USC
PING/ASU Invitational
Popov 1st, No. 1 USC 2nd At PING/ASU
April 03, 2011 | Women's Golf
April 3, 2011
Complete Results in PDF Format 
Freshman Sophia Popov won her second title of the season and helped USC's No. 1 women's golf team finish second overall at the 37th Annual PING/ASU Intercollegiate on Sunday (April 3) at the Karsten G.C. in Tempe, Ariz.
USC, playing without junior Lisa McCloskey (ranked No. 5 nationally), finished four strokes out of first at 3-over 867 (281-284-302) after a 14-over final round. UCLA claimed first (863) with Arizona well back in third (878). The Trojans have now finished no lower than third in any event this season with two firsts, three seconds and three thirds.
Popov, the only Trojan to post a win this season, finished at 5-under 211 (69-71-71) for a two-stroke win. The victory complemented her triumph at the Pac-10/SEC Challenge in November.
Popov, whose win marks her sixth straight top 6 finish, opened play with three birdies and a bogey in her first five holes. Bogeys on 8 and 12 dropped her to par but she got back to 1-under with a birdie on 14.
Popov began the final round one stroke back of both UCLA's Stephanie Kono and Texas' Madison Pressel. She was paired with the round 2 leaders Sunday and outplayed both for the individual win. Kono finished third at 2-under 214 (70-69-75) while Pressel tied for fourth at par 216 (69-70-77).
Senior Lizette Salas tied for sixth at 1-over 217 (70-73-74) to register her fifth top 10 this year and sixth in the top 14. She had two bogeys and 16 pars on the day and finished with just five bogeys over the 54-hole event.
Freshman Rachel Morris (71-71-79) and sophomore Cyna Rodriguez (74-69-78) tied for 19th at 5-over 221. For Morris, it was her third top 20 finish of the season as she filled in for McCloskey in the starting lineup. Rodriguez also notched her third top 20 finish and seventh in the top 31 in as many starts. McCloskey missed the event to take advantage of an amateur exemption to the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco this week.
Junior Inah Park tied for 49th at 13-over 229 (71-77-81).
Players Mentioned
