Mustangs Set For PING/ASU Invitational

Friday, April 7

Tempe, Ariz.

All Day

SMU

2017 PING/ASU Invitational

Mustangs Set For PING/ASU Invitational

Apr 5 | Women's Golf

PING/ASU Invitational
Date	April 7-9, 2017
Location	Karsten Golf Course/Tempe, Arizona
Course Info	Par 72 \| Yards: 6,337
Host	Arizona State
Live Scoring	Click Here
SMU Notes	PING/ASU Invitational
Facebook	SMUGolfW \| SMU Mustangs
Twitter	@SMUGolfW \| @SMUMustangs

DALLAS (SMU) -- The SMU women's golf team hits the road for its final regular season tournament before taking on the field at the American Athletic Conference Championships this month. The Mustangs head west to Tempe, Arizona, for the 2017 PING/ASU Invitational Friday through Sunday at the ASU Karsten Golf Course. Action begins at 10 a.m. CT/8 a.m. MST on Friday and Saturday, and concludes Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstatresults.com.

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Representing The Mustangs:
Lindsey McCurdy / Brigitte Dunne / Ana Paula Ramirez / Faith Summers / Kenzie Wright

Tournament Schedule:
Friday, April 7: First Round, 10 a.m. CT/ 8 a.m. MST
Saturday, April 8: Second Round, 10 a.m. CT/ 8 a.m. MST
Sunday, April 9: Third Round, 9:30 a.m. CT/7:30 a.m. MST

The Field: Eight golfstat top 50 teams are in the field this weekend, with No. 5 Arizona State, No. 15 Baylor and No. 17 Arizona topping the list. The Mustangs enjoy the fifth highest ranking of the 12-team field at No. 38.

No. 17 Arizona       Northern Arizona
No. 5 Arizona State         New Mexico
No. 15 Baylor          Oregon State
No. 46 Kansas State        No. 27 San Diego State
Kentucky                 No. 38 SMU
LSU                             No. 45 UNLV
Missouri                   No. 47 Washington

Conference Favorite: For the second consecutive week, senior Lindsey McCurdy was chosen as the American Athletic Conference Women's Golf Player of the Week, league officials announced March 29.

McCurdy finished in a three-way tie for eighth place at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic March 24 & 26. The Kyle, Texas, native finished 2-over 218, placing her inside the top 10 for the sixth time in nine tournaments this season. McCurdy fired a 71 in the first round to give her a team leading 15th round at par or better this season.

Overall, McCurdy has contributed to SMU's team score in all 25 rounds this season, and currently holds the top spot for the best season scoring average for a Mustang since the 1993-94 season at 71.64.

McCurdy is one of two student-athletes to have earned repeat honors (March 29, March 22), with the Mustangs having won three awards the season, the most of any team. Sophomore Brigitte Dunne was honored March 1.

Last Time Out: Lindsey McCurdy finished the LSU Tiger Golf Classic in a three-way tie for eighth place at 2-over 218 to lead the SMU women's golf team at the event. As a team, the Mustangs finished 33-over 897, including a third-round 14-over on Sunday, to tie for seventh with Clemson.

The top-10 finish is the sixth in nine tournaments for McCurdy (71-73-74) this season, a team-best. The senior posted her best round of the event in the opening 18, firing a 1-under 71 for her 15th round of par or better this season.

Freshman Faith Summers posted her highest tournament finish since placing 11th at the Mason Rudolph Championship in September. Summers shot even par 72 on the final 18 to bring her 54-hole total to 8-over 224, tying her for 29th.

Sophomore Brigitte Dunne shot +5 in the final round to bring her three-round total to 12-over 228, placing her in a three-way tie for 40th. Freshmen Kenzie Wright (77-76-79) and Ana Paula Ramirez (80-71-83) also represented the Ponies, finishing 56th and tied for 59th, respectively.

As a team, the Mustangs registered 35 birdies, with Summers and Wright leading the team with eight apiece.

In The Record Books: After playing the minimum 15 rounds so far this season, Lindsey McCurdy sits atop the Mustangs' list for season scoring average. In 25 rounds this season, McCurdy has an average score of 71.64. Freshman Kenzie Wright is currently third at 73.48. McCurdy has also enjoyed the highest individual national ranking so far at 29, and Wright is tied for the 6th spot on the list having been ranked No. 58.

In The Rankings: In the latest edition of the Golfstat rankings, the Mustangs rank 38th after finishing tied for seventh at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic, March 24 & 26. SMU's highest rank of the season came on Oct. 15 when the Mustang hit No. 20, their highest program rank, following a runner-up performance at the Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 16-18.

Birdies On Birdies: Lindsey McCurdy finished the 2015-16 season with a team-leading 80 birdies, placing her 5th on the single season list. Freshman of the Year Brigitte Dunne came in at sixth with 79 a season ago. This season, McCurdy leads the team with 79 so far, while Wright has 75 and Dunne has 73.

Making It Count: Lindsey McCurdy, Kenzie Wright and Brigitte Dunne have played in all 9 of SMU's tournaments this season. McCurdy leads the way with all 25 rounds counting toward the team score, while Dunne has contributed 24 and Wright 23.

Winter Winner: Brigitte Dunne became the second SMU women's golfer to win the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship held at the South Course of Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dunne did so just a year after freshman Kenzie Wright finished atop the field in 2015.

Dunne posted 12 birdies and an unblemished second round en route to the championship, finishing 6-under 210 (70-70-70). However, it would take a playoff hole to secure the victory as Arizona's Haley Moore (68-72-70) came back late for the tie. Moore finished tied for second at the 2016 NCAA Championship as a freshman. Dunne's impressive third round included four birdies on the front nine to open the day, before adding a pair after the turn. The third-round total of six birdies accounted for half of her total for the event.

Welcome To The Hilltop: SMU women's golf coach Jeanne Sutherland announced the addition of two student-athletes for the 2017-18 season, as Lauren Chappell and Sophia DiGesualdo have signed letters of intent to join the Mustangs.

Charleston High School's Chappell is the only female to win three individual Illinois State Championships, doing so in 2013, 2014 and 2016. She was also the 2016 Illinois Women's State Amateur Champion, and qualified for the 2016 US Junior Girls' Championship. In 2015 and 2016, Chappell was an AJGA Scholastic All-America honorable mention selection, posting seven top-10 finishes, including three in the top five.

Austin, Texas, native DiGesualdo helped Vandegrift High School to Texas State Championship appearances from 2014-2016, following Regional wins in 2015 and 2016 and District Championships each of the three seasons. DiGesualdo tied for ninth at the 2016 5A State Tournament, helping her team to a runner-up finish. During the 2015-16 season, she also posted medalist performances at the 2016 Regional Preview and District Tournament. Overall, DiGesualdo has 16 top-10 finishes for the Vipers and was an All-State, All-Region and All-District selection in 2016.

Leader Of The Pack: Head Women's Golf Coach Jeanne Sutherland was named the 2017 Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Founders Award recipient. Sutherland has served as both Vice President and Division I Representative of the WGCA during her coaching career. She also mentors young coaches and writes a blog about coaching and playing competitive golf, along with volunteering with Salvation Army, the Dallas Independent School District and the Dallas Ronald McDonald House.

She began her coaching career in 1992 at Texas A&M, and led the Aggies to 13 tournament crowns and three Big 12 Conference titles. Sutherland was named Conference Coach of the Year four times while at A&M (1995, 1997, 2006, 2007), as well as Regional Coach of the Year twice (1997, 2007). Since arriving at SMU in 2011, Sutherland has led the Mustangs to four consecutive postseason berths (2013-16) and two top-three finishes at the American Athletic Conference Championships. In her career, Sutherland has coached three All-Americans, six conference champions, three conference Players of the Year, three conference Newcomers of the Year, 32 all-conference selections and 25 All-American Scholars.

Trinity Forest: The New Home Of SMU Golf: Trinity Forest Golf Club becomes the new home course for SMU Golf. Trinity Forest will resemble many of the great old courses of the Northeast and Great Britain, featuring a links style course on a rolling meadow with tall native grasses and dramatic bunkering and green complexes. Once complete, Trinity Forest will become the new home of the PGA TOUR's AT&T Byron Nelson Championship as well as an NCAA invitational tournament and additional high-profile professional and amateur events.

The team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw – Coore & Crenshaw, Inc. – is building both the championship golf course as well as the short course. The design of Trinity Forest will honor classic golf courses with traditional, strategic golf and great artistry as the guiding philosophy.

Located in the 6,000 acre Great Trinity Forest near the Trinity River Audubon Center about 10 minutes south of downtown Dallas, the 400 acre site will ultimately consist of an 18-hole championship golf course, a world-class practice facility, a clubhouse, a practice academy for SMU's golf teams and a teaching center for The First Tee of Greater Dallas.

Midseason Standouts: Lindsey McCurdy and Kenzie Wright were named to the Golfweek Midseason All-American Athletic Conference Team for their performances during the fall portion of the 2016-17 season.

McCurdy posted a pair of top-five finishes, earning runner-up honors at the Mustangs' weather-shortened Trinity Forest Invitational Nov. 7. To open the season, the senior tied for fifth in an 81-player field at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate hosted by Tennessee Sept. 12 & 13. In 13 rounds this season, McCurdy posted rounds of par or better six times, which tied for a team-best. She also led the team with a 71.62 scoring average, posting a season-low round of 68 in her first round of the season.

Wright was second on the team with a 72.54 scoring average and shared the team lead for rounds of par or better (6) with McCurdy. She led the team with three of 13 rounds in the 60s including a team-low 66 in the fall, doing so at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Overall, she had a pair of top-10 finishes, which included a fourth-place finish at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational Oct. 17 & 18.

Junior All-American: Kenzie Wright was one of three Dallas-area golfers to be named to the American Junior Golf Association Rolex Junior All-American team. The Frisco, Texas, native won the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship and earned her top 2016 AJGA finish at the Winn Gripps Heather Farr Classic, finishing tied for seventh. Wright has played in all three tournaments to open the 2016-17 season for the Mustangs. Her highest finish came at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational Oct. 17 & 18 where she placed fourth. Wright also garnered a top-10 finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship, which included a 6-under 66 final round to place her in a three-way tie for eighth.

Four-Ball Qualifiers: Mustang sophomore Brigitte Dunne and recently graduated Alexandra Rossi finished atop the leaderboard at U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying held at the Sherrill Park Golf Course in Richardson, Texas. The pair led the 22-team field carding an unblemished 6-under 66 for the victory. The 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball takes place May 27-31 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Conference Selections: The Mustangs return a pair of All-American Athletic Conference selections from the 2015-16 season, including Freshman of the Year Brigitte Dunne and Lindsey McCurdy.

Dunne posted her best finish of the year placing fifth at The American Championship. She also posted a pair of top-10 finishes during the 2015-16 season finishing with a 74.41 average. McCurdy posted five top-10 finishes, including an event win at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in September. In 32 rounds, she posted 10 rounds of par or better and shot in the 60s on three occasions.

Mustangs In The Classroom: Katie Page was honored by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) as an All-American Scholar for the third consecutive year after achieving a cumulative grade-point-average above the required 3.50 following the 2015-16 school year. Page played in all 12 of the Mustangs' tournaments during the 2015-16 season, earning her best finish at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in September. Her second top 10 finish came in October at the Alamo Invitational. In 35 rounds last season, Page registered a 75.77 scoring average and posted a low round of 69 at the Clover Cup in March. The Louisville, Kentucky, native is majoring in business with a sport management minor.

All six Mustangs from the 2015-16 roster also earned All-American Athletic Conference academic honors for posting a 3.0 or better grade-point-average last year.