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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kuehn grabs individual title, leads Wake Forest to team crown in ACC Championship at Porters Neck

 

   It is a very different Wake Forest team than the one that won the national championship a year ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   But the Demon Deacons still have Rachel Kuehn, a graduate student from Asheville, N.C. and No. 8 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   As it turned out, Kuehn’s three-shot victory in last weekend’s individual chase would lead Wake Forest to the team title in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C.

   The three rounds of stroke play at Porters Neck, which began April 18^th and concluded April 20^th, were supposed to be a qualifier for two rounds of match play, the semifinals and the final, April 21^st.

   But the same relentless rainstorm that forced the suspension of play in the final round of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage down the coast at Hilton Head Island, S.C., washed out the match-play final between the Demon Deacons and defending ACC champion Clemson.

   League rules reverted the outcome back to the 54 holes of stroke play and Wake Forest was crowned the champion.

   Wake Forest was ahead in three matches against Clemson on a messy Sunday in Wilmington after the Demon Deacons had claimed a 3-1 victory over North Carolina in the semifinals earlier in the day.

   With the sun shining a day earlier, Kuehn carded a second straight sparkling 5-under-par 67 in the final round of stroke play over the 6,116-yard, par-72 Porters Neck layout that gave her a 10-under 206 total and a three-shot victory over defending ACC individual champion Amanda Sambach, a junior at Virginia from Pinehurst, N.C. and No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, and Clemson’s Isabella Rawl, a sophomore from Lexington, S.C.

   Kuehn had matched par in the opening round with a 72.

   Kuehn matched the feat achieved by her mother, then Brenda Corrie, who captured the ACC’s individual crown in 1986 while at Wake Forest. The victory also enabled Kuehn to break a tie with her mom on the all-time Wake Forest individual wins list, Rachel now alone in third place with seven, one more than her mother.

   By the way, I was looping in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Stonewall’s North Course last September and was in a group with Brenda Corrie Kuehn for a practice round. Guess what, she can still play, a point she drove home a couple of weeks later when she reached the final of the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Rachel Kuehn’s amateur career has been nothing short of star-studded as she recorded the clinching point in back-to-back United States victories in a pair of Curtis Cup Matches played 10 months apart because of the coronavirus pandemic in addition to helping the Demon Deacons capture the first national championship in the history of the program last spring.

   Kuehn has committed to playing for the U.S. in a third Curtis Cup Match this summer at Sunningdale Golf Club’s Old Course in Berkshire, England and it might be tough to deny her a spot on the team the way she’s playing. Kuehn was coming off a tie for eighth place with a 1-over 217 total in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month.

   Just as the match-play bracket, had it been completed, came down to a Wake Forest-Clemson final, the 54 holes of stroke play was a battle between the Demon Deacons and the defending champion Tigers.

   Clemson, behind an opening round of 5-under 67 by Rawl, took a two-shot lead over Wake Forest with a solid 10-under 278 and still held a three-shot lead going into the final round after a 6-under 282 in the second round.

   After opening with an 8-under 280, Wake Forest added a solid 5-under 283 in the second round. But with Kuehn leading the way, the Demon Deacons closed with a 10-under 278 for a 23-under 841 total. Clemson matched par in the final round with a 288 and settled for runnerup honors with a 16-under 848 total that was seven shots behind Wake Forest.

   Rawl added back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds following her opening-round 67 to get a share of second place in the individual chase with Sambach at 7-under 209, three shots behind Kuehn.

   It was the eighth ACC crown for Wake Forest and its third in the last five years, paralleling Kuehn’s career with the Demon Deacons.

   Wake Forest will get to begin its road toward a possible repeat as national champion close to home as the Demon Deacons will play host to the NCAA Bermuda Run Regional at the Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda, N.C. and will be the top seed when the regional tees off May 6.

   Clemson is headed for the Bryan Regional at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas where the Tigers will be the three seed.

   The top five teams and the best individual from a non-advancing  team at the regionals advance to the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 17 at the Omni Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad,  Calif.

   Virginia, behind Sambach, finished in third place after three rounds of stroke play at Porters Neck with an 8-under 856 total that left it eight shots behind Clemson. The Cavaliers matched par in the second round with a 288 after opening with a 5-under 283 before closing with a 3-under 285.

   Sambach was typically solid, carding back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 3-under 69 to get her share of runnerup honors at 7-under.

   Virginia will be the four seed in the Cle Elum Regional at Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, Wash.

   North Carolina earned a spot in the ACC semifinals as the Tar Heels finished nine shots behind Virginia in fourth place with a 1-over 865 total. After opening with a solid 5-under 283, North Carolina added a 4-over 292 in the second round before closing with a 2-over 290.

   The Tar Heels will be seeded fifth in the Auburn Regional at the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala.

   Perennial ACC power Duke finished a shot behind North Carolina in fifth place in the 12-team field at Porters Neck as the Blue Devils closed with a solid 7-under 281 to finish with a 2-over 866 total.

   Duke will join Virginia out west in the Cle Elum Regional, where the Blue Devils will be seeded second.

   One of the reasons Wake Forest has not suffered much of a dropoff this season has been the performance of its two freshman, Macy Pate, a home girl from Winston-Salem, N.C, and Brooke Rivers of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

   Both earned match-play wins in the Demon Deacons’ 3-1 victory over North Carolina in the semifinals. Pate claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Ing Iadpluem, a freshman from Thailand, and Rivers pulled out a 1-up decision over Kayla Smith, a fifth-year player from Burlington, N.C.

   Wake Forest’s other point came from Carolina Chacarra, a junior from Spain and No. 44 in the Women’s WAGR, as she captured a 3 and 2 victory over Inez Ng, a sophomore from Singapore.

   North Carolina’s full point came from Reagan Southerland, a freshman from Atlanta, Ga. who took a 4 and 3 decision over Mimi Rhodes, a senior from England.

   Kuehn’s match with Megan Streicher, a sophomore from South Africa, was abandoned after Wake Forest’s victory was assured.

   Rawl claimed a 4 and 3 victory over Jaclyn LaHa, a freshman from Pleasanton, Calif., in Clemson’s 3-2 semifinal victory over Virginia.

   The Tigers also got full points from Melena Barientos, a junior from Plano, Texas who edged Megan Propeck, a junior from Leawood, Kan., 2-up, and Sydney Roberts, a sophomore from Chesnee, S.C. who pulled out a 1-up decision over Rebecca Skoler, a senior from Needham, Mass.

   Sambach earned a point for Virginia with a 3 and 2 victory over Annabelle Pancake, a senior from Zionsville, Ind. Celeste Valinho, a graduate student from Jacksonville, Fla., picked up the other point for the Cavaliers, cruising to a 5 and 4 decision over Chloe Holder, a junior from Anderson, S.C.

   Chacarra backed up Kuehn in the 54 holes of stroke play as she added back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds to her opening round of 3-under 69 to finish in a tie for fifth place with a 5-under 211 total.

   Pate and Rivers, the two freshmen, were solid, finishing among a trio of players tied for 13^th place at 2-under 214. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Pate carded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the last two rounds. Rivers sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the second round with a pair of solid 3-under 69s.

   Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Rhodes, who matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish among a trio of players tied for 17^th place at even-par 216. Rhodes opened with a solid 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round.

   Kuehn, Chacarra and Rhodes were all in the lineup in Wake Forest’s victory over Southern California in the Final Match last spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Miami’s Sue Byrne, a senior from Ireland, has been solid all season for the Hurricanes and she finished alone in fourth place in the individual standings with a 6-under 210 total that left her a shot behind Sambach and Rawl. After opening with a 1-over 73, Byrne carded a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a sizzling 6-under 66, the best individual round of the tournament.

   Byrne and the Hurricanes will join North Carolina in the Auburn Regional, where Miami is seeded ninth.

   Joining Wake Forest’s Chacarra in the tie for fifth place at 6-under was North Carolina State’s Isabel Amezcu, a senior from Mexico who sandwiched a 71 in the second round with a pair of 2-under 70s.

   Amezcu and her N.C. State teammate Lauren Olivares Leon, a junior from Mexico, will compete as individuals in the Bermuda Run Regional.

   Olivares Leon was part of a trio of players tied for seventh place in the individual chase at Porters Neck at 4-under 212 as she added a 70 in the second round to her solid opening round of 3-under 69 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Joining Olivares Leon at 4-under were Florida State’s Mirabel Ting, a sophomore from Malaysia and No. 13 in the Women’s WAGR, and Virginia Tech’s Valentine Deion, a freshman from France.

   Ting bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 74 with a 2-under 70 before finishing strong with a 4-under 68.

   Florida State was playing without Lottie Woad, a sophomore from England who rose to No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR following her victory in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. While the ACC Championship was being contested, Woad was teeing up in the Chevron Championship, the LPGA Tour’s first major championship of the year. Woad made the cut and finished in a tie for 23^rd place while making her debut in a major professional championship.

   The Seminoles will be the four seed in the Las Vegas Regional at Spanish Trail Country Club.

   Florida State gave the ACC two teams in the match-play bracket at Grayhawk a year ago, the Seminoles falling to their ACC rival Wake Forest in the quarterfinals.

   Deion added a 71 in the second round to her opening round of 3-under 69 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Deion and Virginia Tech will join ACC rivals Virginia and Duke in the Cle Elum Regional in Washington. The Hokies are seeded eighth.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings at Porters Neck were three players tied for 10^th place at 3-under 213, including the Clemson pair of Pancake and Roberts and North Carolina’s Streicher.

   Pancake matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 2-under 70 before closing with a 71. Roberts matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a solid 4-under 68 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Streicher got off to a strong start, adding a 70 in the second round to her opening round of 3-under 69, before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Duke senior Phoebe Brinker, an Archmere Academy product, finished among the group tied for 20^th place with a 1-over 217 total. Brinker, winner of the ACC’s individual crown two years ago as a sophomore, followed up an opening round of 1-over 73 by matching par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   The Blue Devils’ standout freshman, Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J., finished among a trio of players tied for 35^th place in her first shot at the ACC Championship with a 5-over 221 total. Li, coming off a standout career as a junior player, struggled a little in the first two rounds, opening with a 4-over 76 and adding a 78 in the second round, but finished strong, tallying a sparkling 5-under 67.

   Three other ACC players – the Louisville pair of Carmen Griffiths, a junior from Scotland, and Hana Ryskova, a graduate student from the Czech Republic, and Notre Dame’s Lauren Beaudreau, a graduate student from Lemont, Ill., -- will compete as individuals in the East Lansing Regional, hosted by Michigan State at the Forest Akers West Course.

   Griffins finished in a tie for 38^th place in the ACC Championship with a 6-over 222 total, Ryskova landed in the group tied for 29^th with a 3-over 219 total and Beaudreau ended up among the group tied for 20^th with a 1-over 217 total.