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Arizona State golfer Missy Farr-Kaye has 5 alumni in 2024 Olympics

Arizona State golfer Missy Farr-Kaye has 5 alumni in 2024 Olympics

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When women line up for the individual hitting events at the 2024 Paris Olympics at midnight MST on August 7, about 10% of the participants will be from a single school: Arizona State.

Five of the 60 golfers (8.3%) are ASU graduates. Alessandra Fanali of Italy, Alexandra Försterling of Germany, Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Muñoz of Spain and Linn Grant of Sweden are the five golfers representing the school at the Olympics. Rounding out the men’s team with Jon Rahm and David Puig of Spain and Kevin Yu of Chinese Taipei, that means nine Sun Devils are competing in Paris for men’s and women’s golf.

Missy Farr-Kaye became the head women’s coach at ASU after joining the program 18 years ago. Before coaching, Farr-Kaye, a fifth-generation Phoenician, was a standout golfer herself. She attended Phoenix Xavier Preparatory, a golf powerhouse that is not only the best school in the state for the sport, but also one of the best in the country. The Gators have won 38 Arizona Interscholastic Association state championships since 1980.

After Xavier, Farr-Kaye went to ASU, where she was on Hall of Fame head coach Linda Vollstedt’s staff and helped Arizona State win the first of her seven NCAA championships as a senior in 1990. At ASU, Farr-Kaye accomplished the rare feat of winning a national championship as a player, assistant coach (2009) and head coach (2017).

He was coaching in some way all five graduates who will be fielding in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I’m so excited for these women,” Farr-Kaye said at a recent media event. “It’s so cool. I’ve been texting every single one of them. I’m like, ‘Paris. Really. Wow!’ I’m not going. I feel like I have to buy a ticket and go to Paris. It’s something they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives. I think it’s all sinking in for the three of them. I can’t wait to hear all the stories afterward.”

For Farr-Kaye, watching his former athletes compete has a deeper meaning than just the sport itself.

“I’m that little girl who grew up wanting golf to be in the Olympics and never got to be a part of it,” she said. “I can honestly say that until very recently, we didn’t know if we were going to be represented in the Olympics. The pride that comes with that — watching our Sun Devils continue on this international stage — is extraordinary.”

ASU is gaining recognition it has never seen before as swimmer Léon Marchand lights up the pool with four gold medals and four Olympic records. “Arizona State” has been mentioned too many times on the NBC broadcast to count.

Next, the Sun Devils will be all over the golf course. The all-Hispanic team is made up of ASU alumni.

“It’s amazing, it really is. It’s amazing,” Farr-Kaye said of the state on display in Paris. “It really shows the level of our Olympic teams and how good they are overall. The fact that there are five of them – I looked at some other really good schools and their numbers and I didn’t see five. It’s a huge source of pride for us that we have that many.”

“It’s a great reflection of the program,” Farr-Faye added.

“It’s great to see them do so well from the outside,” she said. “We don’t really measure success (that way), but the rings and the national trophies really help. I get so excited when each one of them graduates and starts families, when they all become mothers. But it’s a great external validation of how hard they’ve worked and what we’ve been doing and paying attention to.”

Sun Devil golf is already looking good in Paris with the men after two rounds of play. Rahm sits in fourth place at -9, just two strokes behind the leaders, while Puig sits in 19th place.

As Farr-Kaye looks to the future, he remains faithful to his former athletes.

“Every one of them will be ready and will do their best to win the gold medal,” he said.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter for the Arizona Republic, focusing primarily on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human interest stories and other news, reach Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him at X, formerly on Twitter: @LSscribe.