Tag: Olivia Mehaffey

After a grief-induced breakdown, Olivia Mehaffey is feeling the love back in her native Northern Ireland

Grief is complicated, and Olivia Mehaffey needed time away from golf to deal with the loss of her father.

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ANTRIM, Northern Ireland – A twinkle surfaced in Olivia Mehaffey’s eyes as she fondly recalled the last time her father graced the fairways at one of her events, the 2021 playing of the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

Philip Mehaffey hadn’t gotten out of bed in months after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020, but after a motorized scooter was delivered to his home in the small village of Scarva, Northern Ireland, he came to see his daughter make good in her first LPGA start.

Although she expected him to simply make a quick appearance, Olivia was utterly impressed by her father’s determination to see her play, and the support helped spur her on to a top-20 finish.

“I kept looking every fairway and I’m like, oh, my gosh he’s still here. I think he needs to go home,” Mehaffey said Wednesday at Galgorm Castle Golf Club as she prepared for the final playing of the ISPS Handa International, as it was announced this week the event was not included in the 2024 DP World Tour schedule.

“So just having him there every round was so nice for me. So I think probably just those memories and like how special it was to have him there beside me every shot, every hole.”

Soon after her triumphant home debut, Mehaffey’s life slipped into a dark place. Her father succumbed to the disease in December 2021, and the former Arizona State star – one of three Sun Devils to earn All-American honors in all four years of college – threw herself headfirst into the game as a means to deal with the pain.

To open the 2022 season, Mehaffey subjected herself to a golf gauntlet; an eight-week stretch of consecutive tournaments that saw her passport stamped in South Africa, Thailand, Australia and Spain. When it was over, her game was slipping and she was flirting with a dangerous mixture of exhaustion and uncertainty, both on the golf course and off. She finally had a self-diagnosed breakdown after pulling out of the Skafto Open in Sweden nearly a year ago.

That’s when Mehaffey knew she needed time to process what she’d been through. Away from the game she loves.

“Grief is the weirdest thing I’ve ever been through,” she told the Irish Times as part of a fascinating read. “I think that’s one of the reasons people don’t talk much about it. It’s because it’s so hard to explain. You don’t know when it’s going to come.

“I’ve had times when I’ve felt totally fine, and then all it’s taken is one thought to trigger it and I’m a mess. And in life, we’re basically taught that everything can be answered. But everyone’s experience is so different, it comes to different people in different ways and at different times. That’s what makes it hard for people to understand.”

Olivia Mehaffey
Olivia Mehaffey and her father, Philip, and mother, Evelyn

She put the clubs down. She stopped thinking about attacking flags and started contemplating what made her tick. After months of reflection, Mehaffey posted on her personal blog at the beginning of 2023 that she was emerging from the depths she’d suffered through.

“As I look back and reflect on the last 12 months, it is easy to only see the hurt, the hard times and the tears. I still feel the scars that 2022 has given me. But I am also able to see the progress. I know where I was, the dark places I experienced alone and felt the lowest I ever have. I also see the progress,” she said. “I recognize the work I have put into getting myself out of a dark hole and the improvements, although it still isn’t where I want it to be. I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone, for being brave to get help and for admitting to my struggles. I know 2022 has given me the ability to have new tools and strategies that I have never had before.”

To see her this week at the ISPS Handa, back in the comfort of her homeland, is to see a player who seems to have found the balance necessary to succeed. She bounced through the media center for interviews Wednesday with the wide smile and long blonde locks that made her look native to the Tempe, Arizona, campus where she spent so many successful seasons.

Mehaffey posted a best-ever third-place finish on the LET Tour at the Ladies Open By Pickala Rock Resort in Finland a few weeks ago, and she hopes that with friends and family on hand this week, she’ll be ready to again do her father proud, even if he’s not following along on each fairway.

“At the start of the year I didn’t set any goals. Normally I set where I want to finish, order of merit, world ranking, try and win tournaments. I didn’t do any of that this year,” she said. “I just wanted to come back from my break last year and really enjoy golf, and frankly I’m doing that again, which is great. So I’m just going to keep that same mentality for the rest of the year.

“I think when you’re enjoying it you’re playing good, so that’s sort of my only goal. Try not to put no pressure on myself, no expectations, which is difficult at times to manage, but I think it’s very important.”

Mehaffey prepared for a busy stretch by employing a strategy she hadn’t been comfortable with in the past – staying away from tournament golf. When she starts her first round today at Galgorm Castle, she will have been off the road for three full weeks.

The balance seems to have put her at peace.

“It’s been nice having a few weeks off. Took the first week and didn’t play. Felt like I was getting a little bit burnt out; played a lot of golf,” Mehaffey said. “And then last two weeks just working a lot with my coach. It’s been nice to prepare for this. It’s going to be a really busy finish to the rest of the year. The LET schedule is pretty busy.

“So a lot of practicing and just really get prepared for obviously Irish Open after this as well. It’s great to have two events at home in a row.”

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Just as women’s golf is rising in Ireland, a key event is taken off the schedule

This signals a high water mark in women’s golf for the region, one that even the players have noticed.

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ANTRIM, Northern Ireland — Pop your head into any golf shop along the northwest coast of Ireland and you’re sure to gather in a healthy dose of Leona Maguire, one of the nation’s greatest golf products.

Posters of the 28-year-old appear with as much frequency as they would of Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City or Steph Curry in the Bay area. Maguire is also on the cover of the most recent Irish Golfer magazine, smiling while standing between the words “Leona: That winning feeling,” marking the second time in the publication’s last 20 issues that she’s graced the front page.

In this emerald paradise, her star couldn’t be shining much brighter.

She’s not alone. While the island that encompasses the countries of Ireland and Northern Ireland has long produced male golf superstars, female pros have not enjoyed the same level of success until recently.

The former Duke player dominated the amateur game and held the No. 1 ranking for 135 weeks, a record that was broken by Rose Zhang. In 2022, Maguire became the first Irishwoman to win on the LPGA at the Drive On Championship.

Others have followed suit. At this week’s ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Aviv Clinics at Galgorm Castle Golf Club and Castlerock Golf Club outside Belfast, Maguire is joined by Stephanie Meadow, Olivia Mehaffey and Jessica Ross, who all hail from Northern Ireland.

2023 ISPS HANDA World Invitational
The 16th tee box at Galgorm Castle Golf Club for the 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational. (Photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

It signals a high-water mark in women’s golf for the region, one that even the players have taken notice of.

“It’s amazing. I think when I was a little girl I looked up to the guys,” said Mehaffey, an Arizona State product who plays on the Ladies European Tour. “We always had so many great male players. Didn’t maybe have as much on the women’s side. Obviously, Leona and Steph are kind of breaking down a lot of barriers. I am coming in behind them. There are a lot of girls in college. It’s getting really strong. It’s nice to see the women follow in the men’s footsteps.

“So I think it’s exciting and Irish golf is a good place. I think it’s only going to get better, and I think events like this and also for us having the Irish Open back on the schedule I think it’s great. I believe that we’re in a good spot. It’s just going to keep getting better.”

Unfortunately, this event, which showcases LPGA, LET and DP World Tour players, will be short-lived. The DP World Tour released its 2024 schedule earlier this week and the ISPS Handa wasn’t included. Organizers told BBC Sport there are plans for another big event in the region, but the mixed format – in which male and female players compete for the same size purse – will not be extended.

Still, the sunsetting of the tournament hasn’t dampened the spirits of those in this week’s field. Maguire, for example, is eager to play again just two hours from her home of Cavan. She says she loves the support, even if it’s a bit overwhelming at times.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it pressure. I think the Irish fans are fantastic to come out and support their own, whether it’s golf or whether it’s Women’s World Cup a few weeks ago or whatever it is,” Maguire said. “I think it’s always nice to have people wishing you well and rooting you on and wanting to see you do well. You can call it pressure, but either way, you want to do as well as you can every week, and this week is really no different.

“It’s nice to have that sort of extra support there when you hit a good shot and things like that. Yeah, it’s just a little bit of an extra incentive to do better this week.”

If Maguire does find that extra incentive, the field best beware. She’s missed just one cut in 14 starts this year and has posted five top-10 finishes, including a win at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Using a white-hot putter of late, she’ll be looking to improve on last year’s 10th-place finish, and would be the perfect final winner during the event’s swan song.

2023 Women's PGA Championship
Stephanie Meadow chips a shot onto the 3rd green during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Meadow, meanwhile, will be looking to rekindle the magic she displayed  in 2019 when she won the event. The tournament is played at two courses through the opening two rounds with men’s groups and women’s groups alternating. After the cut, the final two rounds will all be played at Galgorm.

The win in 2019 was an extra special one for Meadow, as she had her husband on the bag.

“I mean, that was such an amazing memory to have all my friends and family here,” said Meadow, who is a member at nearby Ballyclare Golf Club as well as Royal Portrush. “To do it at a golf course where I took lessons up on the range there when I was 10 years old, I mean, talk about a transformation. Obviously, a super special memory and I’m excited to be back here again.”

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Leona Maguire headlines players to watch at ISPS Handa World Invitational, where men and women will compete for an equal purse

The event is a co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour, Ladies European Tour and LPGA.

Leona Maguire will compete in front of Irish fans at an LPGA event for the first time since becoming the first Irishwoman to win on tour last February at the LPGA Drive On Championship. The president of Ireland called her after the historic moment.

The 27-year-old Maguire is the highest-ranked player in the field at the ISPS Handa World Invitational after moving up to No. 17 following her T-4 finish at the AIG Women’s British Open, the best major finish of her career.

The ISPS Handa World Invitational is a co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour, Ladies European Tour and LPGA. There will be 132 men and 132 women competing in two separate 72-hole stroke play tournaments (one for men and one for women) at the Galgorm Castle and Massereene Golf Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. For the first two rounds, all players will play one round on each course.

The total purse of $3 million will be split evenly between the men and women at $1.5 million each.

Here are six LPGA players to watch this week in Northern Ireland:

Arizona State’s Olivia Mehaffey set to make 2022 debut on Epson Tour while holding her father’s memory close

“The reason I play golf is because of him,” she Mehaffey.

Philip Mehaffey hadn’t gotten out of bed in months, but that didn’t stop him from having a motorized scooter delivered to his house in the small village of Scarva, Northern Ireland. His only daughter, Olivia, was set to make her LPGA debut at the ISPS Handa World Invitational about 50 minutes away, and he wasn’t going to miss it. Never mind the terminal cancer diagnosis.

Philip put on six layers and a wooly cap and embarked on what he’d later call the best week of his life.

Olivia, 24, thought she might see her father on the first tee, and maybe a few of the finishing holes at Massereene Golf Club. But every time she looked outside the ropes, there he was.

“He did not miss one shot,” marveled Olivia, who tied for 17th at her home LPGA event.

Olivia Mehaffey
Olivia Mehaffey’s cheer squad at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. (courtesy photo)

Father and daughter were partners in mixed events at their golf club, Tandragee, and often had to tell mom to keep the Sunday roast warm because they had to stay longer for the prize-giving ceremony. Philip was a big believer in his daughter’s talent, and while she rarely made a decision without him, Olivia said he was never a pushy parent.

She began to understand the true depth of her father’s love and pride when she held his hand day after day in the final months of his life.

“The reason I play golf is because of him,” she said.

Olivia, one of three four-time All-Americans to come out of Arizona State, makes her first start of the 2022 season at this week’s Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic on the Epson Tour, where she’s competing close to her second home on a sponsor exemption. The top 10 on the Epson Tour at season’s end earn LPGA cards for 2023.

A strong finish this week would go a long way toward better status after the tour’s first reshuffle. She tied for sixth at the event last year.

Olivia was in the U.S. when her father was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020. The surgeon said it was the worst tumor he’d ever had to remove. Her mother Evelyn asked head coach Missy Farr-Kaye to deliver the news so that Olivia, a fifth-year senior, wouldn’t be alone.

In November of 2020, Farr-Kaye, who had twice battled breast cancer, received her own colon cancer diagnosis.

“The last person I wanted to tell was Olivia,” said Farr-Kaye, who is like a second mom to the Irishwoman.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 03: Olivia Mehaffey of Northern Ireland plays her shot from the 12th tee during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 03, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

At the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Olivia found out from her mom that the cancer had spread, and that her father’s condition was terminal. She cried for about an hour, and then decided that she needed to play her best golf so that he could see her on TV. She finished ninth.

Mehaffey struggles being vulnerable, calling herself a closed book. Last season, she said, was mentally the worst year she’s ever had.

Rounds of 80-74-72-78 put her toward the bottom of the field at Stage II of LPGA Qualifying School in October and miles away from an LPGA card. She immediately went home to Northern Ireland to be with her dad.

“I knew she was devastated,” said Farr-Kaye, “but looking back on it now, she was supposed to be home.”

Mehaffey stayed by her father’s bedside for weeks.

Philip had plans for her though, and he told everyone who would listen that she was going to Spain for Ladies European Tour Qualifying School.

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘You’re going to Spain,’ ” said Olivia, who insisted that she couldn’t leave him.

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Philip died on Friday, Dec. 3 at age 59, and the family held his funeral service that next Sunday. Olivia honored her father’s wishes and flew to Spain on Monday. Few people outside of Northern Ireland knew of her loss. Olivia just wanted to go out and play for dad.

“I think it taught me how strong I was,” she said. “To be in the space I was mentally and kind of it aside and try to hit shots.”

A tough Mehaffey secured Category 15 membership on the LET for 2022.

Earlier this year, Leona Maguire became the first Irish player to win on the LPGA. The pair are close friends and talk to each other most days. After Maguire won, she told Mehaffey that her LPGA title will come “sooner than you think.”

“That meant a lot to me,” said Mehaffey. “We go so far back.”

2021 ISPS HANDA World Invitational
Olivia Mehaffey gives her ball to a girl on the 18th hole during the final round of the ISPS HANDA World Invitational at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort in Ballymena, United Kingdom. (Photo: Oisin Keniry/Getty Images)

Farr-Kaye calls Mehaffey one of the hardest, if not the, hardest-working players she has ever coached. One of her strengths is being able to put up a solid score even when she’s not playing well, a strong recipe for a tour player.

Mehaffey returned to Arizona on Jan. 7 and tried to immerse herself into practice and not think too much about the pain.

In time, however, she realized that wasn’t a healthy approach. She talks to Farr-Kaye every day and sometimes practices with her old Sun Devil team. In Farr-Kaye, she has a warm and compassionate confidant. Swing coach Jorge Parada tackles things logically and calmly. They are people she can open up to and unburden herself.

Farr-Kaye said the best advice she can give Mehaffey is to embrace the present, even when it doesn’t look like what anyone wanted.

“Sometimes when you have to work a little harder for something,” said Farr-Kaye, “it means a little bit more.”

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Seven storylines to watch this season on the Epson Tour, including Haley Moore’s comeback

The Epson tour has grown substantially in recent years, up from $1.6 million a decade ago to $4.41 million in prize money.

The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic kicks off the 2022 Epson Tour season March 4-6 in Winter Haven, Florida, where a 132-player field will compete for a $200,000 purse.

The top 10 players at season’s end will earn LPGA cards for 2023. The LPGA’s official qualifying tour is made up of recent hotshot college grads, Epson Tour veterans waiting for a big break, and LPGA veterans looking to claw their way back to the Big Show.

The Epson tour has grown substantially in recent years, up from $1.6 million a decade ago to $4.41 million in prize money across 20-plus events in 2022.

Here’s a look at seven storylines to follow this season:

Arizona State women’s golf team ready for run at ninth national title

The No. 11 Sun Devils will enjoy a home game as Arizona State hosts the 2021 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Arizona State golf standout Olivia Mehaffey was looking forward to a stellar senior season last season, capped off with the opportunity to play for an NCAA championship on a home course.

That 2020 season didn’t exactly go as planned with the coronavirus pandemic derailing those plans.

The native of Belfast, Ireland, decided to take the NCAA up on its offer of an extra season for those spring sport athletes whose seasons were adversely affected.

Now that long-awaited chance is here, as the No. 11 Sun Devils join 23 other regional qualifiers for the six-day NCAA women’s golf championship which starts on Friday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

The men’s event starts on May 28 on the same course, marking the sixth time in history that both will have been held at the same venue the same year.

“That’s a big reason I decided to come back,” Mehaffey said. “It was tough missing out last season but that just gave us more time to get to know this course. We’ve been preparing for this and we’re ready to go.”

Those in the Sun Devil camp insist there is no pressure as the home team or as one of the leading contenders. ASU is making its 36th appearance in the event and comes in boasting an NCAA-best eight titles, the last coming in 2017.

Mehaffey (73.94) is the lone senior in ASU’s starting five. She is joined by junior Alessandra Fanali (74.13), sophomores Linn Grant (70.70) and Amanda Linner (74.39) and freshman Ashley Menne (73.71). Grant tied for second at the regional, aided by a 2-under in the final round.

Coach Missy Farr-Kaye says there is more pressure in the regional, the step before nationals. The Sun Devils placed second in the Columbus, Ohio regional, bouncing back nicely after a tough first day in which weather conditions were difficult.

“If we’ve learned anything in the last year it’s about how to adjust,” Farr-Kaye said. “It can be weather conditions or other things. I have really been proud of this team and how they have been able to adapt. That’s not always easy.”

ASU and Arizona are among the six Pac-12 teams in the field. Only the SEC has more at seven, with that group led by No. 1 South Carolina.

For Mehaffey the event will mark the end of her ASU career. She’ll be turning professional as soon as the event wraps up, competing in a Symetra Tour event in Florida two days later.

The Sun Devils say they’re focused on enjoying the experience, rather than the pressure that comes with playing for a championship.

“This is the last time we’re going to play together so we just want to go out there and have fun,” Mehaffey said. “We want to enjoy the environment and the atmosphere and see what happens. Not everybody gets to play for a championship close to home so we’re excited about that opportunity.”

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Arizona is part of the national tournament field for a 23rd time, with three titles to its credit, the most recent coming in 2018. The Wildcats placed fifth in the Stanford regional led by the performance of senior Yu-Sang Hou, who was fourth individually.

The entire event will be held on the 7,151-yard, par-72 Raptor course, which is challenging.

“There’s really not a hole where you can relax. It’s a tough course and the greens are hard to read,” Grant said. “We have played it so we’ll know it better than the other teams so that’s definitely an advantage but we’re still going to have to play well.”

NCAA Women’s Golf championship

Site: Grayhawk Golf Club Scottsdale (Raptor Course)

Format: 54 holes of stroke play (Friday-Sunday). Following the first three rounds, the top-15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team advance to the final day of stroke play Monday to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in match play for the NCAA Championship on with quarter- and semifinals on Tuesday and the final on Wednesday.

Defending champion: There was no tournament last year due to COVID-19 (Duke won in 2019).

Qualifying teams: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Kent State, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, USC, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.

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Arizona State All-America golfer to miss Pac-12 Championships

The No. 7-ranked Arizona State women’s golf will be without one of its top players at the Pac-12 Championships hosted by Stanford.

TEMPE, Ariz. — The No. 7-ranked Arizona State women’s golf will be without senior star Olivia Mehaffey at the Pac-12 Championships, Friday-Sunday at Stanford.

Mehaffey, a four-time All-America and 2019 Pac-12 individual champion from Ireland, is out due to COVID healthy and safety protocol. She is expected to return for an NCAA regional, May 10-12, and if the Sun Devils advance for NCAA Championships, May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

Mehaffey on Friday was named the 2021 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

ASU’s Pac-12 lineup will be Linn Grant, Alessandra Fanali, Ashley Menne, Alexandra Forsterling and Amanda Linner.

Grant is ranked No. 5 nationally (Golfstat), Fanali No. 83, Menne No. 92 and Mehaffey No. 104. But Mehaffey has been playing recently including a ninth-place finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

No. 10 USC, No. 12 Oregon and No. 22 Arizona are Pac-12 top contenders along with ASU. The Trojans Allisen Corpuz is ranked No. 4 individually and Stanford’s Rachel Heck is No. 21.

The men’s golf Pac-12 Championships are April 26-28 at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California. ASU is ranked No. 9 and Arizona No. 21.

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Experience at Augusta National counts for a lot, and Olivia Mehaffey has it in spades

Arizona State senior Olivia Mehaffey reached the final round at Augusta National in 2019. In 2021, she’s going back, one shot off the lead.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A few months ago, Olivia Mehaffey’s swing coach, Jorge Parada, stuck a blade putter in her hand. Mehaffey had been struggling with the mallet-style putter she was using, and Parada convinced her to at least try a different style. She called him crazy, but trusted him enough to try it nonetheless.

“I just started putting with it and I loved it,” she said. “So I’ve been feeling really good with my putting recently.”

The first eight holes of Mehaffey’s second round at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur were colorful to say the least, but the red can be directly attributed to the new putter. Mehaffey didn’t make a par until she reached the ninth hole at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Thursday. She had five birdies offset by three bogeys. The thing was, nobody else was making birdies on a day when wind swirled and dried out already firm greens.

“I think that’s the hardest thing and being able to adapt and really commit,” Mehaffey said of trying to gauge the wind all day. “I was very committed out there today, and kind of committed to, if I commit and it’s the wrong decision, that’s fine.”

Augusta National Women’s Amateur: Leaderboard

Mehaffey’s second-round 69 was the only number under 70 on a tough scoring day with chilly temperatures and swirling breezes. It left her tied for third, one shot off the lead.

Two years ago, Mehaffey made the 36-hole cut and competed in the final round at Augusta National, where she fired a 76 and finished T-23. Last year, she chose to compete in the ANA Inspiration, an LPGA major, instead. Because of COVID, however, the ANWA was canceled and the ANA was moved back to September. Mehaffey still played that event and finished T-74.

This week’s stage is not lost on her. Mehaffey is a four-time All American at Arizona State who came back to play a fifth year when LPGA Q-School was canceled in 2020 because of COVID. Saturday’s opportunity is enormous.

“You see what Maria and Jennifer did two years ago,” she said. “It was incredible, and it really shook the golf world. I think that’s something that we have the ability to do this week again, and that would be very special to do.”

Mehaffey has a bit of a tie to Kupcho this week. After Kupcho had her dad on the bag through the first two rounds, she opted to take a local caddie, Brian Kemp, in the final round at Augusta National. Kemp has been on Mehaffey’s bag all week. Parada helped make the connection.

Mehaffey realizes it could be a huge advantage.

“I give him my yardages in the practice round,” Mehaffey said of working with Kemp the past two days. “We’re laughing and having a good time. He’s great. We’re having fun. He helps me with putts as much as I ask, but I think when we go to Augusta National, it will be every single putt.”

Experience is huge at an event like this and Mehaffey has it in spades.

“Knowing how the event works, knowing the formalities, knowing where you go, knowing what you can do, knowing the courses — I think it’s one of those courses, the more you play, the better,” she said. “That’s why I’m very grateful this year I have an Augusta National caddie. … To utilize him out there, I think is going to be huge.”

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Symetra Tour: Amateur Olivia Mehaffey leads by 2 after 36 holes in Arizona

Arizona State senior Olivia Mehaffey carded nine birdies on Friday to take the lead at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic in Arizona.

Three amateurs were granted sponsor exemptions to the Symetra Tour season opener.

That decision is proving to be a smart one, as all three made the cut, two of them are sitting inside the top ten and one of them is the outright leader after 36 holes at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic.

Arizona State senior Olivia Mehaffey has posted rounds of 69-64 and holds the solo lead by two strokes at 11 under heading to the weekend at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa. She had nine birdies and one bogey on Friday to vault to the top of the leaderboard. Her 64 is the best score of the week so far.

Mehaffey is trying to match former Sun Devil Phil Mickelson with a victory in a professional event while still in college at ASU.

Maybe it’s not too surprising. Last Sunday, she posted a final-round 62 in the Clover Cup at Longbow, helping her Sun Devils win their third college tournament in four outings in the spring season. An extra challenge this week: Longbow played at 6,184 yards for the Clover Cup and is measuring 6,439 yards for the Symetra event.

Her ASU teammate, Ashley Menne, shot a 67 on Friday, nine shots better than her first-round 76, which has moved her into a tie for 31st at 1 under.

Rose Zhang, the top-ranked amateur in the world, is also in contention after shooting 70-69 in her first two rounds, putting her in a tie for 9th at 5 under.

Longbow Golf Course
Longbow Golf Course in Mesa, Arizona. Photo by Golfweek

Laurie Coughlin, Ruixin Liu and Celine Herbin are tied for second at 10 under. Allie White is in 5th at 8 under, while Fatima Fernandez Cano is at a shot back at 7 under. Defending tournament champ Sarah White shot 73-74 and missed the cut.

SCORES: Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic

An amateur won a Symetra Tour event on the same course in 2015. Hannah O’Sullivan won the Gateway Classic at age 16, the youngest player to win on the circuit.

The Carlisle event is the first on the Symetra Tour’s 2021 schedule and features one of the bigger purses, $200,000, with $30,000 going to the winner.

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Fifth year of college golf meant to be for Arizona State’s Olivia Mehaffey

The three-time All-America returned for her senior season, which started rocky due to a broken hand and ended early because of the pandemic.

Olivia Mehaffey could have turned professional after her junior season at Arizona State.

Instead, she broke a bone in her hand from a fall while hiking in June 2019, making it impossible for her to adequately prepare for LPGA qualifying school.

So the three-time All-America returned to ASU for her senior season, which started rocky due to the broken hand and ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I had a very rough fall,” Mehaffey said. “I came back too early. That was quite difficult. I wasn’t really ready to be competing. The spring I felt things were getting going and obviously the team was doing well so I feel like things were only going to go up. I was more comfortable again. I put a lot of pressure on myself to come back and perform well. I was in a happier place and enjoying it more.”

ASU was ranked third nationally and coming off a 19-stroke tournament win in Hawaii before the NCAA cancelled all spring championships, ending the 2019-20 college sports year before the men’s and women’s national tournaments could be played for the first time at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, also NCAA men’s and women’s host in 2021 and 2022.

But COVID-19 also shut down most pro sports, in Mehaffey’s case taking away the LPGA/Symetra Tour qualifying tournament and Q-series that she again planned to play. But because the NCAA gave an extra year of eligibility to all spring athletes, she still had the option of returning to ASU as a post-graduate for a fifth season.

Mehaffey took her time before deciding in late May that a shot at another national title — she contributed as a freshman to ASU’s eighth NCAA championship in 2017 — and opportunity to become the first five-time All-America in the sport was better than the uncertainty of when she could become a full-time LPGA player.

“I had quite a few conversations with Missy (Farr-Kay, ASU’s coach),” Mehaffey said. “We really talked everything out. All I ever wanted was to get an undergrad (degree) so coming back to school to get a master’s was kind of a big thing because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do more school.”

Mehaffey, with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, settled on organizational leadership for her post-grad work, figuring it’s applicable to the business end of golf. “I’ve been in quite a few leadership roles before,” she said. “If I was going to spend another year studying, I wanted to really find something I enjoyed.”

ASU will return its entire team next season including 2020 All-Americas Linn Grant and Alessandra Fanali while adding freshmen Ashley Menne and Breyana Matthews, both coming from Phoenix Xavier Prep.

“She’s the leader, she’s most vocal,” Farr-Kaye said of 22-year-old Mehaffey. “It’s very natural for her and it’s really been her team for two years. The team is excited to have her back. There’s a comfort level, she’s our special senior next year.”

Grant of Sweden is 10th and Mehaffey of Northern Ireland is 17th in the most recent Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking. Mehaffey is planning to play as an amateur in the ANA Inspiration, an LPGA major tournament, Sept. 10-13 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Until then, she’s been quarantining with her family in Banbridge, recently getting back on the Royal County Down and Tandragee courses near her home.

“We were in very strict lockdown for seven weeks,” Mehaffey said. “It was kind of strange. I did a lot of short game in the garden (where she has a green and bunker) and spent time doing mental work. Even deciding whether to come home or stay in America, there’s pros and cons to both.

“I thought if I stay, I’d be able to golf more, but if I didn’t come home at all it would be very tough. I’ve got my family out golfing. My mom’s only hit the car once so that’s not too bad. Just making it fun and trying to find things to pass the time.”

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