CORVALLIS, Ore. – Lauren Kim aced Trysting Tree Golf Club’s par-3, 154-yard 13th Saturday while leading Stanford with a 1-under 71 at the Pac-12 Conference Championships. Kim was four strokes better than her Friday round and is tied for 12th overall with Mariah Stackhouse and Marissa Mar at 2-over through 36 holes.
Third-place Stanford (577) is four shots behind leader UCLA and three back from second-place Arizona heading into Sunday’s final round. The Cardinal is 1-over for the tournament after its 3-over 291 in the second round.
“We played pretty well and most of our bogeys came during a storm that passed on holes 16 and 17,” said Anne Walker, Stanford’s Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf. “The winds gusted at about 25 miles per hour and the rain was coming in sideways, making it very challenging. Overall, I’m very pleased with our play thus far. We have a chance to win, and that’s all we can ask for.”
A cold wind provided an extra challenge as the greens ran fast, and Kim’s ace was above and beyond the highlight of the day.
Kim used a 6-iron that landed to the right of the 13th green, bounced past the hole and used a far-side slope to roll back into the cup. She went to 3-under after the ace and picked up two bogeys when the storm found itself over the course.
“I’m happy with how I played in the tough weather conditions,” Kim said. “I hit it much better than yesterday and eliminated the three-putts that caused me problems. Our team has been consistent, and we’ll find ourselves in a good position at the end if we keep the momentum heading into tomorrow.”
The third and final round of the tournament begins at 8:30 a.m. (PT) on Sunday morning.
Stackhouse was 3-over on the day with Mar contributing an even-par 72.
Casey Danielson added a 73 and is tied for 21st. Her first birdie came on 16 after standing at 2-over.
Mariko Tumangan followed her clubhouse-leading 67 with an 81 while falling into a tie for 23rd.