TEMPE – Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye announced the addition of Isla McDonald-O’Brien to the Sun Devil Women’s Golf program on Signing Day.
McDonald-O’Brien will arrive in Tempe from Shrewsbury, England, where she has emerged as one of the top junior golfers in Europe. She will be eligible to compete for Arizona State in the Fall of 2024. McDonald-O’Brien is one of seven members of the English Junior Girls National Team, establishing herself as a rising star in the golf-laden nation. Just two years removed from securing the No. 1-ranked signing class in the nation, Arizona State has once again earned a significant signature.
Farr-Kaye and the Sun Devil Women’s Golf program look to continue their string of success with European golfers. The program prides itself on having a rich tradition of developing European golfers. McDonald-O’Brien looks to continue to add to that history, following in the footsteps of legendary figures Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), Carlota Ciganda (Spain), Azahara Munoz (Spain), Olivia Mehaffey (Ireland), and Linn Grant (Sweden) in signing with Arizona State. She will join fellow Englishwoman and current Sun Devil Patience Rhodes on the 2024-25 roster.
With three-time All-American Ashley Menne’s departure due to graduation looming, Coach Farr-Kaye and Assistant Coach Mikayla Tatman looked to bolster the roster for next year. They accomplished that feat by signing one of the premiere European amateur prospects. At 17 years old, McDonald-O’Brien already boasts a decorated resume and has gained plenty of experience at the national and international level.
ISLA MCDONALD-O’BRIEN (Shrewsbury, England | Moreton Hall)
Highly-ranked European amateur…Member of the England Girls National Team, one of only seven to make the squad…Currently ranked No. 565 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings…The 31st-ranked female amateur golfer in all of Europe…Ten Top-10 finishes at WAGR-counting events…Captured the Fairhaven Trophy in April of 2023, her first individual stroke play win at the international level…Competed at both the Spanish (30th) and Portuguese (27th) International Ladies’ Championship, holding her own facing off with golfers of all ages…Earned the opportunity to compete at the 2023 World Junior Girls Championship, finishing 28th in a field of 66 of the top amateur female golfers in the world…Finished tied for third at the R&A Championship in August of 2023…Represented England at the 2023 European Girls Team Championship..,Runner-up for the Peter McAvoy Trophy in 2022…Has been playing golf since she was five years old and it is a talent that runs in the family. Isla’s brother Rory currently a member of the men’s golf team at the University of South Carolina – Aiken.
STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE
“We are thrilled to welcome Isla to our team next year. She is a great competitor and will bring her many high level qualities to our team. Isla is very determined to be one of the best collegiate golfers in the US.” – Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye
“Isla is the perfect fit for this program. She’s strong, competitive and ready to get to work. When you sign to play golf for Arizona State, you’re signing up to compete for National Championships and she’s ready to do just that. We are so excited to officially have her part of our family!” – Assistant Coach Mikayla Tatman
ELITE COMPANY
The Sun Devils are one of just eight Division I Women’s Golf teams to earn a spot at NCAA Regionals every year for the past 30 seasons. Only traditional powers Arizona State, Arizona, Duke, Florida, Stanford, USC, UCLA and Wake Forest have qualified for a regional each time since the postseason format changed in 1993. Arizona State is one of three programs to have earned a Top-2 seed at a NCAA Regional in each of the last three NCAA Championships. The Sun Devils are joined by Wake Forest and South Carolina on this exclusive list.
A TRADITION LIKE NO OTHER
During the past five decades, many of the premier amateur women’s golfers have called Arizona State University home. Arizona State won its NCAA-leading eighth national championship title in 2017 to reinforce its standing as the premier women’s golf school in the United States. Under legendary Head Coach Linda Vollstedt, the program became the first in women’s collegiate golf to win six championships in a decade (1990, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’97, ’98). ASU remains the lone program to ever capture three national titles in a row (1993, ’94, ’95). The Sun Devil Golf programs did something in 1990 that had never been done before and hasn’t been accomplished since. ASU swept both the Men’s and Women’s Team National Titles in 1990, becoming the first school to capture both championships in the same year.
HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL
Sun Devil Athletics was thrilled to extend four of its head coaches over the Christmas holiday, including Women’s Golf Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye. Currently in her eighth year with ASU, Farr-Kaye has been extended through the 2027-28 athletic calendar. She completed the trifecta in 2017, becoming the first individual in NCAA history to win a National Championship as a player, assitant coach, and head coach at the same school.
THE BIRD
The Thunderbirds Golf Complex, designed by Douglas Fredrickson Architects and built by Rummel Contruction Inc., is a 7,000-square foot facility featuring a grand entry lobby, national championship displays, a team gym and locker rooms for both men’s and women’s teams, a fueling station, study lounge, team lounge, indoor hitting bays and more. Designed by Sun Devil alumnus and fivetime PGA Major Championships winner Phil Mickelson, who is known for his short-game expertise, the four-acre practice area consists of five practice greens, four practice bunkers and a three-acre fairway and rough designed to practice every possible golf shot. On Nov. 1, 2018, Papago Golf Course became the new home for Sun Devil Men’s & Women’s Golf with the unveiling of their new state-of-the-art practice facility — The Thunderbirds Golf Complex — through the generous commitment by The Thunderbirds organization. Arizona State, in partnership with The Thunderbirds, Arizona Golf Community Foundation, the City of Phoenix and Phil Mickelson Design, revitalized the course and helped build the Lou Grubb Clubhouse and Lou’s Bar & Grill.
2023-24 CAMPAIGN
Arizona State has been tested throughout the 2023 season as Coach Farr-Kaye built one of the nation’s toughest slates once again. The Maroon and Gold will compete in a total of nine regular season events in 2023-24, having completed four in the Fall with five remaining in the Spring. The postseason begins April 21 at the Pac-12 Championship, with NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships scheduled for the month of May.
ARIZONA STATE WOMEN’S GOLF SCHEDULE
McGuire Invitational – Sept. 11-12 (Albuquerque, NM)
Mason Rudolph Invitational – Sept. 22-24 (Franklin, TN)
Windy City Collegiate Classic – Oct. 2-3 (Chicago, IL)
Stanford Intercollegiate – Oct. 20-22 (Palo Alto, CA)
Match in the Desert – January 22 (Gold Canyon, AZ)
Therese Hession Regional Challenge – Feb. 4-6 (Palos Verdes, CA)
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate – March 4-6 (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational – March 17-19 (Honolulu, HI)
PING/ASU Invitational – March 28-30 (Phoenix, AZ) – HOSTED BY ASU
Pac-12 Championship – April 21-23 (Pullman, WA)
NCAA Regionals – May 6-8 (Auburn/Cle Elum/College State/East Lansing/Las Vegas/Winston-Salem)
NCAA Championship – May 17-22 (La Costa, CA; Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Champions Course)
UP NEXT…
SPRING SEASON
Match in the Desert – January 22 (Gold Canyon, AZ)
The Sun Devils will make their first appearance in the state of Arizona when they travel to Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club for the Match in the Desert. Arizona State will enter the event having won four of the past five titles. This will be the first opportunity for fans to check out the Maroon & Gold in action. Kansas will host for the third consecutive year, with the tournament taking place on one day. In the 2023 version, Arizona State (-11/277) overcame cold weather and a frost delay, maintaining their focus on their way to delivering a spectacular round in their home state. Ashley Menne birdied her first hole which set the tone for what would become an eight-birdie round, matching a career-low 65 (-7) in the process. She was named Co-Champion of the event after finishing tied with UCLA’s Caroline Canales. Arizona State matched the sixth-lowest team score vs. par in program history on their way to a second-place finish at the Match in the Desert. The 277 (-11) was just one stroke shy of eventual team champion UCLA, as ASU finished ahead of Top-25 teams Baylor and Arizona.
HOW TO FOLLOW
For the latest updates and information on the Sun Devil Women’s Golf program, follow our Twitter/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWGolf), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/sundevilwgolf/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Find Coach Farr-Kaye (@missymkaye) and Coach Tatman (@CoachMikayla_) on Twitter as well.
