May 17, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford will begin play at the 2011 NCAA Women's Golf Championships on Wednesday at The Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, where the Cardinal will be paired with Florida and Washington for the first 36 holes of the event.
The Cardinal, Gators and Huskies will tee off at 8:00 a.m. CT on Wednesday off No. 10 and 12:30 p.m. from No. 1 on Thursday. The teams will then be repaired for the final two rounds on Friday and Saturday.
Also included in the field are Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Coastal Carolina, LSU, Minnesota, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, South Carolina, USC, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UC Davis, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wake Forest.
Stanford, which qualified for the event by finishing seventh at the Central Regional in South Bend, Ind. is making its 26th overall appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal has enjoyed 16 top-10 finishes over the years, highlighted by a second place showing at the 2000 event in Sun River, Ore. Its last top-10 showing came in 2007, when it finished fifth.
Stanford placed 19th in last year's event held at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, NC, where Purdue won the team event with a one stroke victory over USC.
The Cardinal is expected to start a lineup consisting of sophomore Kristina Wong, sophomore Sally Watson, senior Rebecca Durham, freshman Marissa Mar and junior Lila Barton.
Wong has enjoyed five, top-10 finishes this season, including four in a row during one stretch. She continues to lead the team in stroke average at 73.4. Watson has been Stanford's top finisher in each of the last two events, carding a three-over 219 to finish 12th at the Pac-10 Championships before tying for 14th at the Central Regional.
Both Watson and Wong had strong showings in their inaugural NCAA Championships appearances last year as freshman. Watson closed with a final round 66 and to secure a ninth place finish at 286 (-2). Wong turned in a final round 67 to tie for 27th at 293 (+5).
Stanford is not unfamiliar with The Traditions Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus. The Cardinal was joined by many of the other teams in this week's championship field at the Texas A&M Fall Preview, held in September at the same venue. The Cardinal finished 17th at 910 (+46), while Durham was the team's top finisher, tying for 46th at 224 (+8).
Daily recaps of the NCAA Women's Golf Championships will be available on GoStanford.com. Live scoring will be provided by GolfStat.com.