SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's golf team will compete in the Ping/ASU Invitational this weekend. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will be played at the Pagago Golf Club (Par 72, 6,426 yards) in Phoenix, Ariz.
The 16-team field is loaded, featuring five top 10 programs, seven in the top 25 and 10 in the top 50. Schools competing include No. 8 Arizona State, No. 25 Arizona, No. 19 Baylor, Colorado, Denver, Harvard, No. 10 Michigan, New Mexico, No. 45 Northwestern, No. 2 Oregon, No. 36 Oregon State, San Diego State, No. 1 Stanford, No. 15 UCLA, No. 7 Virginia, No. 40 Washington.
The Aztecs are currently No. 61 in the Golfstat Team rankings, moving up 10 spots after placing ninth (out of 16) at the Valspar Augusta Challenge two weeks ago.
SDSU's lineup will be Sara Kjellker, Bernice Olivarez Ilas, Anna Lina Otten, Anika Sato and Esti Garcia Rubio. This is the third straight tournament SDSU has used these five golfers although the order has varied.
Kjellker and Olivarez Ilas tied for 10th (out of 90) at the Valspar Augusta Invitational, shooting an identical 148 (77-71). Kjellker's eight birdies were the most in the tournament and she has finished in the top 20 in five of SDSU's six tournaments and has two straight top 10 finishes.
Olivarez Ilas' average score of 73.6 is the second lowest on the team and she has finished in the top 16 in each of the last two tournaments.
Otten and Sato are both averaging 76.6 strokes per 18 holes in the spring. Otten has finished third among Aztecs in the last two tournaments and tied for 34th at the recent Valspar Augusta Invitational, her highest finish of the spring.
Sato is averaging 74.9 strokes per 18 on the year, third best on the team. She has three top 20 finishes and tied for sixth at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in the fall.
This will be Garcia Rubio's third straight tournament in the Aztec' lineup. She shot a 225 (+9) and tied for 36th at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational, her best score and highest finish on the year.
Garcia Rubio will be the first Aztec to tee off, starting on the 10th hole at 8:50 a.m. PT Friday morning. SDSU will be paired with Oregon State, Colorado and Virginia on the first day. Tee times for Saturday (8-9:40 a.m. PT) and Sunday (7:30-9:10 a.m. PT) will be based on team rankings entering the day.
The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures reaching the high 80's by the end of each round.
Papago Golf Club is nestled against the picturesque Papago Buttes and features native desert landscape and distinctive red sandstone geological formations.
Aztecs Competing at PING/ASU Invitational This Weekend
