WOODSIDE, Calif. — In the fifth installment of the Big Match between the golf programs of Stanford and California, the Cardinal emerged victorious at Menlo Country Club, winning 4-2. This is the second time that Stanford has won the event, with its other victory coming in 2022.
Kelly Xu / TK Chantananuwat (Stanford) def. Kaylyn Noh / Sihao Cong (Cal), 2up
The first pair to tee off for the Cardinal was that of Xu and Chantananuwat, and they turned the tide late in the match. It all began on 12, where Xu hit the flag on her par-3 tee shot, en route to a birdie to tie the match. She then eagled on 13 and birdied on 14 and suddenly, Stanford was 2up with four holes remaining. Both Xu and Chantananuwat closed it out with birdies on 18 to secure the point. Xu wound up firing a 64, while Chantananuwat closed at 66.
Jieming Yang / Ziqin Zhou (Cal) def. Meja Ortengren / Jay Leng (Stanford), 2&1
A couple of Card making their debuts, Ortengren and Leng wound up falling to Yang and Zhou of California 2&1. They held a lead in the middle of the match when Ortengren birdied on 7 and then both knocked down birdie putts on 8. That flipped on the back-nine, however, with California winning three-straight holes on 11-13.
Andrea Revuelta / Nathan Wang (Stanford) def. Marie-Agnes Fischer / Matthew Miyamoto (Cal), 3&2
Once Revuelta and Wang got a stranglehold on their match, they never looked back. Thei first lead came on the seventh hole, and it was a Revuelta birdie that pushed the lead to 2up through 10. Wang hit a par-putt on 12 that got them to a three-stroke lead, and that was more than enough for the remaining holes.
Adora Liu / Tony Chen (Cal) def. Paula Martin Sampedro / Kush Arora (Stanford), 3&2
Liu and Chen got the advantage on the first hole and never surrendered the lead. That isn’t to say that either played poorly, though. Martin Sampedro was 2-under through 16 holes when the match was lost, and Arora had knocked down six birdies and was 5-under, working on a 57 through 16.
Leigh Chien / Logan Kim (Stanford) def. Olivia Lee / Wenliang Xie (Cal), 3&1
This was the clincher for the Cardinal. Things were knotted up through 10 holes when Chien birdied on 11, and that was followed up by a birdied from Kim on the par-3 12th hole. The advantage maintained until what wound up being a dramatic 17th hole, when Stanford was in position to clinch. Chien birdied for the Cardinal and Xie did as well for California, but it was Kim who made the shot of the day for Stanford. He eagled 17 after a ridiculous approach onto the green, which gave him a manageable putt for eagle. Kim knocked it down and gave Stanford the victory.
Megha Ganne / Ethan Gao (Stanford) def. Constance Fouillet / Charlie Berridge (Cal), 5&4
Another match that was decided from the onset featured was Ganne and Gao, winning 5&4 in dominant fashion. It was Gao who birdied the first hole to give Stanford an advantage and then Ganne birdied the second hole. From there, it was smooth sailing. Ganne caught fire as the match ended, as she was working on a run of five-straight birdies and was an impressive 8-under through just 14 holes. Gao was strong as well, finishing 3-under.
Claudia Lara Miravitlles / Daniel Heo (Cal) vs. Nora Sundberg / SK Dobson (Stanford), conceded through 16
With the outcome already decided, this match was conceded through 16 holes, with California leading 2up. Sundberg and Dobson had begun closing in on Miravitlles and Heo, turning what was a three-stroke deficit into a one-stroke deficit through 13 after they both birdied on 11 and Dobson birdied on 13.