rudolph Championship Third Round/Sept. 22, 2024)
68/-4 Patience Rhodes (Mason Rudolph Championship First Round/Sept. 20, 2024)
68/-4 Beth Coulter (ANNIKA Intercollegiate Third Round/Sept. 11, 2024
68/-4 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (ANNIKA Intercollegiate Third Round/Sept. 11, 2024)
68/-4 Patience Rhodes (ANNIKA Intercollegiate First Round/Sept. 9, 2024)
68/-3 Beth Coulter (Stanford Intercollegiate First Round/Oct. 18, 2024)
69/-3 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Windy City Collegiate Classic Second Round/Sept. 30, 2024)
69/-2 Beth Coulter (Stanford Intercollegiate Second Round/Oct. 19, 2024)
---> 70/-3 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Nanea Invitational First Round/Oct. 28, 2024)
70/-2 Patience Rhodes (Windy City Collegiate Classic Third Round/Oct. 1, 2024)
70/-2 Beth Coulter (Windy City Collegiate Classic Second Round/Sept. 30, 2024)
70/-2 Beth Coulter (ANNIKA Intercollegiate Second Round/Sept. 10, 2024)
70/-2 Patience Rhodes (ANNIKA Intercollegiate Third Round/Sept. 11 2024)
70/-2 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Mason Rudolph Championship First Round/Sept. 20, 2024)
70/-2 Beth Coulter (Mason Rudolph Championship First Round/Sept. 20, 2024)
70/-1 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Stanford Intercollegiate First Round/Oct. 18, 2024)
70/-1 Isla McDonald-O'Brien (Stanford Intercollegiate First Round/Oct. 18, 2024)
70/-1 Isla McDonald-O'Brien (Stanford Intercollegiate Second Round/Oct. 19, 2024)
70/-1 Beth Coulter (Stanford Intercollegiate Third Round/Oct. 20, 2024)
22 TOTAL ROUNDS OF 70 OR LOWER

Birdies by Sun Devil (2024-25 Season totals)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen (56 birdies)
Isla McDonald-O'Brien (54 birdies)
Patience Rhodes (44 birdies; 1 eagle)
Beth Coulter (43 birdies)
Grace Summerhays (38 birdies; 4 eagles)
Total (235 birdies; 5 eagles)

Career appearances
Grace Summerhays, 38 (35 stroke; 3 match)
Beth Coulter, 29 (26 stroke; 3 match)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 29 (26 stroke; 3 match)
Patience Rhodes, 15 (13 stroke; 2 match)
Isla McDonald-O'Brien, 5 (5 stroke)
Total 111 (100 stroke; 11 match)

Career top-20 finishes 
Grace Summerhays, 15 (7 Top-10)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen, 13 (5 Top-10)
Beth Coulter, 11 (5 Top-10)
Patience Rhodes, 7 (4 Top-10)
Isla McDonald-O'Brien, 2
Total 48 (21 Top-10)

Fantastic five
Patience Rhodes, Grace Summerhays, Paula Schulz-Hanssen, and Beth Coulter all return having gained another year of valuable experience. Highly-touted incoming freshman Isla McDonald-O'Brien joins the program, forming a talented 2024-25 roster under the direction of Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye and Assistant Coach Mikayla Tatman.

How to follow
Live scoring for the Nanea 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 (sundevils.com). Find Coach Farr-Kaye (@missymkaye) and Coach Tatman (@CoachMikayla_) on X as well.