EUGENE, Ore. – On the strength of all four scorers sitting in the Top 15, No. 1 Stanford women's golf is the leader at the Pac-12 Championship after day one at Eugene Country Club. The Cardinal shot a 2-over 290 and leads second-place USC by two strokes following a cold and soggy 18 holes on Monday.
"We played with Oregon today and it was nice to learn from them and watch some of the lines they take on holes," Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf Anne Walker said. "Hopefully we can use that learning to our benefit moving forward.
"We got lucky with the weather, missing most of the rain. But we did have high winds our last six holes and that was certainly challenging. I was impressed with our ball striking in those conditions. It kept us in a good position."
Stanford is led by freshman Rose Zhang, who sits tied for second following a 1-under 71. She is just one stroke back of USC's Brianna Navarrosa (2-under 70) and tied with two other golfers. Brooke Seay was one of four golfers in the field at even par and is tied for fifth following the first day of action, while Aline Krauter's 1-over 73 has her in a six-way tie for ninth. Sadie Englemann rounded out the Cardinal scorers with a 2-over 74 and is tied for 15th.
Overall, the field is tight after round one, as just six strokes separate the leading Cardinal (2-over) from sixth-place Oregon State and UCLA (8-over). Washington and Arizona State are tied for third at 6-over, while the hosts Oregon are fifth at 7-over.
Stanford was steady on Monday through the challenging conditions, as the Cardinal led the field in pars with 64. The Cardinal was especially good on the par 3s, as its 1-under tally led all teams.
On the individual side, Englemann and Krauter were two of five golfers under par on the par 3s Monday, while Zhang and Seay played them at even par. Zhang played the par 4s at 1-under and the par 5s at even, as well. Seay was 2-under on the par 5s to lead the way for Stanford.
"Brooke looked really solid all day and it was great to have her back in the lineup," Walker commented after the round.
"With the weather coming in and the low temperatures, we need to file away our first day and be ready for a completely different experience tomorrow. Mental toughness is going to be key and that's where we are going to put our focus for round two," Walker said of her message to the team.
The Cardinal will play with USC on Tuesday and their round is scheduled to tee off No. 1 at 10:30 a.m.
Pac-12 Championships (Eugene Country Club, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 290 (+2) | -- | -- | 290 (+2) |
| T2. Rose Zhang | 71 (-1) | -- | -- | 71 (-1) |
| T5. Brooke Seay | 72 (E) | -- | -- | 72 (E) |
| T9. Aline Krauter | 73 (+1) | -- | -- | 73 (+1) |
| T15. Sadie Englemann | 74 (+2) | -- | -- | 74 (+2) |
| T49. Caroline Sturdza | 80 (+8) | -- | -- | 80 (+8) |