ASU women’s golf carries momentum into final Pac-12 title run, NCAA championships

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports-ASU Women’s Golf, 840 words.
  • 4 photos available.

By Brevan Branscum
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Arizona State women’s golf is hungry for more.

Already leading the NCAA in national championship wins, the team begins its quest to win a ninth NCAA title in school history, starting Sunday in the 2024 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championship in Pullman, Washington.

The Sun Devils, ranked No. 12 in the nation by Spikemark’s national rankings, last won the Pac-12 championship in 2009. This season will mark their last shot at capturing conference gold ahead of next year’s move to the Big 12.

ASU coach Missy Farr-Kaye’s mindset?

“Whatever happens, happens,” she said.

It’s a simple approach, but Farr-Kaye’s players adopted her outlook and the team has been all the better for it. The Sun Devils want to win, but with NCAA golf’s format predicated on individual performance and other results out of their control, the team has come up with its own definition of success throughout the season.

“We’re not really focused on the outcome, we’re really focused on our process and doing the things to prepare,” said Farr-Kaye, who previously won three national championships with ASU, one each as a player, assistant, and head coach. “I think that’s been a really good recipe for us this spring.”

The Sun Devils are hitting their stride heading into the postseason. The team won back-to-back events before finishing tied for second in the season finale at the PING/ASU Invitational in Tempe. A testament to their mindset, they finished the final round strong after entering the day in eighth place.

“A lot of the time, if we have a bad day, we can really come back and have a good next day because we’re staying in the present,” said Paula Schulz-Hanssen, a sophomore from Germany.

The Sun Devils are led by senior Ashley Menne, who has four individual top-10 performances this season. She became the 16th individual event champion during Farr-Kaye’s 9-year tenure at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in March. Menne’s 14-under-par at the event broke the 35-year-old record for the lowest 54-hole score by a Sun Devil.

As the lone senior on the team, Menne is in a position of leadership. Heading into the Pac-12 championship, she plans to perform by letting her play do the talking and putting trust in her teammates.

“My role is to just play my part, do my thing, focus on what I can control for myself and everyone else will take care of their own business,” Menne said. “We are a team at the end of the day.”

Menne is surrounded by qualified teammates, including Schulz-Hanssen, who has two top-10 finishes of her own. At the same invitational Menne won, the team’s depth was on full display, with Schulz-Hanssen, freshman Patience Rhodes and sophomore Beth Coulter all finishing top-six. Overall, the Sun Devils finished a collective 42-under-par, the eighth-lowest 54-hole team score in NCAA history.

In stroke play, the team has combined for five top-five finishes by four different golfers and 21 top-20 finishes, with five different players having at least three. Among herself, Schulz-Hanssen, Coulter, Rhodes, and juniors Grace Summerhays and Calynne Rosholt, Menne says everyone on this Sun Devils team is capable of winning an event.

“Depth is huge, especially going into the national championship,” Menne said. “It’s great to know on any day, one of us can go out and win the tournament.”

Aside from ASU, four other schools are ranked nationally in the top 14, including No. 1 Stanford. It’s a loaded field, but the Sun Devils are familiar with their competition after competing against them during the season.

“We know their games and we know we can definitely keep up with them,” Schulz-Hanssen said. “In the end, it’s also just golfers like us.”

No matter the result in the Pac-12 championship, the Sun Devils will compete in the NCAA Regionals on May 6, but a good showing could improve their draw. A top-five finish in the regionals earns them a spot in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship on May 17.

For Farr-Kaye, the event will be exciting, but also bittersweet as a former Pac-12 athlete and longtime coach.

“We’ve been very proud to represent our conference so it’s a little heartbreaking,” Farr-Kaye said. “But we’re going to enjoy it and hopefully not get too cold or wet up in Pullman.”

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Junior Beth Coulter readies her shot during a head-to-head competition against the University of Denver in the Dual of the Desert at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona on February 25, 2024. (Photo courtesy of ASU Athletics)
Sophomore Paula Schulz-Hanssen tees off in front of the desert mountains at the PING/ASU Invitational at Papago Golf Course. (Photo courtesy of ASU Athletics)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen throws the forks up in between holes as Arizona State tries to win on their home field at the PING/ASU Invitational in Phoenix at ASU’s Papago Golf Course. (Photo courtesy of ASU Athletics)
Ashley Menne and Grace Summerhays hold the trophy with the rest of the Arizona State women’s golf team to celebrate a dominant win at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Lihue, Hawaii in March. (Photo courtesy of ASU Athletics)