Oakley, Shattuck give Philadelphia Section a pair of entries in PGA Championship at Valhalla

 

   Two years ago, Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, represented the Philadelphia Section PGA in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   A year ago, Braden Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, represented the Philadelphia Section in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y.

   In a couple of weeks, Oakley and Shattuck will both be in the field for this year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. after they both landed in a large group that finished in a tie for 16^th place in the PGA Professional Championship, which wrapped up Wednesday at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s new headquarters in Frisco, Tenn.

   The top 20 finishers in the PGA Professional Championship – I still like to call it by its old-school moniker, the National Club Pro –- form the Colebridge Financial Team, which represents club pros all across the country in the PGA Championship, one of the men’s game’s four major professional championships.

   Two years ago, Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in the PGA Professional Championship at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas to earn his trip to Southern Hills.

   Shattuck was working in the pro shop alongside Oakley at Bidermann then before moving on to Rolling Green. A year ago, Shattuck became just the second Philadelphia Section pro to win the PGA Professional Championship when he sank a 12-foot par putt on the 72^nd hole at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   That victory sent Shattuck, who starred scholastically at Sun Valley, to Oak Hill to make his PGA Tour and major professional championship debut.

   It was a windy day in Frisco for Wednesday’s final round and that, combined with the pressure to get inside that top 20 and earn a ticket to the PGA Championship, made scoring difficult.

   Oakley entered the final round at 1-over par and made a couple of birdies to help offset six bogeys while carding a 4-over 76 that gave him a 5-over 293 total, just good enough to earn him a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team.

   After making bogeys at the first and seventh holes on the outgoing nine at Fields Ranch East, Oakley righted the ship by making a birdie at 11. He struggled on the incoming nine with back-to-back bogeys at the 13^th and 14^th holes and again at 16 and 17, but Oakley snuck in a crucial birdie at 15 to get him in at 5-over.

   It was a long day for Shattuck, the reigning two-time Rolex Haverford Trust Player of the Year in the Philadelphia Section.

   He had to finish up seven holes of his third round early Wednesday as weather issues early in the week backed things up.

   Shattuck made two birdies around a bogey on those final seven holes to complete a solid third round  of 2-under 70 at Fields Ranch East that gave him a 1-under total that was only five shots behind third-round leader Ben Polland, the director of golf at Shooting Star of Jackson Hole in Wyoming.

   Shattuck just couldn’t get it going in the final round. He made a bogey at the seventh hole and a double bogey at eight. He got on the bogey train on the back nine with bogeys at the 11^th, 12^th, 16^th and 17^th holes. He was 6-over heading to the par-5 finishing hole at Fields Ranch East.

   Displaying the clutch gene Shattuck showed a year ago at Twin Warriors, he reached the putting surface in two and two-putted for his only birdie of the round as he closed with a 6-over 78 that enabled him to join Oakley and three others at 5-over and punch his ticket to Valhalla.

   A par would have left Shattuck in a six-man playoff for one final available spot on the Corebridge Financial Team.

   Oakley and Shattuck finished 1-2, respectively, in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship late last summer at the Country Club of Scranton and Elmhurst Country Club in the northeast corner of the Philadelphia Section.

   Polland was nine years removed from a disastrous double bogey at the 72^nd hole, the classic finishing hole at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course, that cost him a victory in the PGA Professional Championship.

   Polland took a three-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round and put together a 4-over 76 that gave him a 2-under 286 total and a three-shot victory over Andy Svoboda of Butler National Golf Club in suburban Chicago and Jared Jones of River Oaks Country Club in the South Texas Section. Polland was the only player under par for 72 holes at Fields Ranch East.

   Polland started slowly with a bogey at the fourth hole and a double bogey at five. He righted the ship a little with a birdie at the seventh hole. Polland made bogeys at the 11^th and 12^th holes, but again made a birdie at 14 that gave him some breathing room. A bogey at the 17^th hole dropped him back 4-over for the round.

   Polland earned the winner’s check of $60,000 and the Walter Hagan Cup, a pretty neat piece of crystal. And he gained a little redemption for that collapse nine years ago at the Cricket Club.

   I was there that day, covering the tournament for the Delaware County Daily Times. Polland said all the right things, saying it was difficult to consider the week anything but a success since he had earned a spot in the PGA Championship. He’ll go to Valhalla this time as the PGA Professional Championship winner.

   Svoboda closed with a solid 2-over 74 that gave him a 1-over 289 total and a share of second place with Jones, who had a share of second going into the final round and struggled a little, finishing up with a 4-over 76.

   John Sowers, who works out of the pro shop at Southern Hills in Tulsa, and Jesse Mueller, the general manager of the Grand Canyon University Club and a volunteer assistant coach for the Grand Canyon University men’s golf team, finished in a tie for fourth place, a shot behind Svoboda and Jones at 2-over 290.

   Both players made big moves up the leaderboard in the final round, Sowers posting a 1-over 73 and Mueller matching par with a 72.

   The only player who bettered par in the final round was Jeremy Wells of Cypress Lake Golf Club in the South Florida Section and his 2-under 70 enabled him to jump 37 spots, going from seemingly little chance of earning a trip to the PGA Championship at Valhalla into a tie for eighth place at 4-over 292 and making travel plans for Louisville.

   Two more Philadelphia Section pros came up just short of a spot in the top 20 and on the Corebridge Financial Team.

   Mike Meisenzahl, who works in the pro shop at Little Mill Country Club, was one of the players knocked out of a chance for a playoff when Shattuck made his birdie at the 18^th hole.

   I missed Meisenzahl in my post after the 36-hole cut was established. Meisenzahl had added a solid 1-under 71 at Fields Ranch East in the second round after opening with a 1-over 73 at Fields Ranch West. He recorded a 3-over 75 back at Fields Ranch East in the third round before closing with another 3-over 75 that left him in the group tied for 21^st place with a 6-over 294 total.

   Trevor Bensel, the talented assistant pro at Sandy Run Country Club, was another shot behind Meisenzahl in the group tied for 26^th place with a 7-over 295 total after closing with a solid 2-over 74.

   Danny Lewis, playing out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro shop, closed with a 5-over 77 at Fields Ranch East to finish in the group tied for 61^st place with a 302 total.

   Rounding out the Philadelphia Section contingent that survived the 36-hole cut and played four rounds at Fields Ranch was Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Krueger closed with a 7-over 79 to land in the trio tied for 69^th place with a 304 total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shattuck, Oakley land on the leaderboard in PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch

 

   Don’t look now, but Braden Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, is in the hunt to repeat as the winner of the PGA Professional Championship at PGA Frisco Fields Ranch in Frisco, Texas.

   The event has been plagued by weather woes since Sunday’s opening round and Shattuck, the reigning two-time Rolex Haverford Trust Philadelphia Section PGA Player of the Year, is even-par for the championship through 11 holes of his third round going into Wednesday’s final day.

   That leaves him six shots behind the leader, Ben Polland, the director of golf at the Shooting Star of Jackson Hole in Wyoming who completed three rounds Tuesday at 6-under 210.

   As always, the club pros from around the country who gather for the PGA Professional Championship – the National Club Pro as it once was known and to many of us still is – have another goal in mind as the top 20 finishers earn a spot on the Colebridge Financial Team that will tee it up in the PGA Championship, one of the men’s four major professional championships, later this month at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

   And Shattuck, who starred scholastically at Sun Valley, is in very good position to grab one of those coveted top-20 spots.

   As is Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club and the reigning Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship winner, as he completed his third round Tuesday, posting a 5-over 77 at the Fields Ranch East Course that left him in the group tied for ninth place at 1-over 217.

   Shattuck became just the second Philadelphia Section PGA pro to capture the title in the PGA Professional Championship when he drained a 12-foot par putt on the 72^nd hole for a dramatic victory a year ago at the Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Shattuck’s defense got off to a rough start when he opened with a 4-over 76 at Fields Ranch West, which seemed to be playing the easier of the two courses at the PGA of America’s new Texas headquarters.

   He was unable to complete his second round and came back early Tuesday to finish a solid 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch East.

   When Shattuck made a double bogey at Fields Ranch East’s second hole at the beginning of his second round, he fell back to 5-over and was in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, which ultimately fell at 3-over.

   But he made five birdies against one bogey the rest of the way to get back on track.

   Shattuck opened his third round with a birdie at the second hole. He made a bogey at the sixth hole, a birdie at eight and a bogey at nine. But a birdie at the 11^th hole, the last hole Shattuck completed before darkness suspended play, got him back to even par for the championship.

   Oakley and Shattuck were colleagues in the Bidermann pro shop a couple of years ago before Shattuck moved on to Rolling Green. They finished 1-2, respectively, with Oakley claiming the title in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship shortened to 36 holes by rain late last summer at the Country Club of Scranton and Elmhurst Country Club.

   Oakley struggled in the third round Tuesday at Fields Ranch East with a 5-over 77. He had opened with a 1-under 71 at Fields Ranch West and added a solid 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch East in the second round.

   Oakley came on strong in the final round in the PGA Professional Championship two years ago at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas to finish in a tie for sixth place and earn a spot on the Colebridge Financial Team in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   Nine years ago, Polland arrived at the classic finishing hole at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course with a two-shot lead in the PGA Professional Championship, but made a double bogey and lost by a shot.

   Polland opened with a 4-under 68 at Fields Ranch West and has added back-to-back 1-under 71s at Fields Ranch East to build a three-shot lead.

   Wyatt Worthington II, a sales representative for Eastside Golf in the Southwest Section, and Jared Jones, the head of instruction at River Oaks Country Club in the Southern Texas Section, are tied for second place, each having completed three rounds at 3-under 213.

   Worthington had jumped out to the lead with a sparkling 7-under 65 at Fields Ranch West and added a solid 2-under 70 in the second round at Fields Ranch East. He struggled in the third round, completing a 6-over 78 Tuesday back at Fields Ranch East to fall back to 3-under.

   Jones added a 2-under 70 in the second round at Fields Ranch East to his opening round of 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West before carding a 2-over 74 back at Fields Ranch East in the third round.

   Andy Svoboda, playing out of Butler National Golf Club in suburban Chicago, was alone in fourth place as he completed his third round at 1-under 215, two shots behind Worthington and Jones. Svoboda opened with a 1-over 73 at Fields Ranch East and added a 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West in the second round before backing off with a 3-over 75 at a Fields Ranch East Course that was obviously playing tough Tuesday.

   Trevor Bensel, the talented assistant pro at Sandy Run Country Club, is in the hunt for a ticket to the PGA Championship as he was 4-over for the championship through 16 holes of his third round when darkness fell at Fields Ranch East and in the group tied for 33^rd place.

   Bensel had struggled to a 4-over 76 in the opening round at Fields Ranch East before adding a 2-under 70 at Fields Ranch West in the second round. He was 2-over for his third round when play was halted.

   Two other members of the Philly Section contingent, Danny Lewis of Philadelphia Cricket Club and Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Del., survived the 36-hole cut.

   Lewis was among the group tied for 57^th place at 7-over with two holes left to play at Fields Ranch East in his third round. Lewis bounced back from a 5-over 77 in the opening round at Fields Ranch East with a 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West. Lewis was 5-over for his third round at Fields Ranch East when play was halted.

   Krueger’s 1-under 71 in the second round at Fields Ranch West enabled him to make the 36-hole cut on the number at 3-over after he had opened with a 4-over 76 at Fields Ranch East. Krueger recorded a 6-over 78 at Fields Ranch East in the third round that landed him among the group tied for 67^th place at 9-over.

   Whitemarsh Valley Country Club head pro Dave Pagett just missed the 36-hole cut at 4-over as he opened with a 2-over 74 at Fields Ranch East and added another 2-over 74 in the second round at Fields Ranch West.

   Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course, missed the cut at 6-over as he opened with a 3-over 75 at Fields Ranch East and added another 3-over 75 in the second round at Fields Ranch West.

   Mike Little of Lansdale’s Clubhouse 54 opened with a 4-over 76 at Fields Ranch West and added another 4-over 76 in the second round at Fields Ranch East for a 10-over total.

   Alex Knoll of Glen Brook Golf Club opened with a 7-over 79 at Fields Ranch East and added a 5-over 77 at Fields Ranch West for a 12-over total.

   Rich Steinmetz, the longtime head pro at Spring Ford Country Club, opened with a 6-over 78 at Fields Ranch West and added a 7-over 79 at Fields Ranch East for a 13-over total.

   Steinmetz, the two-time reigning Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship winner, will represent the Philadelphia Section in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a major championship on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, later this month at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich.

 

 

Stanford finally ends a long drought by claiming the title in the final Pac-12 Championship at Palouse Ridge

 

   Kind of hard to believe that Stanford’s eight-shot victory in the Pac-12 Championship – the very last Pac-12 Championship – was the Cardinal’s first conference championship in a decade.

   During that time, Stanford has been a contender for a national championship seemingly every year, from Mariah Stackhouse to Andrea Lee and Albane Valenzuela to Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang, it seems like the Cardinal were always the team to beat.

   Maybe teams from other parts of the country were intimidated by what had clearly become a Stanford mystique. Not in the Pac-12. They just refused to back down. Stanford might hoist the familiar NCAA championship trophy, but every year since 2014, it was some other school that had a Pac-12 championship banner to hang in their gym.

   I lamented the end of the Pac-12 in women’s golf in a post when the gang gathered for the next-to-last time for the Nanea Pac-12 Preview in Hawaii in February. Maybe the Pac-12 had lost a little of its luster in some of the marquee sports, but not in women’s golf.

   It happened again last spring when Southern California found itself matched with Stanford in the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Trojans didn’t blink, Brianna Navarrosa taking down one of the biggest names, not just in women’s college golf, but women’s golf, period, in Rose Zhang to help Southern Cal stun defending national champion Stanford, 3-1.

   It could easily happen again this spring when the NCAA Championship comes to California at the Omni Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad.

   But they would only meet one last time with a conference championship on the line and  this time it was Stanford getting the edge on Southern Cal with a record-breaking 28-under-par 836 total at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash., where the final Pac-12 Championship wrapped up April 23^rd.

   Stanford might very well have won this championship on the first day when the combination of cold, wind and rain hit Palouse Ridge, the Cardinal managing to put together a 2-under 286 over the 6,344-yard, par-72 layout while everybody else struggled mightily with the difficult conditions.

   Stanford then added a 14-under 274 in the second round before closing with a 12-under 276 to get it in at 28-under. It was Stanford’s third Pac-12 crown with the clock about to stop on a conference that has produced so many great athletes in so many sports in a few weeks.

   Kelly Xu, a sophomore from Claremont, Calif. and No. 96 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), closed with a sizzling 7-under 65 over the 6,344-yard, par-72 to lead Stanford across the finish line as she earned runnerup honors in the individual standings with a 10-under 206 total.

   Xu had matched par with a 72 in the opening round’s difficult conditions before adding a solid 3-under 69 in the second round.

   There was no catching Southern California’s Catherine Park, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. and No. 23 in the Women’s WAGR, for the individual title. Park had finished in a tie for second place behind her fellow Irvineite Zhang in the individual chase at last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   Park battled the tough conditions of the opening round and signed for a 2-under 70. With the weather a lot better and the setup a little more benign, Park carded a spectacular 8-under 64 in the second round to take a four-shot advantage into the final round.

   Park closed with a 5-under 67 for a 15-under 201 total that was five shots clear of Xu and earned her the individual title.

   Park led Southern Cal to a runnerup finish in the team standings with a 20-under 844 total. After struggling to a 298 in the opening round, the Trojans went really low in the second round with a spectacular 20-under 268 that enabled them to creep within six shots of Stanford.

   A final round of 10-under 278 left Southern Cal eight shots behind Stanford with a 20-under 844 total.

   Oregon finished four shots behind Southern Cal with a 16-under 848 total as the Ducks bounced back from an opening-round 293 with an 11-under 277 in the second round and a 12-under 276 in the final round.

   Oregon battled all the way to the Final Match in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk two springs ago before falling to Stanford in an all-Pac-12 matchup.

   It was four more shots back to UCLA in fourth place as the Bruins, like Oregon, came on strong in the final two rounds after a rough start to finish with a 12-under 852 total. After opening with a 299 in the opening round’s wind and rain and cold, UCLA posted a 12-under 276 in the second round and an 11-under 277 in the final round.

   It is a testament to the strength of the Pac-12 in this, its final year, that when the six NCAA regionals tee off Monday, three of them will be headed by top seeds from the conference, Stanford at the Cle Elum Regional at Tumble Creek Golf Club, Southern California in the East Lansing Regional at the Forest Akers West Golf Course and UCLA in the Las Vegas Regional at Spanish Trail Country Club.

   Oregon is seeded third in the Auburn Regional at the Auburn University Club.

   It was 13 shots back to Washington in fifth place in the team standings at Palouse Ridge with a 1-over 865 total as the Huskies battled back from an opening-round 302 with a 4-under 284 in the second round and a 9-under 279 in the final round.

   Washington will be staying in its home state as the six seed in the Cle Elum Regional.

   Arizona was three shots behind Washington in sixth place with a 4-over 868 total as the Wildcats struggled to a 304 in the opening round, but rebounded with an 8-under 280 in the second round before closing with a 4-under 284.

   Arizona is seeded third in the Las Vegas Regional.

   Arizona State finished a shot behind its in-state rival in seventh place with a 5-over 869 total as the Sun Devils opened with a 299 and added a 7-under 281 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 289.

   Arizona State is seeded third in the Cle Elum Regional.

   Those three teams that rounded out the top seven at Palouse Ridge, Washington, Arizona and Arizona State, all have won national championships since the last time Stanford claimed the Pac-12 title, the Huskies in 2016, Arizona State in 2017 and Arizona in 2018.

   Stanford’s talent and depth was on full display at Palouse Ridge as four of the players in the Cardinal lineup finished among the top 11 in the individual standings.

   Megha Ganne, a sophomore from Holmdel, N.J. and No. 52 in the Women’s WAGR, backed up Xu as Ganne finished in a tie for fourth place with a 7-under 209 total.

   Ganne, a member of the winning United States team in the Curtis Cup Match at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course in 2022 before she ever even hit a shot for Stanford, sandwiched a 5-under 67 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   It’s easy to forget that before Zhang’s back-to-back NCAA individual crowns, it was Rachel Heck, as a freshman in 2021, who was the individual NCAA champion. Heck, a senior from Memphis, Tenn. and No. 90 in the Women’s WAGR, was trying to recover from surgery to remove a rib at this time last year and was nowhere near her best.

   Even as recently as the Nanea Pac-12 Preview in February, Heck was not in the Stanford lineup. But when Heck showed up at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month and just missed the cut to play the final round at Augusta National, it looked like she was back to her old self.

   Heck was really solid at Palouse Ridge, sandwiching a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 71s to finish in a tie for seventh place with a 4-under 212.

   Heck has a wealth of match-play experience as a member of the winning U.S. Curtis Cup teams in 2021 at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales and again 10 months later at Merion. She made a run to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. in 2021 and was in some tough matches in Stanford’s march to an NCAA crown in 2022 at Grayhawk.

   Heck’s presence turns Stanford from a very good team to a great team.

   The Cardinal’s Sadie Englemann, a senior from Austin, Texas and No. 43 in the Women’s WAGR, finished among a group of five players tied for 11^th place at 2-under 214. After struggling in the opening round’s tough conditions with a 4-over 76, Englemann registered back-to-back 3-under 69s in the final two rounds.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Paula Martin Sampedro, a freshman from Spain and No. 21 in the Women’s WAGR, as she finished in the group tied for 16^th place with a 1-under 215 total. Martin Sampedro matched par in the opening round with a 72 and contributed a 3-under 69 to the Cardinal’s second-round surge before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Oregon’s Kiara Romero, one of the top freshmen in the country from San Jose, Calif. and No. 32 in the Women’s WAGR, zoomed up the leaderboard in the final round with a sparkling 7-under 65 to finish a shot behind Stanford’s Xu in the individual standings with a 9-under 207 total.

   Romero, winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship at the Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. last summer, had matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 2-under 70 in the second round.

   Joining Stanford’s Ganne in the tie for fourth place at 7-under, two shots behind Romero, was Southern Cal’s Navarrosa, a senior from San Diego, Calif. One of the heroes of the Trojans’ run to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk a year ago, Navarrosa struggled in the opening round with a 4-over 76, but really got it going on the final two days, recording a 5-under 67 in the second round and closing with a 6-under 66.

   Another talented freshman, Arizona’s Charlotte Back of Germany, finished two shots behind Ganne and Navarrosa with a 5-under 211 total. Back, too, struggled in the opening round’s difficult conditions with a 5-over 77. But she matched individual champion Park’s sizzling 8-under 64 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Joining Stanford’s Heck in the tie for seventh place at 4-under was UCLA’s Zoe Antoinette Campos, a junior from Valencia, Calif. and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR. Campos added a 2-under 70 to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 3-under 69.

   Campos’ UCLA teammate, Meghan Royal, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif., finished in a tie for ninth place with Oregon State’s Raya Nakao, a freshman from Kaneohe, Hawaii, each landing on 3-under 213.

   Royal bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 75 with a 2-under 70 in the second round before closing with a solid 4-under 68. If the Bruins can make it to the NCAA Championship, it would be a home game for Royal at the Omni Resort & Spa in Carlsbad.

   Nakao also opened with a 3-over 75 before adding back-to-back 3-under 69s in the final two rounds.

   Nakao’s Oregon State teammate, Kyra Ly, a sophomore from Portland, Ore., joined Stanford’s Englemann and three others in the quintet tied for 11^th place at 2-under. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Ly carded a couple of steady 1-under 71s.

   Rounding out the group at 2-under were the Oregon duo of Minori Nagano, a senior from Japan, and freshman Karen Tsuro, another Carlsbad, Calif. native, and Washington’s Jamie Hsieh, a junior from Taiwan.

   Nagano bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 75 with a 3-under 69 in the second round before finishing up with a 2-under 70. Tsuro sandwiched an even-par 72 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Hsieh signed for a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   A couple of Colorado players, Sabrina Iqbal, a fifth-year player from San Jose, Calif., and Morgan Miller, a sophomore Cedar Park, Texas, will compete as individuals in the Cle Elum Regional.

   Iqbal finished in a tie for 37^th place with a 6-over 222 at Palouse Ridge. Miller missed the Pac-12 Championship with an injury.