Women's golf to compete in spring season opener

Palos Verdes, Calif. - The second-ranked Arizona State University women's golf team returns to competition Feb. 11-13 at Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif. The three-day tournament will be held at the 5,912-yard, par-71 Palos Verdes Golf Club.

The Sun Devils will compete against a strong 15-team field including 13 teams ranked in the Golfworld/NCGA Coaches Poll. The field includes: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Denver, Florida, Michigan State, Ohio State (host), Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Stanford, TCU, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, and Wake Forest.

The line-up for ASU features: sophomore All-American Anna Nordqvist, sophomore Juliana Murcia, junior All-American Azahara Munoz, junior All-American Jennifer Osborn, and newcomer freshman Ashley Smith. Sophomore Liisa Kelo will play as an individual.

The Sun Devils will hope to use their final victory of the fall season at the Stanford Intercollegiate as momentum coming into the spring season.

ASU shot a 10-over 862 (293-293-276) in the three-round tournament to record their first tournament victory of the season. With a third round score of 8-under 276, the Sun Devils erased their second round deficit of 12 strokes to beat second-place Duke by four shots. ASU topped a talented field, featuring 10 teams ranked in the top-25 by Golfweek including then No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Duke.

Junior All-American Jennifer Osborn led the Sun Devils, shooting a three-round total of 1-under 212 (70-75-67) to finish in second place. Osborn carded five birdies and one bogey in the third round to finish one stroke off of first-place Stacy Lewis of Arkansas. Lewis shot a 2-under 211 (69-72-70) for the tournament.

In December Munoz and Nordqvist were named to Golfworld Midseason All-Americans. Munoz was also named "Best Golfer You've Maybe Never Heard Of".

Munoz finished in the top 10 in three out of the four events she competed in. Recording a 71.67 stroke average, Munoz capped off the fall season tying for third place at the Stanford Intercollegiate.

Nordqvist, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year and NGCA Freshman of the Year, finished in the top five in three of the four events the Sun Devils competed in this fall. In the first event of the season, Nordqvist fired a back-to-back score of 68 in the first two rounds to finish the tournament in second place.

Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.