TULSA, Okla. – The Stanford women’s golf team opened the 2013-14 season with a ninth place finish at the prestigious NCAA Dale McNamara Fall Preview at the Tulsa (Okla.) Country Club, a par-70, 6,136-yard course. Mariah Stackhouse led the charge with an eighth place finish including a final day round of 67 to finish (69-74-67-210).
The tournament, aptly named, provides teams with a preview of next spring’s championship course.
Stackhouse and Lauren Kim started hot with the duo standing in second and third place, respectively, following the opening round.
The field struggled on Tuesday’s second round with challenging pin placements. The Cardinal dropped two spots before settling into ninth place on the final round.
“Finishing among the top-10 at the Fall Preview was our main goal,” said Ane Walker, the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf. “We certainly would have liked to finish a little higher than ninth but considering we had no pre-tournament practice time, we were pretty pleased with our finish. I saw a lot of good shots out there and at the same time, I saw a lot of places we can improve. In particular, our putting and chipping seemed a little rusty and inconsistent. Moving forward towards Chicago, we will take time to focus mostly on our 100 yard-and-in game.”
Stackhouse book-ended her tournament with solid play and she came down the back nine in old form, birdying par-4 holes 11 and 15, with another birdie on the par-5 15th.
“Mariah came back with a 67 on the final day to propel her into T-8th. This is a terrific way for her to start her season and once again, she is showing signs that she will be our on-course leader this year.”
Kim settled at 28th place individually, alongside freshman Casey Danielson, who made her collegiate debut.