After a two-week hiatus, Stanford women’s golf will travel to the Arizona desert to compete in the Ping ASU Invitational at Papago Golf Club. The tournament’s 15-team field includes several of the top programs in the country and will be the best test thus far for the Cardinal.
Stanford’s starting lineup will consist of junior Aline Krauter, sophomores Brooke Seay and Angelina Ye and freshmen Rachel Heck and Sadie Englemann. Freshman Rebecca Becht will also compete in the tournament as an individual.
In early season play, the Cardinal has been nothing short of dominant. In two major tournaments and one competitive match, Stanford has only lost to a single opponent: Washington at the Juli Inkster Invitational.
Heck and Englemann hold the two lowest scoring averages on the team this season.
Heck was brilliant in her collegiate debut at the Gunrock Invitational, shooting 11-under-par for the three days to grab the individual title and propel the Cardinal to a 54-hole program record. She followed up her performance in Sacramento with a strong showing at the Juli Inkster Invitational, hanging around the lead for two days before eventually finishing in a tie for 11th. Englemann has not posted a round above 76 all year, and her consistent play has carried her to two top-10 finishes.
Seay might be the most improved Cardinal golfer this year. In her sophomore season, Seay has dropped her scoring average over three strokes to 72.25. At the Gunrock Invitational, she earned her second career top-five finish with rounds of 71, 67 and 71.
Krauter comes into the tournament as the only Stanford golfer with experience at the Ping ASU Invitational. In 2019, as a freshman, she posted rounds of 75, 73 and 72 to sneak into the top 30. Consistency has been the key to Krauter’s performance; she hasn’t finished worse than 11th place all season.
The strong Ping ASU Invitational field includes Pac-12 rivals Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA and Washington State. The host team, Arizona State, comes into the competition fresh off back-to-back tournament wins. This week marks the first time the Cardinal will face off against the Sun Devils.
Stanford is set to tee off early Friday morning in Phoenix.