Tag: scottsdale

First Pac-12 Conference baseball tournament is headed for the desert

The Pac-12 announced its first conference baseball tournament, which the commissioner described as “a marquee event” to increase exposure.

It’s been a busy time for the media relations person over at Pac-12 headquarters. Yesterday the conference announced The Alliance with the Big 10 and the ACC, and now, just 24 hours later, the Pac-12 has announced that its first-ever conference baseball tournament.

The inaugural tournament is set for May 25-29, 2022, and will be played at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona.

According to new commissioner George Kliavkoff, who just began his new role less than two months ago, the baseball tournament will be a must-see event for fans as well as players and coaches. In a press release, the commish said the following:

The Pac-12 Baseball Tournament is a marquee event that will serve to enhance the exposure of the Conference’s baseball programs with competitive, late-season matchups prior to NCAA Tournament selections. It will also provide student-athletes with a first-class experience and the opportunity to compete for a championship in a premier destination for the sport on the West Coast.

The tournament itself will be an eight-team affair with the bottom three teams missing out. The Pac-12 has just 11 teams as Colorado doesn’t have a baseball program.

The double-elimination tournament will be spread over five days at the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants. The Pac-12’s initial agreement with the City of Scottsdale runs through 2024. The Giants are also the parent club of the Eugene Emeralds, who play inside PK Park.

A television partner for the tournament was not announced, but as busy as Kliavkoff has been in recent days, expect something to be said soon concerning TV.

Scottsdale Stadium has a capacity of over 12,000 and plays home to San Francisco’s Cactus League minor league rookie teams.

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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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Scottsdale, Grayhawk three weeks away from long awaited NCAA Championships

Arizona State golf coach Matt Thurmond said Scottsdale will be the “center of the collegiate golf universe”, at least for the short term.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The long awaited start of a three-year run for the NCAA golf Championships in Arizona is now just three weeks away.

The women are up first at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale from May 21-26 followed by the men from May 28-June 2. The 2022 and 2023 nationals also will be held at Grayhawk, which was to have hosted for the first time in 2020 before all spring NCAA championships were canceled due to the pandemic.

So a process that began in 2017, not long after Matt Thurmond was hired as Arizona State men’s golf coach, finally culminates in what Thurmond said will result in Scottsdale becoming the “center of the collegiate golf universe” at least for the short term.

Staging the championships is a combined effort by Grayhawk, ASU, NCAA, Golf Channel and the Thunderbirds to annually host 24 women’s and 30 men’s teams in stroke and match play for a combined total of 54 days (including practice rounds) over three years.

“We’re the tail end of a very big dog,” Del Cochran, Grayhawk general manager, said Thursday. “When we started this journey, we had no idea how it was going to go. We wondered how everyone would blend together, and it’s been absolutely seamless. We will all be proud of the product.”

Spectators will be allowed—with free admission thanks to a sponsorship—although how many and COVID protocol details have yet to be announced.

For the party to be at its peak requires the ASU teams to advance through NCAA regionals.

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The women must finish in the top six at a regional May 10-12 in Columbus, Ohio. The men will learn which of six May 17-19 regionals they will be assigned to on Wednesday, May 4, and then need a top-five finish to advance.

“It’s a little bit of pressure and motivation,” ASU women’s coach Missy Farr-Kaye said. “I’m just trying to keep them positive, and they are. I’m happy to go to Ohio State (for regional) because the Scarlet course is one of the best in the country. It could be 70 (degrees) one day and it could be 40 the next. I don’t think that will phase our group at all. It’s a separator course, you’re not going to be able to get away with anything and that’s what I want.”

The ASU women were third at Pac-12 Championships behind and host Stanford but played without four-time All-America Olivia Mehaffey due to COVID protocol. Mehaffey will be back for the postseason after first trying to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

ASU’s Linn Grant is ranked No. 4 in Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings, Ashley Menne 91, Alessandra Fanali 103 and Mehaffey 104. Amanda Linner broke through to finish ninth at Pac-12 Championships.

“Even if Olivia didn’t play last week, we know she’s always ready to go,” said Grant, a sophomore from Sweden. “Without her, we did a good job as a team and kept it together. Fortunately coach Michelle (Estill) and coach Missy have been to Columbus and know the course. Even a score on par will be good. I think that’s to our advantage. Even our fifth player is a really good player.”

The ASU men duked it out with Arizona at the Pac-12 Championships, ending Tuesday in Santa Rosa, California. Arizona won by four strokes and it is tantalizing to image a match-play pairing of the in-state rivals during nationals.

Chun An Yu and Ryggs Johnston tied for fourth individually at the Pac-12 meet and David Puig tied for eighth, a big three if you will that seems to be peaking at the right time.

“The competition is better than ever with all these seniors coming back,” Thurmond said. “Our team is excellent, and we’re getting beat by some teams. The Arizona team that beat us has five seniors. Oklahoma is No. 1 right now, they’re loaded. It’s going to be a great competition (nationals). We’ve got to get here first, but we can handle the pressure and we’ll find a way to get here.”

Johnston said, “We’ve been trending upward lately. We haven’t really brought our best to any tournament yet so in a way I guess that be a good sign. We go (to regional) knowing our best is yet to come hopefully. That’s something to look forward to.”

The ASU teams have something of a home course advantage at Grayhawk given multiple opportunities to play the Raptor course, but more than 30 other men’s and women’s teams also have come to town for a test run on the desert course.

“Oregon and Oklahoma State won national championships when they hosted, but those were all places where nobody was allowed to go play it,” Thurmond said. “ASU to our credit pushed very aggressively to allow anyone and everyone to come play here, which in the past it was the opposite. The host team wouldn’t allow anyone near the course.

“So we gave away a lot of advantage, but we thought it was the best thing for the championship. All these teams have flown in, played a few rounds. They go back and prepare for it. It just adds to the energy around the event.”

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Floyd Mayweather caught on video partying amid ongoing pandemic

Floyd Mayweather has been blasted for partying over the weekend in a Scottsdale, Arizona night spot in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dancing with the devil?

Floyd Mayweather has been blasted for partying over the weekend in a Scottsdale, Arizona night spot in spite of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which was caught on video, courtesy of TMZ.

Mayweather can be seen dancing in a packed International Boutique Nightclub, in which apparently no one was wearing protective gear.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has allowed some restaurants to re-open but only with strict social distancing guidelines. He obviously didn’t have crowded clubs in mind when he made that move.

The mayor of Scottsdale, Jim Lane, wasn’t pleased with reckless gatherings in the area over the weekend. He was asked by TMZ to respond specifically to the Mayweather video and provided this statement:

“The images from Old Town Scottsdale this weekend are disturbing, and frankly show a real lack of common sense and civic responsibility.”

As of Wednesday, Maricopa County, in which Scottsdale is the fifth largest city, has had 8,379 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 385 deaths.

WATCH: Phil Mickelson to skip Phoenix for European Tour’s Saudi International

Phil Mickelson is a fan favorite at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. But, after 30 appearances in The Greatest Show on Grass, Mickelson is opting to go elsewhere in early 2020.

Phil Mickelson is a fan favorite at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. But, after 30 appearances in The Greatest Show on Grass, Mickelson is opting to go elsewhere in early 2020.

Per a story by the Saudi Gazette, Lefty will play in the European Tour’s Saudi International that same weekend at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

“I am really looking forward to playing in Saudi Arabia in January,” Mickelson told the Gazette. “I watched Dustin [Johnson] win the title last year and thought the course looked like an interesting challenge.”

Mickelson joins a star-studded group that includes Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Tony Finau competing for a $3.5 million purse in the event’s second year.

Phil Mickelson to skip Phoenix Open for European Tour’s Saudi International

Phil Mickelson is a fan favorite at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. But, after 30 appearances in The Greatest Show on Grass, Mickelson is opting to go elsewhere in early 2020.

Phil Mickelson is a fan favorite at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. But, after 30 appearances in The Greatest Show on Grass, Mickelson is opting to go elsewhere in early 2020.

Phil Mickelson to skip Phoenix Open for European Tour’s Saudi International (Golfweek)

Phil Mickelson is a fan favorite at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. But, after 30 appearances in The Greatest Show on Grass, Mickelson is opting to go elsewhere in early 2020.

Phil Mickelson is a fan favorite at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. But, after 30 appearances in The Greatest Show on Grass, Mickelson is opting to go elsewhere in early 2020.

Geoff Ogilvy’s Scottsdale estate sold for $4.1 million

This week’s priciest home sold in the Phoenix, Arizona area was at the advantage of professional golfer Geoff Ogilvy. The 7,700-square-foot property with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms is located on a golf course in Scottsdale’s Dana Estates and …

This week’s priciest home sold in the Phoenix, Arizona area was at the advantage of professional golfer Geoff Ogilvy.

The 7,700-square-foot property with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms is located on a golf course in Scottsdale’s Dana Estates and was sold for $4.1 million to Lance and Shonda Freeman.

The two-story home which belonged to Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, and his wife, Juli, also had a lap pool, guest suite, chef’s kitchen with retractable doors and custom finishing throughout the home, according to the Arizona Republic.

Ogilvy, an Aussie who will serve as an assistant captain for the International Team during the Presidents Cup Dec. 9-15, stepped away from his life of playing every week on the PGA Tour and moved to Australia in January 2019 along with Juli and the couple’s three children. They found a house “almost next door” to Royal Melbourne, which hosts the Presidents Cup.

This story was researched by Ebony Day of The Arizona Republic and The Information Market.