STANFORD, Calif. – Sporting the top one-two punch in the country according to the latest Golfweek poll, No. 2 Albane Valenzuela and No. 3 Andrea Lee will lead Stanford into the 10th Bruin Wave Invitational, Monday and Tuesday at San Luis Obispo Country Club in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Lee has an adjusted scoring average of 70.38, while Valenzuela's is 70.60.
Each of the dynamic juniors has a victory this season, Valenzuela's coming at the East Lake Cup in Atlanta in October and Lee prevailing earlier this month at the Northrop Grumann Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Lee's triumph, which came near her hometown of Hermosa Beach, was the seventh of her Stanford career, one shy of the longstanding program record established by Mhairi McKay in 1994-97. In 28 career tournaments, the rock-steady Lee has recorded 19 top-5s and 24 top-10s. She hasn't finished outside the top-5 this season.
A two-time WGCA All-America and All-Pac-12 first team selection, Lee tied for second last year at the NCAA Championships. In 2016-17, she was the WGCA Freshman of the Year and a finalist for the Honda Award. Lee represented the U.S. in the Curtis Cup in 2016 and 2018.
Valenzuela grew up in Geneva, Switzerland and quickly became the top amateur in her country. In 2016, she tied for 21st in the Rio Olympics, where she was the youngest competitor and one of only three amateurs to tee it up.
A two-time All-Pac-12 first team pick, Valenzuela was a WGCA All-America first team selection in 2017, winning the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. She posted six top-10s and tied for 10th at the NCAA Championships.
Last year, Valenzuela overcame injuries to secure three top-10s and six top-20s and received WGCA All-America honorable mention. She finished 24th at the U.S. Women's Open and was runner-up in the U.S. Women's Amateur.
"Each week we rely on Albane and Andrea to maintain our championship culture," said Anne Walker, the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf. "They are two of the world's top amateurs and have had success on the biggest stage. They bring confidence, poise and determination to every practice and competition. They believe in themselves, their coaches and teammates, and that belief is infectious."
In this week's Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking, Lee is No. 2 and Valenzuela No. 5, believed the highest ranking for Cardinal teammates in school history.
"I am grateful every day that they chose Stanford and thankful for the opportunity to be a small part of their journey," Walker said. "They are lucky to have each other, too. They compete each day and that drives them to improve and hone their craft in practice."
The Bruin Wave field features 15 teams and is a 54-hole event. On Monday, 36 holes will be played starting with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Starting times will be used for Tuesday's final round with players starting on No. 1 and 10 at 7:50 a.m.
Participating schools are Pepperdine, UCLA, Arizona State, Cal, Cal Poly, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northwestern, Ole Miss, Oregon, San Diego State, San Francisco, Stanford, UC Irvine and Washington.
The Cardinal will be represented by Lee, Valenzuela, Ziyi Wang, Aline Krauter and Mika Liu. Calista Reyes will compete individually.
Stanford captured the team title in 2017 and USC is the defending champion. Valenzuela placed second individually last year.
Live scoring is available at GoStanford.com.
