The No. 1 Stanford women’s golf team closed out the fall season with a victory at the Pac-12 Preview at Nanea Golf Club in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. This victory rounds out a perfect fall for the team, making a strong statement as they hope to claim a second-straight NCAA title this upcoming spring. Sophomore Rose Zhang, who won her second consecutive Pac-12 Player of the Month, led the Cardinal with 11-under, claiming the seventh individual title of her young career and third this fall.
Following victories at the Carmel Cup, the Stephens Cup and the Stanford Intercollegiate, Stanford came in as the clear favorite amidst a strong field, including five teams in the top 25 — No. 6 Oregon, No. 11 USC, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 University of Arizona and No. 18 UCLA. Along with Zhang, senior Brooke Seay, junior Sadie Englemann, sophomore Caroline Sturdza and freshman Megha Ganne competed for Stanford.
The Cardinal were strong from the start. On day one, Zhang carded a bogey-free 6-under. Seay also got off to a hot start with four birdies in the first six holes. She eventually cooled off, picking up another birdie and a bogey to end the day at 4-under. Ganne shot a 2-under-71. Englemann, who was recently named with teammates Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck to the Annika Award fall final list, earned a 1-under-par. Meanwhile, Sturdza was 4-over-par. The team’s 13-under was four strokes behind Arizona State.
On the second day, the players battled strong winds. Zhang showed her composure, shooting 3-under. Tailing Zhang was Ganne, who shot 1-under. Meanwhile, Seay was 1-over, Englemann shot 2-over and Sturdza was 8-over. With the difficult conditions, the team’s 1-under propelled them to first — nine strokes clear of Oregon.
On the final day, the Cardinal solidified their victory, shooting 4-under. Zhang led the team with a 2-under, Ganne and Englemann shot matching 72s, Seay shot an even 73 and Sturdza carded a 76. The team’s overall 18-under was ten strokes clear of the closest competitor.
With her seventh career victory, Zhang has now won half of the Stanford events she has competed in. She becomes the fourth-most winning player in Stanford’s history — only two wins behind the school record, which is held by Andrea Lee ’20 with nine wins.
Ganne tied for seventh — her second top 10 finish of the fall. Seay finished 10th — her best finish of the season. Englemann was tied for 11th, rounding out a strong fall with four top-15 finishes.
While the team now enters their offseason, they will continue their campaign for back-to-back national championships on Feb. 13 at the Northrop Grumman Regional championship in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.