Stanford women's golf is set for NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., which begins on Friday. For the women's championships, Grayhawk Golf Club will play at 6,384 yards and as a par 72.
The Cardinal is the No. 1 overall seed and will play its first two rounds with 2-seed Oregon and 3-seed South Carolina. The trio of teams will tee off No. 10 at 11:30 a.m. on Friday for the first round and No. 1 at 6:30 a.m. for the second round.
Stanford will make its 30th NCAA Championships appearance and 12th straight. The Cardinal has qualified in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
The Cardinal has five wins in 10 team events this season -- The Molly Intercollegiate (Sept. 27-28), the Windy City Collegiate (Oct. 4-5), the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-17), the Pac-12 Preview (Nov. 1-3) and the Gunrock Invitational (Feb. 28-March 1).
Stanford women’s golf made history during its victory at the Gunrock Invitational at Del Paso Country Club, firing a 50-under 814 to set the NCAA 54-hole record by four strokes. The Cardinal set team 18-hole (23-under 265 1st round) and 36-hole (34-under 542) records as well. Rachel Heck set the school record for 54 holes at the event, claiming the victory with an 18-under 198.
Zhang’s Historic Freshman Season: Rose Zhang enters the NCAA Championships with a 69.56 scoring record, on pace to best Rachel Heck’s (69.72) NCAA record scoring average from a season ago. Zhang has won three times (The Molly Intercollegiate, the Windy City Collegiate and the Stanford Intercollegiate) and finished runner-up four more times. In nine career starts, Zhang has seven Top-2 placements with a T4th and a T10th as her other two collegiate starts. In 27 competitive rounds this season, Zhang has 23 rounds at even-par or better and 13 rounds in the 60s. Zhang also helped Team USA to a victory at the Spirit Cup in November and tied for 12th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She is a finalist for the 2022 ANNIKA Award.
Seay Steady As Ever: Junior Brooke Seay enters the NCAA Championships with a 71.06 scoring average this season, on pace to best Albane Valenzuela’s (72.36) school-record junior scoring average. Seay has competed in six events for the Cardinal, with five Top-10 placements. Thirteen of her 18 rounds have been played at even-par or better this season. Seay, who was invited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, opted to play in the LPGA’s first major of the season, where she made the cut and earned Low Amateur honors at the Chevron Championship.
Krauter’s Final Dance: Senior Aline Krauter heads to NCAA Championships as Stanford’s anchor, often going unnoticed in the Cardinal lineup due to the prestige of some of Stanford’s other top amateurs. Krauter owns a 72.58 career scoring average, which would currently rank second in school history, and has played in 95 career rounds despite shortened sophomore and junior seasons due to the pandemic. Krauter has played in nine of Stanford’s 10 events this season, missing only the Lamkin Invitational to play on the Ladies European Tour in Kenya during that same week. Krauter has finished inside the Top 20 in all nine events this season, with two ties for 16th being her worst mark of the season to date. She owns five Top-10 finishes and has a scoring average of 72.07 this season, which would be the second-best mark by a senior in program history. Krauter finished tied for eighth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. For her career, Krauter owns 24 Top-20 finishes and 13 Top-10 marks.
The Sophomores: Sadie Englemann and Rachel Heck round out the Cardinal five. Englemann is coming off a tie for 12th at the Stanford Regional and posted three Top-10 finishes this season. Heck, who missed over a month due to illness following the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, continues to build back stamina and work her way back. She played just one round at the NCAA Regional. Heck owns two wins on the season and eight for her career, all eight coming within one calendar year. Those eight wins are second-most in school history (Andrea Lee, 9). Last year Heck was the NCAA Individual national champion, ANNIKA Award winner, Ping/WGCA Golfer of the Year, and won nearly every other honor imaginable.
Sturdza File: Freshman Caroline Sturdza has served as Stanford’s alternate and played two rounds in each the Pac-12 Championships and NCAA Regional. In 25 rounds this season, 12 have been played at even-par or better with five in the 60s. Her best finish was a tie for fifth at the Stanford Intercollegiate in the fall.
Arnold Palmer Cup: Four Cardinal will head to Switzerland this summer for the Arnold Palmer Cup (July 1-3). Rachel Heck, Brooke Seay and Rose Zhang will play for Team USA, while Aline Krauter will play for Team International. They’ll also be joined by Stanford men’s golfer Michael Thorbjornsen, who was selected for Team USA.
Curtis Cup: Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang will play for Team USA at this summer’s Curtis Cup (June 10-12), alongside incoming 2022 freshman Megha Ganne. Brooke Seay will also serve as an alternate for Team USA at the event.
All-Pac-12 Recipients: Four Cardinal were named to the 12-golfer All-Pac-12 team -- Rachel Heck, Aline Krauter, Brooke Seay and Rose Zhang. The Conference superlative awards come out after NCAA Championships.
