SAN DIEGO – Just five days after finishing the Golf Iconic Classic in New Mexico, the San Diego State women’s golf team will play in the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Kaua’i beginning Monday. The three-day tournament will be played at The Ocean Course in Lihu’e. Monday and Tuesday will begin with a 12:30 p.m. PT shotgun start while Wednesday’s final round will begin at noon.
The tournament will consist of 19 teams: Baylor, Boise State, BYU, Eastern Michigan, Grand Canyon, Idaho, Kansas, Kennesaw State, Long Beach State, Missouri, Nevada, Osaka Gakuin (Japan), Sacramento State, Santa Clara, Tulane, Washington State, Wyoming and the host school Hawai’i.
The Aztecs’ seven-over-par 871 at NMSU’s Golf Iconic Classic was the program’s best in two years, and they received career-low 54-hole scores from Kylie Phi and Emma Delwes.
SDSU’s lineup will be Kylie Phi, Ema Narita, Emma Delwes, Stephanie Barbaglia and Kylie Warner.
Phi’s four-under-par 212 last week was the best by an Aztec since Ema Narita shot a 211 almost exactly two years ago at The Clash at Boulder Creek (Oct. 22-24, 2023). Phi’s 212 (68-71-73) was good for a tie for sixth place and beat her previous best 54-hole score by seven strokes.
Narita (Tokyo, Japan) has finished in the top 25 in three tournaments this fall and twice in the top 15. She is one stroke behind Phi for the team lead in stroke average.
Delwes (Verden, Germany) shot a career-best five-over-par 221 last week which included a career-low one-under-par 71 in the opening round.
Barbaglia (Johannesburg, South Africa) is coming off her best showing of the year (223, +7). She has started every tournament for the Aztecs since the beginning of 2023-24 season.
Warner (Palmdale, Calif.) will be making her SDSU debut. She spent the last two years at the University of North Dakota where she started every tournament and was the Hawks’ top finisher in six of their eight tournaments last year.
The Rainbow Wahine Invitational has been played for 27 years with a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ocean Course at Hokuala Lihu‘e, Kaua‘i has the longest continuous stretch of oceanfront golf in Hawai’i. It is a par 72 and plays 6,039 yards.