PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The second round of the 2023 Carmel Cup has come and gone, and still, the top of the leaderboard looks as it did on Friday. The top-ranked Cardinal hold tight to the top spot in the field by one stroke, while Megha Ganne has opened up her lead on the rest of the field as she tries to lock down an individual tournament win.
It seems inaccurate to say that Ganne was worse on Saturday in round two than she was in the opening round, but she still finished 4-under with a 68 on Saturday, regressing two strokes but still finishing tied for the second-best round on the day. She compiled five birdies on the day with just one bogey, including three birdies on the back nine.
The only golfer with a better score than Ganne on Saturday? Her teammate Paula Martin Sampedro, who gave herself quite the birthday gift. Martin Sampedro shot a 5-under 67 in round two, and improvement of three strokes, which puts her just three strokes back of Ganne for the individual lead. The day started off about as good as be for the freshman competing in her first tournament, as she birdied on five of her first seven holes, with a 32 on the front nine.
Kelly Xu saw an improvement from round one to two round, where she shot an even-par 72 on Saturday morning. Her highlight was an eagle on the sixth hole, which set her up nicely for the remainder of the round. Sadie Englemann sat steady with her 1-over 73, matching the score she put up in round one, while Rachel Heck dropped back four strokes to a 2-over 74. Still, all five that are scored for Stanford are inside the top-24 of the field heading into the final round.
The Cardinal shot a 354 on Saturday, which is 6-under par as a team in round two. They find themselves 14-under with a one stroke lead over Arkansas, as the Razorbacks are at 13-under through two days of competition. The only other team under par as of Saturday is Texas A&M, sitting in third place at 6-under overall.
Stanford will look to clinch back-to-back Carmel Cup titles on Sunday during the final round, which tees off in the morning at Pebble Beach.
Carmel Cup (Pebble Beach Golf Links, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 352 (-8) | 354 (-6) | -- | 706 (-14) |
| 1. Megha Ganne | 66 (-6) | 68 (-4) | -- | 134 (-10) |
| T2. Paula Martín Sampedro | 70 (-2) | 67 (-5) | -- | 137 (-7) |
| T14. Rachel Heck | 70 (-2) | 74 (+2) | -- | 144 (E) |
| T19. Kelly Xu | 73 (+1) | 72 (E) | -- | 145 (+1) |
| T24. Sadie Englemann | 73 (+1) | 73 (+1) | -- | 146 (+2) |
| T33. Caroline Sturdza | 75 (+3) | 76 (+4) | -- | 151 (+7) |