PULLMAN, Wash. — The second round of the 2024 Pac-12 Championship was drastically different than the first round. With temperatures slightly warmer and the wind mostly a non-factor, scores on Monday afternoon were much improved across the board. This carried over to the top-ranked Stanford women's golf team, as the Cardinal finished 14 strokes under par, its best round ever in the Pac-12 Championship.
For the first time in program history, four Stanford golfers shot scores in the 60s. The only other comparable round came in the second round of the 2022 Gunrock Invitational, where four did so as well, but only three were counted towards Stanford's score that round. All five Stanford golfers were at least two strokes under par.
In contention for the individual title is Megha Ganne, who was on an historic pace early in the round before cooling off a touch at the end. Ganne enters the final round in second after shooting a 5-under 67, tied for the fourth lowest round of the day. She was flirting with the lowest individual round in Pac-12 Championship history (7-under 65) when she was at 7-under through 15. Bogeys on 16 and 17 derailed her chance at history, but Ganne is the only one within striking distance of Catherine Park for the individual lead (10-under through two rounds).
A trio of Cardinal shot 3-under 69 on Monday: Paula Martin Sampedro, Kelly Xu, and Sadie Englemann. Both Martin Sampedro and Xu are tied for third at 3-under for the tournament, and both finished the round with five birdies. Englemann shot up the leaderboard with her round, which ended with birdies on the final three holes. Martin Sampedro and Xu are in position to record the best finishes of their respective seasons, while Englemann could record her fifth top-10 of the season.
Not to be left out, Rachel Heck joins Martin Sampedro and Xu tied for third overall in the field through two rounds. Heck shot a 2-under 70 on Monday and would have had a clean round had it not been for a bogey on 17. Heck has not finished a tournament under par this season and is heating up at the right time heading into postseason play.
While everyone was playing better on Monday, no team performed better than USC. The Trojans shot a Pac-12 record 20-under as a team in the second round, jumping into second place behind Stanford, still six strokes back of first. Oregon sits in third at 6-under and UCLA is fourth at 1-under.
Inching closer towards an historic finish to the @pac12 championship!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/yCWiicnXo5
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) April 22, 2024
The final round of the 2024 Pac-12 Championship begins on Tuesday morning. Following the completion of the round, the conference will announce its All-Pac-12 team, which will consist of 12 golfers. Stanford is vying for its first Pac-12 championship since 2014.
Pac-12 Championship (Palouse Ridge Golf Club, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 286 (-2) | 274 (-14) | -- | 560 (-16) |
| 2. Megha Ganne | 71 (-1) | 67 (-5) | -- | 138 (-6) |
| T3. Rachel Heck | 71 (-1) | 70 (-2) | -- | 141 (-3) |
| T3. Paula Martín Sampedro | 72 (E) | 69 (-3) | -- | 141 (-3) |
| T3. Kelly Xu | 72 (E) | 69 (-3) | -- | 141 (-3) |
| T21. Sadie Englemann | 76 (+4) | 69 (-3) | -- | 145 (+1) |