PHOENIX, Ariz. – No. 1 Stanford women's began play at the Ping/ASU Invitational on Friday and currently sits in second place, behind the hosts, Arizona State. The Cardinal carded a 3-under 285, led by Rose Zhang's 2-under 70. All four scorers closed the day at even-par or better for Stanford, who is competing for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks following its break for final exams.
Stanford tallied a field-high 19 birdies during its first round, led by Zhang, Caroline Sturdza and Sadie Englemann who each had five. But the Cardinal's 50 pars in the round was the fewest among the 16-team field on Friday. The team was first in the field in par 3 scoring and third in par 4 scoring, but struggled to shave strokes on the par 5's and was 15th in the field at 1-over on Papago Golf Course's four par 5's.
Stanford will play with Arizona State, Oregon and Northwestern on Saturday and tee off beginning at 9:06 a.m. off No. 1.
Ping/ASU Invitational (Papago Golf Course, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Stanford | 285 (-3) | -- | -- | 285 (-3) |
| T8. Rose Zhang | 70 (-2) | -- | -- | 70 (-2) |
| T12. Aline Krauter | 71 (-1) | -- | -- | 71 (-1) |
| T17. Caroline Sturdza | 72 (E) | -- | -- | 72 (E) |
| T17. Sadie Englemann | 72 (E) | -- | -- | 72 (E) |
| T75. Rachel Heck | 79 (+7) | -- | -- | 79 (+7) |