Grant overcomes tough conditions to claim individual title, lead Arizona State to team crown in Bruin Wave Intercollegiate

    Nothing like a challenging  golf course and some tough weather conditions to make life difficult for even the best of players.

   But when The Saticoy Club and some un-Cali like weather in Somis, Calif. got done having their way with the field for the Bruin Wave Intercollegiate Wednesday, it was the No. 2 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Arizona State sophomore Linn Grant, who had grinded her way to the individual victory while leading her Sun Devils, No. 9 in the latest Golfstat rankings, to a 14-shot victory over No. 16 Northwestern.

   The key to Grant’s victory and to the Arizona State win was her 2-under-par 70 over the 6,273-yard, par-72 Saticoy Club layout in Tuesday’s second round, easily the best round of the tournament.

   Grant had posted a 1-over 73 in Monday’s opening round. In Tuesday’s second round, the Swede offset four bogeys with four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 14^th hole that enabled her to build a two-shot lead over Oregon’s Ching-Tzu Chen, a sophomore from Taiwan.

   Apparently, rain and wind were factors in Wednesday’s final round and Grant did the best she could to post a 5-over 77 that enabled her to finish with a 4-over 220 total that left her a shot ahead of Chen and Northwestern’s Irene Kim, a sophomore from La Palma, Calif. Grant finished up with a double bogey at the 18^th hole that probably made the one-shot margin of victory a little misleading.

   Arizona State opened with a 21-over 309 that left it three shots behind No. 28 Oregon. Behind Grant’s 2-under round, the Sun Devils put together the best team round of the tournament, a 13-over 301, in Tuesday’s second round to give them a five-shot lead over their Pac-12 rival, the Ducks. A final-round 305, again the best team round of the day, enabled Arizona State to finish with a 51-over 915 total.

   Big Ten power Northwestern closed with a 20-over 308 to earn runnerup honors with a 65-over 929 total. The Wildcats had struggled to an opening-round 315 before adding an 18-over 306 in Tuesday’s second round.

   It all probably seemed vaguely familiar to Arizona State’s Olivia Mehaffey, a fifth-year player from Northern Ireland who is the last connection for the Sun Devils to the most recent of their eight national championship teams in 2017 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The opening round of qualifying at Rich Harvest Farms was played in the most difficult conditions imaginable with temperatures in the 30s, wind blowing and rain, with the occasional sleet pellet thrown in for good measure.

   If anybody asked Mehaffey this week if this was the worst conditions she ever played in, she probably replied with an emphatic, ‘Naaahhh.”

   And when Arizona State finally arrived at the Final Match in 2017 at Rich Harvest Farms, its opponent for the national championship was … Northwestern, of course, playing less than 50 miles from the Wildcats’ campus in Chicago.

   After its opening-round 306, Oregon added a 309 in Tuesday’s second round to remain just five shots behind Arizona State. The Ducks struggled to a final-round 316 and settled for third place, their 67-over 931 total leaving them two shots behind Northwestern.

   Oregon’s assistant coach, Monica Vaughn, has some cherished memories of Rich Harvest Farms, bad weather and all. The senior leader of that 2017 Arizona State team, Vaughn survived the difficult conditions to capture the NCAA individual crown and then led, in every sense of the word, the Sun Devils to the team crown. Pretty good week, I’d say.

   The victory in the Bruin Wave Intercollegiate was the ninth career tournament win for Arizona State head coach Missy Farr-Kaye, including that memorable week at Rich Harvest Farms.

   Pepperdine, playing in its first 54-hole tournament of the season, finished another four shots behind Oregon in fourth place at 71-over 935. The Wave bounced back from an opening-round 317 with a solid 19-over 307 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 309.

   New Mexico outperformed its No. 128 ranking, by finishing in fifth place at 74-over 938, three shots behind Pepperdine. The Lobos were very much in the hunt after they added a 15-over 303 to their opening-round 313. They struggled to a final-round 322.

   Host UCLA, another perennial Pac-12 power, was a shot behind New Mexico in sixth place in the 15-team field with a 75-over 934 total. The Bruins were pretty consistent, though, opening with a 313 and adding a 311 before finishing up with a 315.

   Backing up Grant for Arizona State was Alessandra Fanali, a junior from Italy who shared seventh place with Oregon’s Cynthia Liu, a freshman from Taiwan and No. 50 in the Women’s WAGR, at 14-over 230. Fanali sandwiched a 78 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 4-over 76s.

   Ashley Menne, a freshman from Surprise, Ariz., landed in the group tied for 12^th place at 232 as she opened with a 77 and added a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 79.

   Amanda Linner, a sophomore from Sweden, gave Arizona State a fourth finisher among the top 20 as she bounced back from an opening-round 85 with a 78 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 74 that was the Sun Devils’ low round of Wednesday’s final round and left her in the group tied for 19^th place at 237.

   Rounding out the Arizona State lineup was Mehaffey, who is No. 20 in the Women’s WAGR. She accepted the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility to make up for a senior season that was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Looks like she wants a chance to represent Great Britain & Ireland for a third time in the Curtis Cup Match, which was rescheduled from 2020 and will now be played at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales in August.

   Mehaffey opened with an 83 at The Saticoy Club and added a 77 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 78 that left her among the group tied for 28^th place at 238. All three of her rounds were counters for the Sun Devils.

   Oregon’s Chen matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 that left her just two shots behind Grant going into Wednesday’s final round. Chen closed with a 76 to finish just a shot behind Grant at 5-over 221. Northwestern’s Kim opened with a 1-over 73 and added a pair of 74s that earned her a share of second place with Chen.

   UCLA’s Emma Spitz, a sophomore from Austria and No. 15 in the Women’s WAGR, was in contention for the individual title after opening with a 74 and matching par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72. She closed with a 77 to finish alone in fourth place at 7-over 223, two shots behind Chen and Kim.

   Pepperdine’s Reese Guzman, a sophomore from Kahuluai, Hawaii, finished in fifth place, three shots behind Spitz at 10-over 226. After opening with a 76, Guzman carded a solid 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 77.

   Nebraska’s Kate Smith, a senior from Detroit Lakes, Minn., did a nice job of battling through the conditions as she finished a shot behind Guzman in sixth place at 11-over 227. After opening with a 78, Smith added a solid 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 75.

   Oregon’s Liu was also solid in Tuesday’s second round with a 1-over 73 that helped her get a share of seventh place with Arizona State’s Fanali at 230, three shots behind Smith. Liu opened with a 78 and signed for a 79 in Wednesday’s final round.

   Oregon’s Briana Chacon, a sophomore from Whittier, Calif. competing as an individual, grabbed the lead when she matched par in the opening round with a 72. She backed off with an 80 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with a 79, but still earned a share of ninth place with New Mexico State’s Alison Gastelum, a freshman from Mexico, and New Mexico’s Napat “Jenny” Lertsadwattana, a sophomore from Thailand, at 15-over 231. That top-10 finish just might earn Chacon a promotion to the first five for the Ducks.

   Gastelum opened with a 76 and added a 75 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with an 80. Lertsadwattana opened with a 75 and added a solid 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before struggling to an 83 in Wednesday’s final round.

   There were probably a few flashbacks to Rich Harvest Farms for Northwestern head coach Emily Fletcher, too. Give the Wildcats credit, they have that we’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime attitude that certainly served them well this week. And earning a runnerup finish on a difficult golf course in tough weather conditions will make them that much tougher when the postseason arrives.