Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn, Linnea Strom Earn Exemptions to the 2017 Marathon Classic

Vaughn Captured the 2017 NCAA Women’s Golf Individual Championship; Strom Secured the Final Point for Arizona State to win Team National Championship

(SUGAR GROVE, Ill.) – Arizona State senior Monica Vaughn and sophomore Linnea Strom received exemptions to the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I in July as a result of their performances at the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

Vaughn overcame a two-shot deficit during Monday’s final round of the individual stroke play championship to win the individual national championship. Vaughn recorded a final round 1-under par 71 to post a 54-hole total of 1-over par, claiming the sixth individual title in Arizona State history. She earned an automatic exemption as a result of winning the individual national championship.

“This will be my very first LPGA event, my first professional event I’ve ever played in, so that’s huge for me,” said Vaughn. “I’m lucky to be there with my teammate. It’s going to be a blast. We’ll just give it our best show and see how it goes.”

The second exemption to the Marathon Classic was given to a member of the winning national championship team as decided by the head coach. Strom clinched the team national championship for Arizona State on Wednesday over Northwestern by earning the third and deciding point in the championship match of the team match play competition. After seeing her lead cut to one on the 11th hole, Strom won four consecutive holes to defeat Northwestern’s Stephanie Lau to give ASU their eighth national team title. Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye announced on Golf Central following the conclusion of play Wednesday evening that Linnea Strom would be the recipient of the second exemption to the Marathon Classic.

“It [the exemption] came as a surprise, and I’m really happy to have the opportunity to play in an LPGA event,” said Strom. “I’ve very excited to do that with Monica, and it’s going to be a lot of fun and to see how it is out there with the professionals.”

The 2017 Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I will take place Thursday-Sunday, July 20-23 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. Golf Channel will air all four rounds of coverage in primetime.

Golf Channel’s coverage of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships concludes today with defending national champion Oregon taking on Oklahoma in the championship match. Live coverage of the match airs on Golf Channel from 4-8 p.m. ET.