Golf notes: Arizona State women make it to postseason again
The Arizona State women's golf program is heading to the postseason for the 32nd year in a row. The Sun Devils will be the No. 3 seed in the Cle Elum Regional at Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Washington, where the Washington Huskies will be the host team and the No. 6 seed. Pac-12 champion Stanford is the top seed in the regional.
The Arizona Wildcats also made the postseason. They have been tabbed as the No. 3 seed in the Las Vegas Regional at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas. UCLA is the top seed there.
There are six regional sites in all, each featuring 12 teams and six individuals not on qualifying teams. Northern Arizona's Lizzie Neale is among those individuals in the Las Vegas regional.
The regionals run May 6-8, with the top five teams, 30 teams in all, as well as the low individual not on an advancing team, six individuals in all, advancing to the national championships, May 17-22 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, where the University of Texas is the host program.
This will be the first of three scheduled NCAAs for La Costa following the last three, which were held at Grayhawk in Scottsdale.
Nine Pac-12 teams — UCLA, Arizona, Cal, USC, Oregon State, Oregon, Stanford, ASU, Washington — qualified for the postseason in the league's final season.
The ASU and Arizona men's squads await their selections Wednesday, as the 2024 men's selection show will be live on Golf Channel at 11 a.m. Arizona time. The men's championship is May 24-29 in Carlsbad, California.
GCU men repeat
The Grand Canyon men's golf team also qualified for the postseason after rallying to win the WAC title in Payson. The Antelopes were down 10 shots with nine holes to go before going on to win to become the WAC's first repeat champ in five years.
Lights, camera, action
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa is the latest facility in Arizona to offer night golf with its newly lit #miniDunes course.
With a celebrity lineup of former LPGA standout Cristie Kerr, former Sun Eddie Johnson, former Cardinal Seth Joyner, former NFL kicker Jay Feely, former Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley and trick shot artist Tania Tare, Southern Dunes flipped the switch on its six-hole loop, which also serves as the driving range during the daylight hours.
The short course, featuring holes measuring from 60 to 115 yards, opened in 2014 but there are now 13 poles with Musco stadium lights illuminating the night. Tee times can be booked as late as 10 p.m. with unlimited play options available.
The 18-hole course at Ak-Chin, designed by Brian Curley and Fred Couples, opened in 2002 and became part of the Ak-Chin Indian Community in 2010. It is ranked No. 14 on Golfweek's Best top casino golf courses in the U.S. and sixth best public-access layout in Arizona.
Chip shots
ASU women's coach Missy Farr-Kaye and Basketball Hall of Famer Ann Meyers Drysdale are honorary co-chairs for next week's Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic on the Epson Tour. The four-day, 72-hole event is May 9-12 at TPC Scottsdale's Champions Course. It features a $400,000 purse, the largest in the LPGA's developmental circuit's history.
-- Former Brophy golfer Charlie Palmer was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year last week after his freshman season at Princeton.
-- The Golf Coaches Association of America announced that ASU sophomore Ben Parris is the recipient of the 2024 Ron Balicki Scholarship, awarding him a $5,000 grant. Parris is minoring in Political Science. The Ron Balicki Scholarship for aspiring golf journalists is dedicated to the memory of Ron Balicki for his lifelong commitment to covering the game of golf. Any college/university student at the undergraduate or graduate level or high school journalist may apply for consideration.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State women's golf makes it to postseason again
