Michigan
PING/ASU Invitational
Wolverines Finish Third at PING/ASU Invitational
3/28/2021 6:49:00 PM | Women's Golf
» With a final-round 286 (-2), Michigan closed third at the PING/ASU Invitational held at the Papago Golf Course.
» The third-place finish gives the Wolverines three straight top-five team finishes this season and extends their streak to five straight.
» With her first career sub-70 round, junior Ashley Lau used a career-low 68 (-4) to lead the Wolverines and tie for sixth at 213 (-3).
» After tying for ninth, freshman Monet Chun (72-70-73/215, -1) has posted three straight top 15 individual finishes for the Wolverines.
Site: Phoenix, Ariz.
Course: Papago Golf Course (Par 72, 6,430 yards)
Tournament: PING/ASU Invitational (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 15 Teams (291-287-286/864, E)
Top U-M Individual: Ashley Lau, tie-6th (75-70-68/213; -3)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., April 17-18 -- at Hoosier Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.)
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- With three Wolverines finishing among the top 20 individually, the University of Michigan women's golf team made a late push over the final holes and carded its tournament low 286 (-2) Sunday (March 28), but the Wolverines' even-par 864 total earned a third-place finish at the PING/ASU Invitational at the Papago Golf Course.
Opening with a 291 in Friday's opening round and following with a one-under 287 in Saturday's second round, the Wolverines found themselves within striking distance with host Arizona State, Oregon and Oregon State. Playing in the final grouping, Michigan battled to the 18th hole, but Oregon's 279 (-9) and Arizona State's 286 (-2) held off the U-M's charge as its 286 (-2) and even-par 864 total earned a third-place finish.
We are a bit heartbroken, to come so close to winning today," said head coach Jan Dowling. "But we are super proud of our fight, and went toe-to-toe all weekend long with ASU, which is one of the most storied programs in college golf. We have so many positives to take away from this week and excited for the fight we saw from our team in a high pressure situation. It's certainly powerful fuel for next event."
With the third-place finish, the Wolverines have top-five team finishes in all three of their tournaments this season and extended their streak to five straight dating back to last season.
With five birdies in the final round, junior Ashley Lau posted a career-low 68 (-4) -- and first career sub-70 round -- to lead the Wolverines with a career-low 213 (-3) 54-hole total as she tied for sixth. Overall, Lau led the tournament with 13 total birdies.
"I am so so proud of the team," Lau said. "We are only going up from here. After how I started on the first day, I lost a little bit of hope in myself, but Coach came up to me and said, 'You have so many more holes ahead of you,' and 'be a goldfish because goldfish have memories of 10 seconds.' That's what I did and it worked. Even in the last two rounds, I stayed patient and just focused on one shot at a time. Even if I birdied or bogeyed the previous hole, I would try not to think about it and move on."
Freshman Monet Chun continued her red-hot streak to open her U-M career, posting her third straight top-15 individual finish and tying for ninth at 215 (72-70-75, -1). Senior Ashley Kim gave the Wolverines three among the top 20 as she posted a season-best tie for 17th at 217 (70-72-75, +1).
The Maize and Blue have one remaining spring tournament before the start of postseason. U-M will head to Indiana to play in the Hoosier Invitational at the recently-renovated Pfau Course at Indiana University. The two-day, 54-hole event will be play Saturday and Sunday, April 17-18, in Bloomington.
Final Team Standings
1. Arizona State 285-291-286 = 862 (-2) Oregon 294-289-279 = 862 3. MICHIGAN 291-287-286 = 864 4. Oregon State 293-290-283 = 866 5. Stanford 284-300-284 = 868 6. Northwestern 293-287-291 = 871 7. Denver 291-291-292 = 874 8. Arizona 292-289-295 = 876 9. Baylor 293-297-288 = 878 10. New Mexico 297-291-292 = 880 11. UCLA 295-295-292 = 882 12. San Jose State 291-296-300 = 887 13. Cal Poly 299-304-293 = 896 14. Washington State 298-309-301 = 908 15. California 307-301-305 = 913
Top Individuals
1. Kelly Sim, Northwestern 69-70-72 = 211 (-5) 2. Briana Chacon, Oregon 74-70-68 = 212 Annabel Wilson, UCLA 70-72-70 = 212 Linn Grant, Arizona State 68-72-72 = 212 Rachel Heck, Stanford 67-73-72 = 212 6. ASHLEY LAU, U-M 75-70-68 = 213 Britta Snyder, Baylor 69-73-71 = 213 8. Amanda Linner, Arizona State 73-70-71 = 214* 9. MONET CHUN, U-M 72-70-73 = 215 Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State 75-73-67 = 215 Hsin-Yu Lu, Oregon 74-72-69 = 215 Angelina Ye, Stanford 71-75-69 = 215
Michigan Individuals
T17. Ashley Kim 70-72-75 = 217 T30. Hailey Borja 75-75-70 = 220 T50. Sophia Trombetta 74-76-75 = 225 T42. Mikaela Schulz 75-76-72 = 223* * playing as individual
