CLE ELUM, Wash. — The opening round of the Cle Elum Regional, hosted by the University of Washington at Tumble Creek Club, began on Monday with a field of 12 attempting to reach the NCAA Championship. Top-seeded Stanford women's golf is sitting in a good position to once again reach the final site, ending the first round in second place and just two strokes back of first place as a team. Three Cardinal are inside the top-10 individually with a chance to medal.
Temperatures were in the low 40s when Stanford teed off at 9 am, reminiscent to how it was at the beginning of the Pac-12 Championship in Pullman. Scores reflected that all day long, as fairly blustery conditions led to three of the 12 teams finishing at par or better. Duke finished the day with the team lead at 6-under, while Stanford is two strokes off at 4-under. Arizona State rounds out the top three, sitting even at par after round one. Those three teams also represented the top three seeds in the Cle Elum Regional.
Only 15 golfers in the field were at par or better on Monday. Both Stanford and Duke landed three golfers in the top-10, the only teams with a trio inside the top-10. The top-nine golfers are all within three strokes of one another.
Three in the top-10 and just two strokes back of the team lead after Round One at Tumble Creek!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/0ihxjU7ZhU
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 6, 2024
Paula Martin Sampedro came one hole away from posting a clean scorecard after round one. Her opening round featured four birdies and an eagle on 14, which helped her finish with a 4-under 68 in the first round. Her 68 is good for second in the field, trailing only Chen of Duke by one stroke. Additionally, the 68 put up by Martin Sampedro is the lowest first round score by a Stanford freshman in an NCAA Regional since her teammate Sadie Englemann did so in 2021 with a 67.
Continuing her strong finish to the 2023-24 season, Kelly Xu is second for Stanford with a 2-under 70, tying her for sixth overall in the field. A quick birdie-bogey start was about as uneven as it got all day for the sophomore, who was par the rest of the day except for 14 and 15, where she recorded consecutive birdies. Xu is on a run of eight-straight rounds with a 73 or better, one round away from tying her longest such stretch of the season.
Rachel Heck had another impressive rebound after starting her day with two bogeys in the first four holes. She was at par or better through the final 14 holes, including a great finish with birdies on 15 and 17 to get herself back to even and 72. Bouncing back from various injuries to become a crucial part of the Stanford lineup, the 2021 NCAA individual champion has now been at par or better over her last six rounds, dating back to the PING/ASU Invitational.
The second round of the Cle Elum Regional begins at 9:00 am on Tuesday, with Stanford once again teeing off with the first group. Wednesday's final round will conclude the regional, with the top five teams advancing to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad on May 17-22.
NCAA Regionals (Tumble Creek Club, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Stanford | 284 (-4) | -- | -- | 284 (-4) |
| T2. Paula Martín Sampedro | 68 (-4) | -- | -- | 68 (-4) |
| T5. Kelly Xu | 70 (-2) | -- | -- | 70 (-2) |
| T10. Rachel Heck | 72 (E) | -- | -- | 72 (E) |
| T22. Megha Ganne | 74 (+2) | -- | -- | 74 (+2) |
| T38. Sadie Englemann | 76 (+4) | -- | -- | 76 (+4) |