Sun Devil golfers shine in the conclusion of the 2012 World Amateur

Closing out her amateur career, 2012 Pac-12 Player of the Year Giulia Molinaro helped her home country of Italy finish 11th at the 2012 World Amateur Championships in Antalya, Turkey.  Over the long four-round tournament, the December graduate shot a 9-over 297 to tie for 56th in a field of 157 players.

Current Sun Devil golfer Laura Blanco finished out her second-straight World Amateur competition for her home country of Colombia on a strong note, shooting a 5-under 67 in the fourth round of play. Blanco’s 67, with seven birdies carded in the round, eclipses her ASU career-low of 69 set last season at the 2012 PING/ASU Invitational. The score, which vaulted the ASU junior into a tie for 48th, also ties six other golfers for the lowest score shot of any round in this year’s competition.

In the golfing community, the World Amateur Championships is regarded as the "Olympics of golf", with 53 countries vying head-to-heard for the title and the coveted Espirito Santo trophy on the women's side. In 2008, Sun Devil and current LPGA professional golfer Anna Nordqvist helped her home country of Sweden take home top honors. With golf joining the summer Olympic games in 2016, there a more weighted importance to the field of the 2012 World Amateur.

The fourth-ranked Sun Devils resume collegiate golf competition at the Stanford Intercollegiate, Oct. 19-21 in Palo Alto, Calif. ASU will look to ride the success from its season-opening victory at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Tulsa, Okla.