Zhang captures Pac-12 individual title, but it's Southern Cal that comes out on top in team chase at Papago

   The Rose Zhang victory tour continued in the individual chase, but it was Southern California, not Zhang and reigning national champion Stanford, that claimed the team title in the Pac-12 Championship, which wrapped up Wednesday at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz.

   Zhang, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., checked off a couple more boxes in her glittering amateur career in the last month as she captured the title in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship in a playoff with Georgia’s Jenny Bae before claiming a runaway victory in last week’s Pac-12 Championship.

   Her reign at No. 1 atop the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) stretched to a record 136^th week last week. Zhang’s 10^th career college victory, in just 18 starts, broke the Stanford record of nine she had shared with Andrea Lee, an LPGA Tour winner who won nine times in 32 college starts.

   After opening with a sparkling 5-under-par 67 over the 6,519-yard, par-72 Papago layout, Zhang added a 4-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 69 that gave her a 12-under 204 total that was seven shots clear of runnerup Beth Coulter, an Arizona State freshman from Ireland.

   But it was Southern California, behind Zhang’s U.S. Curtis Cup teammate last summer at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, Amari Avery, a sophomore from Riverside, Calif. and No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR, and Catherine Park, a freshman from Irvine, Calif., that claimed the team crown with a 15-under 849 total that was seven shots better than runnerup Oregon.

   For the Trojans, who moved up a notch in the Golfstat rankings from No. 14 to No. 13 in the aftermath of the Pac-12 Championship, it was their eighth conference crown and third in the last four playings. Stanford may be the No. 1 team in the country, but nobody in the Pac-12 concedes a thing to the Cardinal when Pac-12 Championship time comes around.

   The Trojans got the jump on the field with a 9-under 279 in the opening round. They added a 1-over 289 in the second round before closing with a 7-under 281.

   Avery and Park were two of the four players who finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings at 4-under 212.

   Avery opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round before finishing up with a solid 3-under 69. Park was one of Zhang’s closest pursuers as she opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 2-under 70 in the second round that left her in a tie for second place in the individual chase, four shots behind Zhang going into the final round. Park closed with a 1-over 73.

   Oregon was the defending champion at Papago, having been something of a surprise a year ago on the Ducks’ home course at Eugene Country Club. But that turned out to be just the beginning of a postseason roll that didn’t stop until Oregon gave Stanford all it wanted in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   The Ducks matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added a 2-under 286 in the second round before closing with a solid 6-under 282 that left them seven shots behind Southern Cal in second place with an 8-under 856 total. Oregon moved up a notch in the Golfstat rankings from No. 9 to No. 8 following its runnerup finish in the Pac-12 Championship.

   The Ducks were led by Minori Nagano, a junior from Japan who landed in the foursome tied for third place at 4-under 212, a shot behind Arizona State’s Coulter. After opening with a 2-over 74, Nagano matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a sparkling 6-under 66, the low individual round of the tournament.

   Stanford was a shot behind Oregon in third place with a 7-under 857 total as the Cardinal opened with a 1-under 287 and added a 4-under 484 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 286.

   A repeat national championship once seemed like a foregone conclusion for Stanford, but an injury sidelined Rachel Heck, the 2021 NCAA individual champion the year before Zhang arrived on campus and still No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR. And Brooke Seay, a veteran senior and No. 52 in the Women’s WAFR with tons of experience didn’t tee it up at Papago.

   But Stanford still has Zhang and a lot of talented players. The Cardinal will still be a No. 1 seed somewhere when the NCAA regional assignments are handed out Wednesday. It will be interesting see who’s healthy enough to play when the regionals tee off May 8^th.

   The two Arizona teams, Arizona and Arizona State, accounted for the next two spots in the team standings as the Wildcats, who improved from No. 29 to No. 26 in the Golfstat rankings with their showing in the Pac-12 Championship, finished in fourth place with a 1-over 865 total and the No. 11 Sun Devils were fifth with a 7-over 871 total.

   Arizona opened with a 6-under 282 and added a 2-under 286 in the second round to grab a share of the team lead with Southern Cal going into the final round. The Wildcats backed off a little in the final round with a 9-over 297 to end up eight shots behind Stanford.

   Arizona State, behind individual runnerup Coulter, opened with a 2-over 290 and added a solid 2-under 286 in the second round before closing with a 7-over 295 to end up six shots behind its cross-state rival Arizona.

   After opening with a 1-over 73, Coulter added a 2-under 70 in the second round and closed with a 4-under 68 to finish seven shots behind Zhang in second place with a 5-under 211 total. That’s a runnerup finish in a conference brimming with talent.

   California finished five shots behind Arizona State in sixth place in the 11-team field with a 12-over 876 total. The Golden Bears, who dropped three spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 36 to No. 39 in the aftermath of the Pac-12 Championship, matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added a 5-over 293 in the second round before closing with a 7-over 295.

   Malia Nam, a fifth-year player from Kailua, Hawaii, gave Southern Cal a third finisher inside the top 10 as she ended up in a tie for ninth place with a 2-under 214. Nam was the low Trojan in the opening round as she contributed a 4-under 68 to Southern Cal’s fast start. She added a 3-over 75 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Nam was in the lineup for Southern Cal when it won Pac-12 crowns in 2019 and 2021.

   Cindy Kou, a sophomore from China, gave Southern Cal a fourth finisher in the top 20 as she landed in the group tied for 20^th place at 2-over 218. After opening with a 2-over 74, Kou carded a solid 1-under 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Christine Wang, a junior from Houston, Texas, got the call to join the lineup for the final round and came off the bench to deliver a critical 4-under 68.

   Joining Southern Cal’s Avery and Park and Oregon’s Nagano in the foursome tied for third place at 4-under 212 was Washington State’s Madelyn Gamble, a sophomore from Pleasant Hill, Calif. who sandwiched a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   UCLA’s Zoe Campos, a sophomore from Valencia, Calif., and California’s Annika Borrelli, a graduate student from Alamo, Calif., finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 3-unde 213.

   Campos was the picture of consistency, rattling off three straight 1-under 71s.

   Following the Pac-12 Championship, Campos and Southern Cal’s Avery made a mad dash to Houston -- The Woodlands, Texas to be specific -- as they were two of the seven amateurs who accepted invitations to tee it up in The Chevron Championship, the first major championship of 2023 in women’s professional golf.

   Campos bounced back from an opening-round 77 with a 1-under 71 at The Club at Carlton Woods and missed the cut by two shots. The talented Avery played the weekend, surviving the cut and finishing in a tie for 45^th place with a 4-over 292 total. Pretty busy week for those two.

   Avery also made the cut after two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier this spring and played the third round at one of the game’s shrines, the Alister MacKenzie masterpiece. Avery finished in a tie for 29^th place in her third appearance in what has quickly become one of the premier events for top amateur women players.

   Borrelli added a 2-under 70 in the second round to her opening-round 71 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Joining Southern Cal’s Nam in the tie for ninth place at 2-under was Oregon’s Anika Varma, a freshman from Roseville, Calif. who matched par in each of the last two rounds with a pair of 72s after opening with a 2-under 70.