Tied For Second

EUGENE, Ore. – Stanford women's golf battled the rain and cold on Wednesday, moving up two spots to finish the 2022 Pac-12 Championship in a tie for second. It was Stanford's second straight year finishing as runner-up, and just the program's third, top-two finish at the conference championship since 2001. The Cardinal tied with Oregon State at 13-over and also finished behind the champion, Oregon, who finished at 6-over on their home course of Eugene Country Club.

"We are proud of our finish and our fight," Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf Anne Walker said. "It was a long, cold, wet day and our players never once complained. They fought as hard as they could, showed tremendous resilience and played with heart. Oregon is arguably the hottest team in the nation right now and we were on their heels for almost the entire tournament. With the difficult conditions, home-course advantage becomes even more of a factor. Knowing the angles and slopes is a big advantage, and kudos to Oregon for making the most of their opportunity."

Freshman Rose Zhang finished second at 2-under, one of only two golfers under par in the entire field. Oregon's Hsin-Yu Lu finished 6-under to win individual medalist honors. Zhang's runner-up finish marks the third straight Pac-12 Championship where a Stanford golfer has finished in the top two (2021, Rachel Heck, 1st; 2019, Albane Valenzuela, 2nd on playoff). Prior to the current three-year stretch, no Cardinal had finished inside the top two at the conference championship since Hilary Homeyer did so in 1999.

"Rose played solid," Walker said. "She is a world-class player, so of course she always wants to win, but she's pleased to finish second behind an Oregon player with local knowledge and advantage."

Junior Brooke Seay posted her best finish at a conference championship, finishing tied for seventh at 3-over. Seay has finished in the Top 7 in each of her last four collegiate starts, and also was low amateur at the LPGA's Chevron Championship earlier this spring. 

Senior Aline Krauter tied for 13th at 5-over for the championship and sophomore Sadie Englemann tied for 23rd at 7-over.

The Cardinal was missing sophomore Rachel Heck this week, who was out due to illness. Heck is currently ranked No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and has two victories to her name this spring. 

"We never want to take a runner-up finish for granted," Walker added. "Our Conference is stacked with top teams and players. It's incredibly difficult to win and we were close. With that in mind, we will turn this momentum and experience towards the upcoming postseason."

After the championship, four Cardinal were named to the 12-person Pac-12 Women's Golf All-Conference Team: Rachel Heck, Aline Krauter, Brooke Seay and Rose Zhang. 

Next up for the Cardinal is NCAA Regionals, which they will host at Stanford Golf Course, May 9-11. The six regionals will feature 12 teams and six individuals each, with the top four teams and top two individuals not on an advancing team heading to Grayhawk Golf Club for NCAA Championships May 20-25. Regional selections will be announced on Wednesday, April 27.
 

Pac-12 Championships (Eugene Country Club, par 72)