The Arizona State women's golf team, ranked No.1 in the latest MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, open their spring tournament schedule with the Regional Challenge, in Palos Verdes, California at the Palos Verdes Golf Club. The course is a par 71 (5,852 yards). Teams will begin teeing off at 9:00 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday from the first and 10th tees. On Wednesday, tee times will begin at 8:00 a.m. from the first and 10th tees. The 18-team tournament field includes Arizona, Arizona State, Iowa State, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northwestern, Ohio State, San Jose State, Southern Methodist, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Tulsa, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin.
LAST YEAR: Last year the Devils finished third at the Regional Challenge with a 914 team total, nine strokes off the pace. Stanford won the event (905) with UCLA placing second (907). Jeanne-Marie Busuttil finished ninth (227) while teammate Jody Niemann tied for 10th. Other ASU finishes: Kellee Booth, T14; Tui Selvaratnam, T23 and Keri Cornelius, T28.TEEING UP FOR THE DEVILS: Head coach Linda Vollstedt has announced the following golfers will travel to the Regional Challenge: Grace Park, Kellee Booth, Jeanne-Marie Busuttil, Keri Cornelius and Tui Selvaratnam.
ASU GOLF ON THE WEB: Catch the latest news on the Arizona State women's golf team on the Sun Devil Athletics website at http://www.thesundevils.com
1997-98 STROKE AVERAGES Name App. Top 10 Rds. Strokes Avg. Low Kellee Booth 4 2 12 899 74.92 71 Jeanne-Marie Busuttil 4 0 12 921 76.75 71 Keri Cornelius 4 0 12 904 75.33 72 Michaela Friberg 0 0 0 0 - - Jody Niemann 2 0 6 467 77.83 73 Grace Park 4 3 12 883 73.58 69 Tui Selvaratnam 3 1 9 678 75.33 72
NOTES ON BOOTH: Senior All-American Kellee Booth is having another stellar season as she leads a strong Sun Devil squad in 1997-98. Her highest finish of the season was a tie for fourth place at Golf World/Palmetto Dunes. She currently sports a 74.92 stroke average - one of the lowest in the nation. Booth is currently 13th in the individual Mastercard rankings. She finished fifth at NCAA's last year (73-71-75-71--290).
Top Career Finish: 2nd, three times, most recent at the '97 PING/ASU Invitational
Top 1997-98 Finish: T4th (Golf World/Palmetto Dunes)
NOTES ON BUSUTTIL: Senior All-American Jeanne-Marie Busuttil, had an immediate impact on ASU golf last year after transferring from the University of Florida. She recently finished tied for 12th at Golf World/Palmetto Dunes. Her current stroke average is 76.75. Busuttil is currently ranked 38th in the individual Mastercard Rankings. Busuttil finished tied for 25th place at NCAA's last year (73-76-75-75--299).
Top Career Finish: 1st (NCAA East Regional '96)
Top 1997-98 Finish: T4th (Golf World/ Palmetto Dunes)
NOTES ON CORNELIUS: Junior Keri Cornelius turned in a solid performance at the '97 NCAA West Regional, shooting rounds of 75-69-72 (216) to finish 11th individually. She has participated in all four tourneys to date for the Devils with three top 20 finishes. Cornelius has a 75.33 stroke average. Cornelius finished tied for 25th at NCAA's last season (76-78-73-72--299). She is ranked 20th in the lastest Mastercard rankings.
Top Career Finish: 6th (Pac-10 Championships '97)
Top 1997-98 Finish: T11th (Stanford Intercollegiate)
NOTES ON SELVARATNAM: Junior Tui Selvaratnam finished tied for 35th at the '97 NCAA West Regional, carding scored of 79-72-73 (224). Her second-day round of 72 is a career-low for the sophomore. Selvaratnam has a 75.33 stroke average and has one top 10 and one top 20 finish in three appearances. Selvaratnam is currently ranked 29th in the individual Mastercard rankings. She tied for 7th at last year's NCAAs.
Top Career Finish: 7th (NCAAs '97)
Top 1997-98 Finish: T9th (Stanford Intercollegiate)
NOTES ON PARK: Freshman phenom Grace Park has made an immediate impact on the Collegiate golfing ranks. Currently ranked number one individually, she has already claimed top honors in a Collegiate tournament. She has a 73.58 stroke average and has three top 10 finishes in four appearances. She placed first at the Rolex Fall Preview and third at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Park finished tied for fourth at Golf World/Palmetto Dunes.
Top Career Finish: 1st (Rolex Fall Preview)
Top 1997-98 Finish: 1st (Rolex Fall Preview)
ASU AT HOME AT THE TOP: As a team, the Sun Devils have claimed first- or second-place finishes in 44 of 56 tournaments, dating back to the 1992-93 season. They have finished no lower than 6th in that time span. ASU placed third at the 1995 Stanford Women's Intercollegiate in Palo Alto, Calif., third at the 1996 Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., third in the 1994 West Regional in Albuquerque, N.M., tied for third at the 1996 Arizona Invitational in Tucson, tied for third at the 1997 SMU/OSU Regional Challenge, fourth at the 1996 Rolex Fall Preview, fourth at the 1993 Conquistadores/Chris Johnson Arizona Invitational in Tucson, fourth in the 1996 SMU/USC/OSU Regional Challenge, fifth at the 1996 NCAA West Regional, fifth in the 1995 GolfWorld-Palmetto Dunes Collegiate, 6th at the 1997 Mercedes/Golfweek Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., and 6th at the 1996 NCAA Championships in La Quinta, Calif.
MASTERCARD COLLEGIATE GOLF RANKINGS (As of December 10): 1. ARIZONA STATE 2. Arizona 3. Duke 4. Stanford 5. Tulsa 6. Georgia 7. Furman 8. LSU 9. Oklahoma State 10. Oregon 11. Tennessee 12. TCU 13. Wake Forest 14. Auburn 15. Memphis 16. Texas A&M 17. Oregon State 18. Texas 19. Texas Tech 20. New Mexico State 21. UCLA 22. Alabama 23. UNC 24. Missouri 25. New Mexico