No. 1 Southern Cal claims Pac-12 team crown; Arizona State's Mehaffey the individual winner

   Considering that the last four national champions have come out of the Pac-12 Conference, you have to pay attention when its leading ladies gather for the conference championship.

   The last two years, three of the four semifinalists at the NCAA Championship have been Pac-12 representatives. Stanford, which began the Pac-12’s run of four straight national champions in 2015, has been in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship every year since the match-play format was adopted.

   About a decade from now, an LPGA leaderboard might bear a striking resemblance to the individual standings when the Pac-12 Championship concluded Wednesday at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

   Southern California, No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings, showed off its remarkable depth to capture the team title with a 1-under-par 851 total over the 6,131-yard, par-71 Palos Verdes layout that is the Trojans’ home course.

   Southern Cal, with a lineup that featured four freshmen and a sophomore, reached the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. before falling to Alabama a year ago. In the interim, Justin Silverstein took over the reins of the program from the legendary Andrea Gaston, who left to take on the challenge of building a new powerhouse at Texas A&M.

   To her credit, Gaston hardly left the cupboard bare and the Trojans haven’t skipped a beat under Silverstein. It was Southern Cal’s first Pac-12 title since 2016 and its seventh overall.

   Southern Cal opened with a 1-under 283 Monday and added a 2-over 286 to take a seven-shot lead over No. 4 Stanford into Wednesday’s final round. The Trojans maintained their advantage with a final round of 2-under 282 to claim an 11-shot victory over reigning national champion Arizona, ranked seventh.

   The Wildcats closed with the best team round of the day in Wednesday’s final round with a 4-under 280 that left them with a 10-over 862 total.

   No. 15 Arizona State, behind individual champion Olivia Mehaffey, a junior from Northern Ireland and the No. 18 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), finished third at 15-over 867, a shot behind its in-state rival. The Sun Devils, the national champions two years ago at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., also closed strong with a 3-under 281.

   Stanford, behind Albane Valenzuela, a junior from Switzerland and No. 5 in the Women’s WAGR, had its worst round of the week, an 8-over 292, to finish fourth, a shot behind Arizona State at 16-over 868. Valenzuela lost to Mehaffey on the first hole of a playoff after the two standouts finished tied atop the individual standings at 4-under 209.

   No. 23 Washington, which stunned Stanford in the Final Match to capture the 2016 national championship at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., was nine shots behind the Cardinal in fifth at 25-over 877. The Huskies bettered par in the final round with a 1-under 283.

   No. 13 UCLA, the two-time defending Pac-12 champion, settled for sixth place, three shots behind Washington at 28-over 880 after a final round of 10-over 294. Could be the Bruins decided to save their best stuff for later in the postseason after dominating the Pac-12 Championship the last two springs before coming up short of the ultimate goal.

   Hey, Arizona finished tied for third in the Pac-12 Championship a year ago on its way to a national crown. Two years ago, Arizona State finished sixth in the Pac-12 Championship, but got the big prize at Rich Harvest Farms. You get the picture, any of the top six teams at Palos Verdes is capable of winning it all in next month at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

   But this week belonged to Southern Cal, which had four players finish in the top seven in the individual standings, led by Gabriella Ruffels, a sophomore from Australia who finished a shot behind Mehaffey and Valenzuela in third at 3-under 210. Ruffels’ 4-under 68 was the best round of the day in Wednesday’s final round.

   The Trojans then laid claim to fifth, sixth and seventh in the individual standings.

   Allisen Corpuz, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii and No. 41 in the Women’s WAGR, was fifth at even-par 213, Jennifer Chang, a sophomore from Cary, N.C. and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR, was sixth at 1-over 214, and Alyaa Abdulghany, a sophomore from Newport Beach, Calif., was seventh at 2-over 215. Corpuz and Abdulghany each matched par in the final round while Chang closed with a 1-over 72.

   All three had competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship a couple of weeks ago, Corpuz finishing tied for 17^th after matching par with a 72 at the National and Abdulghany and Chang failing to make the cut after 36 holes at the Champions Retreat Golf Club.

   Southern Cal’s top four finishers at Palos Verdes are all veterans of last year’s run to the NCAA semifinals. This team has one goal in mind: Win it all.

   Rounding out the Southern Cal lineup was Malia Nam, a freshman from Kailua, Hawaii who finished among the group tied for 22^nd at 9-over 222. Her opening-round 72 was a counter for the Trojans.

   Valenzuela had taken control of the individual chase when she opened the proceedings by firing a brilliant 6-under 65. With the wind coming up, she settled for a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round, but still held a four-shot lead over Mehaffey.

   Mehaffey was a key contributor as a freshman to Arizona State’s national championship team. She has twice represented Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup Match. Mehaffey opened with a 2-under 69 and matched Valenzuela’s 1-under 70 in the second round.

   Mehaffey closed with another 1-under 70 and was able to catch Valenzuela when the Stanford standout finished up with a 2-over 74. A par on the first hole of the playoff gave Mehaffey the title.

   Mehaffey had also teed it up in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She reached the final round at the iconic course and carded a 4-over 76 to finish tied for 23^rd.

   Not that Valenzuela was goofing off that weekend. All she was doing was making the cut in the ANA Inspiration, the LPGA’s first major championship of the year on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for the second year in a row.

   Arizona’s Ya Chun Chang, a freshman from Taiwan, closed with a 2-under 69 to finish fourth, a shot behind Southern Cal’s Ruffels at 2-under 211.

   Heading the group of five players tied for eighth at 4-over 217 was Stanford’s Andrea Lee, a junior from Hermosa Beach, Calif. and No. 3 in the Women’s WAGR. The always consistent Lee, a two-time member of the United States Curtis Cup team, opened with a 2-over 74 and added an even-par 71 before finishing up with a 1-over 72.

   Lee represented the Cardinal at Augusta National and earned the right to play the Alister Mackenzie-Bobby Jones collaboration in the final round. Lee carded a 4-over 76 and finished tied for 26^th at 7-over 223.

   Also in the quintet tied for eighth at 217 was Haley Moore, a senior from Escondido, Calif. who reached the par-5 18^th hole at Karsten Creek in two and converted a two-putt birdie on the first extra hole to secure the national championship for Arizona last spring. Oh yeah, she matched par with a 72 in the final round at Augusta National to finish tied for seventh in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

   Moore sandwiched a 2-over 73 with a pair of 1-over 72s at Palos Verdes.

   Rounding out the group of five tied for eighth at 217 were Oregon State’s Ellie Slama, a sophomore from Sale, Ore., Moore’s Arizona teammate Yu-Sang Hou, a sophomore from Taiwan and No. 44 in the Women’s WAGR, and Washington’s Julianne Alvarez, a senior from New Zealand.

   Slama was at even-par through 36 holes after opening with a 1-over 72 and adding a 1-under 70 before falling back with a final-round 75. Hou, another of the heroes of Arizona’s national championship run a year ago, closed with a 1-under 70.

   Alvarez also closed with a 1-under 70 to get her share of eighth. It only seems like forever ago that Alvarez was one of the Huskies’ fab four freshmen that surprised just about everybody, maybe even themselves a little, by winning the 2016 national championship.

   Alvarez is the veteran now, but one thing hasn’t changed. Once the Pac-12 Championship is over, its teams are just getting started.