Forsterling claims individual crown, leads host Arizona State to impressive victory in PING/ASU Invitational

    By the time I post this, play in the opening round of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. will be complete.

   There’s a decent chance that when the winner is crowned Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club, she will have tuned up for one of the premier events in women’s amateur golf in last week’s PING/ASU Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix.

   Such was the depth of the field that Stanford’s Rose Zhang, a freshman from Irvine, Calif. and the unquestioned No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), struggled in the final round and could do no better than finish in a tie for 10^th place.

   Hey, the kid has a pretty full plate these days and will still be considered the one to beat in the Augusta National Women’s Am. She’s still the No. 1 player on a Stanford team that is the unquestioned No. 1 team in the Golfstat rankings.

   Zhang will be joined in Augusta by four current Stanford teammates and one future teammate, Megha Ganne, the Holmdel, N.J. phenom who is No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Oh yeah, a sixth member of the current Stanford roster, Brooke Seay, a junior from San Diego and No. 66 in the Women’s WAGR, all she’ll be doing is teeing it up in the LPGA Tour’s first major championship of 2022, The Chevron Championship, which will be played one final time at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. before moving to new dates in a new town, Houston, next year.

   Can I still call it The Dinah? They can take the tournament somewhere else and call it something else, but the wonderful TV personality who helped put women’s professional golf on the map with her tournament in the California desert won’t be forgotten.

   But I digress. The PING/ASU Invitational belonged to the host Sun Devils, who moved up from No. 8 to No. 6 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of their victory, as individual champion Alexandra Forsterling, a senior from Germany and No. 20 in the Women’s WAGR, led the way to an impressive 15-shot victory for Arizona State.

   After opening with an 8-under 280 over the 6,426-yard, par-72 Papago layout, Arizona State took command of the team race with a sparkling 13-under 275 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a solid 4-under 484 for a 25-under 839 total.

   There may be no hotter team in women’s college golf than No. 2 Oregon and the Ducks cooled off only a little in earning runnerup honors in the PING/ASU Invitational. Oregon came to Phoenix on the heels of back-to-back team wins in the Florida State Match Up at Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. and the Northrop Grumann Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

   Oregon posted back-to-back 2-under 286s in the first two rounds at Papago before closing with a 6-under 282 to finish 15 shots behind Arizona State with a 10-under 854 total.

   After winning all four tournaments in which it participated in the fall, Stanford has come back to earth a little this spring, but the Cardinal were still good enough to get a share of third place in the PING/ASU Invitational with the No. 10 Baylor, out of the Big 12, each landing on 2-under 862.

   The postseason is on the horizon. Oregon will play the host in what is always a hotly-contested Pac-12 Championship, which tees off April 18 at Eugene Country Club.

   None of the top Pac-12 teams will concede a thing to Stanford, no matter how many of the Cardinal are teeing it up in the Augusta National Women’s Am or how high they are in the Women’s WAGR.

   Stanford was 19 shots behind pace-setting Arizona State after adding a 1-over 289 in Saturday’s second round to its opening round of 3-under 285. But Stanford could only match par in Sunday’s final round with a 288.

   Baylor was tied for second place with Oregon going into Sunday’s final round after the Bears matched the Ducks with back-to-back 2-under 286s in the first two rounds that left them 17 shots behind Arizona State. Baylor closed with a 2-over 290 to join Stanford at 2-under 862.

   Another perennial Pac-12 power, No. 15 UCLA, was a shot behind Stanford and Baylor in a tie for fifth place with Big Ten power Northwestern, typically underrated at this time of the year at No. 45, at 1-under 863.

   The Bruins, behind Emma Spitz, a junior from Austria and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR, added a 1-over 289 to their opening-round 291 before finishing up with a solid 5-under 283.

   Spitz finished in a tie for second place in the individual chase with another Arizona State entry, Ashley Menne, a sophomore from Surprise, Ariz. and No. 74 in the Women’s WAGR, as they finished two shots behind Menne’s teammate Forsterling, each landing on 7-under 209.

   Northwestern was right around par all weekend, the Wildcats opening with a 2-under 286 and adding a 2-over 290 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 287.

   No. 36 Oregon State, another Pac-12 representative, finished three shots behind UCLA and Northwestern in seventh place in the 16-team field with a 2-over 866 total. After opening with a 294, the Beavers registered a 3-under 285 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 287.

   Forsterling took command of the individual chase right from the start as she opened with a sizzling 6-under 66 that featured seven birdies against a lone bogey, matching the low round of the tournament. Forsterling added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round that left her a shot behind her teammate, Menne, in the individual standings going into Sunday’s final round.

   But Forsterling was rock solid in the final round, closing with a three-birdie, one-bogey 2-under 70 for a 9-under 207 total.

   After opening with a 69, Menne carded a sparkling 5-under 67 to take the lead after two rounds. She finished up with a 1-over 73 to join UCLA’s Spitz in the tie for second at 7-under 209 and giving Arizona State a 1-2 finish in its home event.

   Menne finished in fourth place in the individual chase in last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., all of about six miles from the Arizona State campus, helping the Sun Devils reach the match-play bracket before falling to Duke in the quarterfinals.

   Backing up the top two for the Sun Devils was Calynne Rosholt, a freshman from Cedar Rapids, Texas who gave Arizona State a third finisher inside the top 10 as she ended up as part of a fivesome tied for 10^th place with a 3-under 213 total. After struggling to a 76 in the opening round, Rosholt contributed a 3-under 69 to Arizona State’s second-round surge and was the low Sun Devil in the final round with a 4-under 68.

   Rounding out the Arizona State lineup were Alessandra Fanali, a senior from Italy, and Grace Summerhays, a freshman from the golfing Summerhays family of Scottsdale, Ariz., both of whom landed among the group tied for 24^th place at 1-over 217.

   Fanali struggled a little in the opening round with a 74, but bounced back with a 4-under 68 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 75. After opening with a solid 1-under 71, Summerhays carded back-to-back 1-over 73s. Her first and final rounds were both counters for the Sun Devils.

   UCLA’s Spitz was in that six-player logjam tied for third place in last year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, two shots behind playoff participants Tsubasa Kajitani, the eventual champion, and Emilia Migliaccio. Spitz went on to finish second to Stanford’s Rachel Heck in the NCAA Championship’s individual chase at Grayhawk.

   Spitz appears to be finding her stride at the best possible time as she added back-to-back 3-under 69s in the last two rounds to the 71 she posted in the opening round as she shared second place with Arizona State’s Menne with a 7-under 209 total.

   Stanford’s Aline Krauter, a senior from Germany and No. 29 in the Women’s WAGR, was a shot behind Menne and Spitz in fourth place with a 6-under 210 total. Krauter, winner of The Women’s Amateur Championship in 2020 at West Lancashire, registered back-to-back 1-under 71s in the first two rounds before closing with a 4-under 68.

   Oregon’s Briana Chacon, a junior from Whittier, Calif. and No. 92 in the Women’s WAGR, headed a group of three players tied for fifth place at 5-under 211.

   After opening with a 3-under 69, Chacon matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 2-under 70. Chacon teed off with Forsterling, Menne, Spitz and Krauter, all top-five finishers at Papago, in Wednesday’s opening round of the Augusta National Women’s Am at Champions Retreat.

   Joining Chacon in the trio tied for fifth place were Northwestern’s Kelly Sim, a senior from Edgewater, N.J., and Baylor’s Gurleen Kaur, a fifth-year player from Houston and No. 81 in the Women’s WAGR.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Sim carded a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 69. After opening with a 74, Kaur’s explosiveness was on display as she matched the low round of the tournament with a 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round before she finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Chacon’s Oregon teammate, Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, a junior from Denmark, and New Mexico’s Napat (Jenny) Lertsadwattana, a junior from Thailand, finished in a tie for eighth place, each landing on 4-under 212.

   After struggling a little in an opening-round 74, Kibsgaard Nielsen posted back-to-back 3-under 69s. Lertsadwattana was just a shot behind Forsterling following an opening round of 5-under 67 before cooling off a little with back-to-back 1-over 73s.

   Heading the foursome that joined Arizona State’s Rosholt in the group tied for 10^th place at 3-under 213 was Stanford’s Zhang. The winner of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. and last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md., Zhang was just a shot behind Forsterling going into the final round of PING/ASU Invitational after adding a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 70. Zhang backed off in the final round with a 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the group tied for 10^th place at 213 were UCLA’s Emilie Paltrinieri, a junior from Italy who was competing as an individual, Sim’s Northwestern teammate, Jennifer Cai, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., and Michigan’s Ashley Lau, a senior from Malaysia.

   Paltrinieri made a pretty strong case for a return to the first five for UCLA as she opened with a 3-under 69 and struggled a little in Saturday’s second round with a 74 before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Cai matched Patrinieri’s opening-round 69 and added a 73 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Lau struggled a little in the opening round with a 73, but bounced back with a 4-under 68 in Saturday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Lau is in the field with Zhang in Wednesday’s opening round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat. Zhang was part of that group of six players, along with UCLA’s Spitz, tied for third place a year ago at Augusta National.

   In addition to Zhang, Krauter and future Cardinal Ganne, Stanford is represented in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur by Caroline Sturdza, a freshman from Switzerland and No. 64 in the Women’s WAGR, Heck, the reigning NCAA individual champion who is a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn. and No. 3 in the Women’s WAGR, and Angelina Ye, a junior from China and No. 40 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Sturdza finished in a tie for 43^rd place at Papago with a 5-over 221 total while Heck struggled, finishing in a tie for 56^th at 227.

   Zhang, by the way, has a guaranteed spot on the U.S. team for the Curtis Cup Match against a team from Great Britain & Ireland, which tees off in 72 days at Merion Golf Club’s iconic East Course in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township. If Heck maintains her lofty status in the Women’s WAGR, you’ll also see her wearing the Stars & Stripes at Merion.

   Zhang and Heck were key contributors on the U.S. team that rallied from a Day 1 deficit to claim a 12.5-7.5 victory over GB&I in last summer’s 41^st Curtis Cup Match at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales.

   Ye, who finished fourth in the individual chase in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring, is having a hard time making the starting lineup for Stanford this spring. That’s how good Margot & Mitch Milias director of women’s golf Anne Walker’s team is.

   The fifth starter for Stanford in the PING/ASU Invitational was Sadie Englemann, a sophomore from Austin, Texas who finished alone in 48^th place with a 6-over 222 total.

   Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia, which saw its ranking drop from No. 7 to No. 8 in the aftermath of the PING/ASU Invitational, wasn’t at its best at Papago, finishing in eighth place with a 17-over 881 total.

   Sophomore Jennifer Cleary, a Tower Hill School product and the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, finished in a tie for 33^rd place with a 3-over 219 total. After opening with a solid 1-under 71, Cleary registered back-to-back 2-over 74s in the final two rounds.

   It was the final stroke-play event of the regular season for Cleary and the Cavaliers before they compete in the ACC Championship, which tees off April 14 at The Reserve Golf Club on Pawleys Island, S.C.