PULLMAN, Wash. — It was 10 years ago the last time Stanford women's golf raised the Pac-12 championship banner. In the program's final season in the Pac-12, the title is coming home to The Farm. The Cardinal claimed the program's third Pac-12 Championship on Tuesday, and first since 2014, leading wire to wire while landing all five of its golfers inside the top-11.
Not only did Stanford secure the final Pac-12 title, but it also shattered the scoring record at the Pac-12 Championship. Previously held by USC in 2016 (-18), Stanford finished the tournament an impressive 28-under, shooting a team score of 836. That is tied for the third-lowest team score in relation to par in Stanford history, trailing only the 2023 NCAA Regional (-50) and the 2022 Gunrock Invitational (-50).
"This was a whole team effort! Each player was an integral part of this title over the course of the three days," said the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf Anne Walker. "Our strength is our depth and that was fully on display this week. Very honored to bring the final Pac-12 Championship trophy back to campus! And the performance from our sophomore class was outstanding; Stanford golf is in good hands with these young women."
Four Stanford golfers landed inside the top-11, and the entire field finished inside the top-20. In all three tournament wins this season for the Card, it has led at the end of every round.
Bringing the final one home to The Farm ??
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) April 23, 2024
Stanford claims the 2024 @pac12 championship??#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/6G2PDU3WM6
Kelly Xu set all sorts of personal records this week at the Pac-12 Championship. She finished second for the second time in her career, and finished with a 7-under 65, the best round by any Cardinal during the 2023-24 season. Xu recorded six birdies and an eagle on five to produce her lowest career round. This is the second time Xu has finished a tournament at 10-under, also doing so at last year's NCAA Regional at Palouse Ridge.
Megha Ganne finishes the championship tied for fourth, finishing 71-67-71-209. After racking up the birdies on Monday, it was a much more consistent round on Tuesday, with three birdies and two bogeys. Ganne was 2-under on the front nine and holding onto second but leaves with her fourth top-five finish of the season.
Perhaps the biggest turnaround of the day was that of Rachel Heck, who overcame a 4-over start through four holes to finish with a 1-under 71. Heck had six birdies over her final 14 holes, going 3-under on the back nine. She wraps up the tournament 4-under and played all three rounds under par for the first time this season, finishing tied for seventh overall.
The biggest turnaround of the tournament arguably came from Sadie Englemann, who raced all the way up to a tie for 11th this week. After shooting a 76 on Sunday, Englemann bounced back with consecutive rounds at 69 to finish 2-under for the week. She nearly shot a clean round on Tuesday, with just one bogey to pair with four birdies.
It might not have been the finish that Paula Martin Sampedro was hoping for, but the freshman still impressed this week, tying for 16th overall at 1-under. She shot a 2-over 74 in the final round and dropped out of the top-10 for the first time in her collegiate career. Still, she ended with four birdies on the day was great in the middle of the round, going 3-under from holes 8-16.
After an historic second round, Catherine Park of USC held on to become the final individual Pac-12 champion. Park shot a 5-under 67 in the final round to finish five strokes ahead of Xu for the win. Her 15-under 201 is a Pac-12 record for lowest championship score.
Following the completion of the tournament, the Pac-12 announced its All-Pac-12 selections. Stanford was the lone team to land four on this year's All-Pac-12 team: Sadie Englemann, Megha Ganne, Paula Martin Sampedro, and Kelly Xu.
The most All-Pac-12 honors of any team in the conference?
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) April 24, 2024
Has to be the champs ?? #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/MtAomaATrL
The NCAA DI women's golf championship selection show is Wednesday, April 24 on Golf Channel at 11 am PT. Stanford will find out where it lands for regionals, which take place on May 6-8. The Cardinal set an NCAA Regional scoring record in Pullman at last year's regional, posting a team score of 50-under through three rounds.
Pac-12 Championship (Palouse Ridge Golf Club, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 286 (-2) | 274 (-14) | 276 (-12) | 836 (-28) |
| 2. Kelly Xu | 72 (E) | 69 (-3) | 65 (-7) | 206 (-10) |
| T4. Megha Ganne | 71 (-1) | 67 (-5) | 71 (-1) | 209 (-7) |
| T7. Rachel Heck | 71 (-1) | 70 (-2) | 71 (-1) | 212 (-4) |
| T11. Sadie Englemann | 76 (+4) | 69 (-3) | 69 (-3) | 214 (-2) |
| T16. Paula Martín Sampedro | 72 (E) | 69 (-3) | 74 (+2) | 215 (-1) |