Strong Start for Women’s Golf in Hawaii

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii – Sun Devil Women’s Golf is in prime position following day one of the Nanea Invitational.

Hosted at Nanea Golf Club on the Island of Hawaii, the field features three of the Top-10 teams in the latest Scoreboard rankings. No. 8 Arizona State fired a 281 (-11) in the first round, which is good enough for second place in the 11-team field. They only trail No. 1 Stanford by two strokes, with No. 47 San Jose State, No. 6 Texas, and Colorado rounding out the rest of the Top-5. The Maroon and Gold combined for 23 birdies as a team, tied with Stanford for the most in the field.

The Sun Devils were led by freshman Isla McDonald-O’Brien, who delivered an excellent effort on Monday. She opened the event with a career-best 67 (-6), putting her in a tie for first after 18 holes. She was bogey-free and enjoyed a stretch of four straight birdies on her front nine. Not far behind is junior Paula Schulz-Hanssen, as her 70 (-3) has her tied for sixth. She recorded a team-best seven birdies, the second-most of any golfer on day one. Redshirt sophomore Patience Rhodes makes it three Sun Devils in the Top-15, as she made an impressive return to the course. She caught fire during an incredible stretch on the back nine in which she had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch. Grace Summerhays managed her round well and finished even (73), settling into a tie for 21st. Beth Coulter rounded out the lineup with a 74 (+1) and gives ASU five golfers in the top-half of the 60-golfer field as she is tied for 26th.

Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye‘s team is 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-five opportunities. They have a tournament-best 4.55 scoring average on such holes. The Maroon and Gold were also able to limit their mistakes, with the 10 bogeys as a team representing the second-fewest (Stanford) on day one. Arizona State will attempt to continue their strong play in the second of three rounds starting tomorrow at 10:30 AM MST.

Live Scoring

Round breakdown
Isla McDonald-O’Brien (-6/67/T1)
Birdies (6): Hole 3 (Par 4; 389 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 15 (Par 4; 372 yards)

Paula Schulz-Hanssen (-3/70/T6)
Birdies (7): Hole 2 (Par 4; 342 yards), Hole 4 (Par 5; 466 yards), Hole 8 (Par 3; 166 yards), Hole 9 (Par 4; 366 yards), Hole 15 (Par 4; 372…