Stanford wins the last Pac-12 Championship in record setting fashion
Stanford won the final Pac-12 Championship. (WSU Atheltics)
Stanford is the Pac-12 Women’s champion for the first time since 2014 with a score of 28-under par, holding off USC by eight shots at Palouse Ridge CC in Pullman, Washington.
It’s a bittersweet victory as the Pac-12 will no longer exist after conference realignment. Stanford has made a habit of rewriting the record books, and they did it one last time this week, shattering the scoring record at the Pac-12 Championship, which USC set in 2016 at 18-under. Stanford finished the tournament an impressive 28-under, shooting a team score of 836.
Incredibly, runner-up USC also broke the old Pac-12 scoring record, as they shot 20-under this week.
Stanford can point to its first day as a big reason it won the conference championship. On a blustery, windy day, the Cardinal posted the only under-par score as a team. This gave them a twelve-shot lead over USC, and USC couldn’t close the gap over the next two days.
"This was a whole team effort! Each player was an integral part of this title over the course of the three days," said coach Anne Walker. "Our strength is our depth and that was fully on display this week. Very honored to bring the final Pac-12 Championship trophy back to campus! And the performance from our sophomore class was outstanding; Stanford golf is in good hands with these young women."
It was the third victory this year for Stanford, and all of them came in wire-to-wire fashion.
Catherine Park of USC did her best to help the Trojans catch Stanford, firing a 64 in the second round and a 67 in the third round. Her 8-under 64 set the scoring record, and Charlotte Back of Arizona matched the score in the second round, too.
Park is currently ranked No. 14 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings. She is coming off a co-medalist finish at the Silverado Showdown.
Kelly Xu was a huge piece of the Cardinal’s closing kick on the final day, and they needed her 7-under 65 for some insurance. The 7-under 65 was the lowest score by any Stanford player this year. The other counting scorers for Stanford were Sadie Englemann (69), Megha Ganne (71), and Rachel Heck (71). All five Stanford golfers finished in the top 20.
Xu’s total 10-under par locked up her second career runner-up finish in the individual portion of the event.
Park was five shots better than Xu after shooting 70-64-67. U.S. Girls Junior champion Kiara Romero leapfrogged up the leaderboard with a final round 65 to finish 9-under par and in third place. Brianna Navarrosa and Megha Ganne tied for fourth place.
The Regional Selection Show will be on Wednesday, April 24. It will air on the Golf Channel at 2 pm EST.
ABOUT THE
Pac-12 Women's Championship
54-hole stroke-play to decide the champion of the
Pacific Athletic Conference. Team (best four scores
out
of five players each round) and individual
competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information