Zhang, Englemann start with a bang as Stanford grabs lead in Pullman Regional

   Don’t think I’m going to be able to wrap up every round of the NCAA Division I women’s regionals, but I think I can get through Day 1 of May Madness in college golf. The plan is to get out and do some live blogging for the championship of one of the few leagues that still play girls golf in the spring, the Inter-Ac League, Tuesday. I’ve missed them since before the pandemic, including the 2021 championship for Episcopal Academy’s Lauren Jones, who can be found playing for Patriot League champion Richmond in the Raleigh Regional this week. I will probably be able to transcribe Day 2 of the regionals, but there just won’t be time to write it. I will definitely round everything up when the regionals are complete.

   The big question going into the regionals was what would the lineup look like for Stanford, which has been ranked No. 1 ever since Rose Zhang, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. and the No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), arrived on campus in the summer of 2021.

   Well, Zhang was her usual self Monday, opening with an 8-under-par 64 at Palouse Ridge Golf Club to grab a share of the individual lead with teammate Sadie Englemann, a junior from Austin, Texas, following the opening round of the Pullman Regional in Pullman, Wash.

   The show of power at the top by Zhang and Englemann enabled the Cardinal to grab the team lead as well as they opened with a fairly ridiculous 21-under 267 that gave them a five-shot lead over their Pac-12 rival (and the conference champion) Southern California.

   Zhang apparently got ticked off when she made her second bogey of the day on the 13^th hole of the 6,405-yard, par-72 Palouse Ridge layout and proceeded to make birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 17 before finishing up with an eagle at 18 for a breathtaking run of 6-under for her final five holes.

   Englemann had a comparatively boring eight-birdie, no-bogey 64, indicating that playing alongside Zhang, the reigning NCAA individual champion, and Rachel Heck, the 2021 NCAA individual champion, is rubbing off on the talented Englemann.

   Heck, unfortunately, was not in the lineup for Stanford as the junior from Memphis, Tenn. had surgery for a shoulder injury earlier this year. Nor was Brooke Seay, a senior from San Diego, in the Stanford lineup as she has been out with, at least from what I can tell, is an unspecified injury or illness.

   Of course, Stanford is one of the few programs in the country that could lose the No. 17 player in the Women’s WAGR (Heck) and the No. 57 player in the Women’s WAGR (Seay) and still be considered a contender to repeat as the NCAA champion.

   Stanford certainly looked the part of No. 1 seed in Monday’s opening round in Pullman.

   Kelly Xu, a freshman from Claremont, Calif., backed up Zhang and Englemann with a 4-under 68 that left her among the group tied for ninth place.

   Megha Ganne, a freshman from Holmdel, N.J. and No. 80 in the Women’s WAGR, carded a solid 1-under 71 that left her in the group tied for 24^th place. Ganne was on the same team, that would be Team USA, as Zhang and Heck in last summer’s Curtis Cup Match at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course when the Red, White & Blue claimed a 15.5-4.5 over Great Britain & Ireland.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Angelina Ye, a senior from China who has been around for all this Stanford excellence of the last two years. Ye was in the lineup two springs ago when a young Cardinal team fell in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Ye matched par with a 72 Monday and landed in the group tied for 30^th place.

   Southern Cal, No. 13 in the latest Golfstat rankings and the third seed in Pullman, put together a pretty strong 16-under 272, but found itself trailing Stanford by five shots.

   A couple of Big 12 powers, No. 32 Texas Tech, seeded sixth, and No. 2 Baylor, the second seed, were prominent on the team leaderboard in Pullman as the Red Raiders are in third place after a solid 11-under 277 and the Bears in a tie for fourth place with Big Sky Conference champion Sacramento State, each landing on 5-under 283, six shots behind Texas Tech.

   Sacramento State is ranked No. 59 and is seeded 10^th in Pullman.

   The top five teams and the top individual from a non-qualifying team will punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship later this month, again back at Grayhawk.

   UC Riverside’s Tiffany Le, a sophomore from Walnut, Calif., is angling for that individual berth in Pullman as she posted a sparkling 7-under 65 and was alone in third place in the individual standings, a shot behind Zhang and Englemann. Le is competing as an individual at Palouse Ridge.

   In the Athens Regional, Georgia, playing on its home course, the University of Georgia Golf Course, fired a solid 9-under 279 to grab a nine-shot lead over Ohio State following the opening round.

   Maybe at No. 30 and seeded fifth, Georgia might have been overlooked at home, but the Bulldogs, out of the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference, got hot at this time last year and didn’t stop going until they reached the match-play bracket at Grayhawk.

   Georgia was led by Jenny Bae, a fifth-year player from Suwanee, Ga. and No. 21 in the Women’s WAGR who was tied for second place in the individual standings with teammate LoraLie Cowart, a sophomore from Carrollton, Ga. as both opened with solid rounds of 3-under 69 over the 6,347-yard, par-72 University of Georgia Golf Course layout.

   Bae, you might recall, caught Zhang in the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this spring before falling in a playoff.

   The No. 23 Buckeyes, coached by Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, matched par with a 288 and were Georgia’s closest pursuer. Ohio State is seeded fourth in Athens and was  part of a pretty strong showing across the country for an underrated Big Ten contingent.

   Southeastern Conference power South Carolina, ranked fourth and the top seed in Athens, was a shot behind Ohio State in third place with a 1-over 289 total.

   Another Big Ten entry, No. 33 and sixth-seeded Maryland, was in a tie for fourth place with Mountain West Conference entry San Jose State, ranked ninth and seeded second, each recording a 7-over 295 that left them six shots behind South Carolina.

   Like Georgia, San Jose State made a run to the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk a year ago.

   Backing up Bae and Cowart for Georgia were Candice Mahe, a senior from France, and Isabella Holpfer, a junior from Austria, both of whom were inside the top nine in the individual standings. Mahe was in the group tied for fourth place with a 2-under 70 while Holpfer is another shot behind Mahe in the group tied for ninth place with a 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Georgia lineup was Jo Hua Hung, a fifth-year player from Taiwan who matched par with a 72 that left her among the group tied for 13^th place.

   Grabbing the individual lead in Athens was Furman’s Anna Morgan, a senior from Spartanburg, S.C. and No. 71 in the Women’s WAGR who opened with a solid 4-under 68, a shot ahead of Bae and Cowart.

   Penn State’s Mathilde Delavallade, a senior from France, competed as an individual in Athens and recorded a 3-over 75 that left her in the group tied for 30^th place.

   In the Palm Beach Regional, it was another strong showing for a Big Ten team as Michigan State, ranked 34^th and seeded sixth, was the only team under par on the tough PGA National Resort’s Champion Course as the Spartans grabbed the team lead with a 3-under 285.

   It has always been a theory of mine that playing your conference championship on a tough course, which the Big Ten did at Fox Chapel Golf Club, the classic Seth Raynor design outside Pittsburgh, is the best possible preparation for the regionals and Monday’s opening-round results seem to validate that thought.

   Michigan State got a boost from individual leader Brooke Biermann, a sophomore from Wildwood, Mo. who opened with a solid 3-under 69 over the 6,318-yard, par-72 Champion Course layout.

   American Athletic Conference upstart South Florida, ranked 57^th and seeded 10^th, was 11 shots behind Michigan State in second place with an 8-over 296. No. 45 Arkansas, the seventh seed out of the powerful SEC, was a shot behind South Florida in third place with a 9-over 297 total.

   Another SEC entry, LSU, the top seed and ranked No. 3, was joined by two other perennial national powers, Duke, ranked 28^th and seeded fifth out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Texas, ranked 10^th and seeded second out of the Big 12, in a trio tied for fourth place at 10-over 298.

   Biermann was backed up by the pair of Katie Lu, a sophomore from Plainsboro, N.J., and Valentina Rossi, a junior from Argentina, as both landed in the group tied for fourth place with 1-under 71s. Rossi made a run to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship two summers ago at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.

   Leila Raines, a junior from Galena, Ohio, carded a solid 2-over 74 that left her in the group tied for 16^th place. Rounding out the Michigan State lineup was Shannon Kennedy, a sophomore from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. whose 7-under 79 left her in the group tied for 53^rd place.

   Northwestern’s Kelly Sim, a graduate student from Edgewater, N.J., and Miami’s Sara Byrne, a sophomore from Ireland competing as an individual, were a shot behind Michigan State’s Biermann in a tie for second place in the individual standings as each registered a 2-under 70.

   Duke junior Phoebe Brinker, an Archmere Academy product and No. 51 in the Women’s WAGR, carded a 6-over 78 that left in the group tied for 46^th place.

   Ivy League champion Penn opened with an 18-over 306 that left the 11^th-seeded Quakers in 11^th place in the 12-team field.

   The Quakers were led by Selina Li, a senior from Hong Kong who carded a solid 2-over 74 that left her among the group tied for 16^th place.

   In the Raleigh Regional, another host team, the ACC’s North Carolina State, took advantage of playing on its home course, the Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State, to grab the lead with an opening round of 6-under 282.

   The Wolfpack, ranked 46^th and seeded eighth, were led by Lauren Olivares Leon, a sophomore from Mexico who grabbed a share of the individual lead with Florida State’s Lottie Woad, a freshman from England and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR, as each opened with a 5-under 67 over the 6,324-yard, par-72 Lonnie Poole layout.

   Woad’s performance led the way for the Seminoles, ranked 14^th and seeded third, as they were alone in second place, a shot behind their ACC rival N.C. State with a 5-under 283. Florida State was a regional champion for the second spring in a row a year ago and made it into the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   A couple of Pac-12 powers from Arizona, No. 11 and second-seeded Arizona State and No. 26 and fifth-seeded Arizona, stood in third and fourth place, respectively, in the team standings.

   The Sun Devils, who came up two frustrating shots short of a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk, just a few miles from their Tempe campus, opened with a 4-under 284 that left them a shot behind Florida State. The Wildcats were another two shots behind their cross-state rival in fourth place with a 2-under 286.

   Big Ten power Purdue, ranked 50^th and seeded ninth, was a shot behind Arizona in fifth place with a 1-under 287.

   Backing up Olivares Leon for N.C. State was fellow Mexican Isabel Amezcua, a junior who carded a solid 3-under 69 and was in a tie for third place with Chattanooga’s Dorota Zalewska, a senior from Poland who was competing as an individual, two shots behind the co-leaders Olivares Leon and Woad.

   Natalie Armbruester, a senior from Switzerland, matched par with a 72 for N.C. State that left her among the group tied for 19^th place.

   A third member of the Wolfpack’s Mexican Connection, freshman Vania Simant, was in the group tied for 34^th place with a 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the N.C. State lineup was Caitlin Whitehead, a sophomore from England who was in 64^th place with an 81.

   Patriot League champion Richmond was seeded 12^th and was in 12^th place following an opening round of 22-over 310.

   Freshman Hannah Lydic, the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year who starred scholastically at Sussex Academy, was in the group tied for 55^th place with an opening round of 6-over 78.

   Sophomore Lauren Jones, who, as I mentioned in my lead-in, was the Inter-Ac League champion two springs ago as a senior at Episcopal Academy, struggled to an 83 that left her in 66^th place.

   In the San Antonio Regional, Big 12 champion Oklahoma State and SEC champion Texas A&M, shared the lead after each opened with a 7-over 295 at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course.

   The Cowgirls, ranked 22^nd and seeded fourth, were led by Thitaporn Saithip, a freshman from Thailand who grabbed a share of the individual lead with UCLA’s Zoe Campos, a sophomore from Valencia, Calif. and No. 99 in the Women’s WAGR, as each recorded a 2-under 70 over the 6,402-yard, par-72 Oaks Course layout.

   Texas A&M, which reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk a year ago before falling to eventual runnerup Oregon, is No. 6 in the latest Golfstat rankings and the top seed in San Antonio.

   American Athletic Conference champion SMU, ranked 27^th and seeded fifth, was a shot behind the co-leaders in third place with an opening round of 8-over 296.

   Mountain West Conference champion New Mexico, ranked 42^nd and seeded seventh, and Pac-12 power UCLA, ranked 31^st and seeded sixth, shared fourth place, each landing on 10-over 298. The Bruins were another of the eight quarterfinalists when match play got under way at Grayhawk a year ago.

   Backing up Saithip for Oklahoma State was Clemence Martin, a sophomore from France who matched par with a 72 that left her among the group tied for sixth place.

   Rina Tatematsu, a junior from Thailand, contributed a 4-over 76 that left her in the group tied for 27^th place. The Cowgirls’ senior leader, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, the Big 12 individual champion from Australia, struggled a little with a 5-over 77 that left her in the group tied for 33^rd place.

   Rounding out the Oklahoma State lineup was Han-Hsuan Yu, a graduate student from Taiwan who posted a 6-over 78 that left her in the group tied for 41^st place.

   Leading the way for Texas A&M was Hailee Cooper, a graduate student from Montgomery, Texas who matched par with a 72 to join the group tied for sixth place.

   Adela Cernousek, a sophomore from France, backed up Cooper as she recorded a 1-over 73 that left her among the group tied for 11^th place.

   Jennie Park, a senior from Carrollton, Texas, and Bianca Fernandez Garcia Poggio, a senior from Spain, each contributed a 3-over 75 that left them in the group tied for 23^rd place.

   Rounding out the Texas A&M lineup was Zoe Slaughter, a junior from Houston who struggled to an 81 that left her in the group tied for 55^th place.

   Campos’ UCLA teammate, Caroline Canales, a sophomore from Calabasas, Calif., was a shot behind Campos and Saithip in a tie for third place in the individual standings at 1-under 71 with two players who are competing as individuals, Brigham Young’s Allysha Mae Mateo, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, and Texas San Antonio’s Camryn Carreon, a senior home girl from San Antonio.

   In the Westfield Regional, Tulsa, another American Athletic Conference team with a strong showing Monday, grabbed the lead with a 9-under 279 at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind. The Hurricane are No. 36 in the latest Golfstat rankings and are seeded sixth.

   Tulsa was led by Lovisa Gunnar, a sophomore from Sweden who grabbed a share of second place in the individual standings with a sparkling 4-under 68 over the 6,300-yard, par-72 Chatham Hills layout.

   Just a shot behind Tulsa in second place is SEC runnerup Mississippi State as the Bulldogs, ranked fifth and the top seed in the Westfield Regional, carded a solid 8-under 280.

   Mississippi State was led by SEC individual champion Julia Lopez Ramirez as the sophomore from Spain, No. 18 in the Women’s WAGR, grabbed the individual lead with a 5-under 67.

   Yet another Big Ten entry, Michigan, ranked 44^th and seeded eighth, was three shots behind Mississippi State in third place with a 5-under 283 total.

   The Big 12’s Iowa State, ranked 20^th and seeded fourth, shared fourth place with surprising Pac-12 entry Oregon State, ranked 52^nd and seeded ninth, each landing on 2-under 286, three shots behind Michigan.

    Backing up Lopez Ramirez for Mississippi State was Hannah Levi, a senior from D’Iberville, Miss. who was just a shot behind her teammate in a tie for second place with Tulsa’s Gunnar and Oregon State’s Maddie Sund, a sophomore from Spain as each registered a 4-under 68.

   Backing up Gunnar for Tulsa was Grace Kilcrease, a freshman from Springdale, Ark. who finished among the group tied for fifth place with a solid 3-under 69.

   Sydney Seigel, a sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz., and Jenni Roller, a freshman from Jenks, Okla., each contributed a 1-under 71 for the youthful Hurricane that left them in the group tied for 13^th place.

   Rounding out the lineup for Tulsa was Lilly Thomas, a senior from Bentonville, Ark. whose 1-over 73 left her among the group tied for 30^th place.

   The ACC’s Virginia, ranked 25^th and seeded fifth, posted a 1-under 287 that left the Cavaliers in a tie for sixth place in the team standings in Westfield.

   Junior Jennifer Cleary, who starred scholastically at Tower Hill School, registered a 1-over 73 that left her in the group tied for 30^th place.