Women to play in PING ASU Invitational

The No. 12 Stanford women’s golf team is bound for Tempe, Ariz. for the PING Arizona State Invitational this Friday through Sunday at the Karsten Golf Course.

The Cardinal will compete in a field of 17 teams that includes the host Arizona State, Alabama, California, Denver, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Purdue, San Jose State, Texas, Tulsa, UCLA, Washington and Washington State.

According to sophomore Sydney Burlison, the tournament will not be a competition of endurance, but will rest on who can seize opportunities for low scores.

“We’re all excited to play there,” Burlison said. “It’s a very scoring-oriented course, so we’re expecting the other teams to make a lot of birdies and go really low, but we’re prepared for that. Instead of being scared of this fact, our team has embraced it and has seen it as a challenge that we will match rather than something to be afraid of.”

Senior Angela King, junior Rebecca Durham and freshmen Kristina Wong and Sally Watson will be competing for the team title along with Burlison. The Stanford women plan to put themselves in the right positions on the course so that they can make a lot of birdies and score low rather than outlast their competition over the three-day tournament. The playing conditions are a desert-style course with generally very windy weather, yet the team is ready to swing into action and embrace the heat.

“This will be my third time playing this event,” Durham said. “It’s one of my favorite tournaments. The course is difficult but fair. The scores are generally low. Most importantly, this tournament is going to have a very, very strong field.”

“It will be good preparation for Regionals and Nationals. We are expecting to go out and contend with the top teams. I’m looking forward to it,” she added.