Lauren Kim aced Trysting Tree Golf Club’s par-3, 154-yard 13th Saturday in Corvallis while leading Stanford with a 1-under 71 at the Pac-12 Conference Championships in Corvallis, Ore.
Kim shot four strokes better than her Friday round and is tied for 12th overall with Mariah Stackhouse and Marissa Mar at 2-over through 36 holes.
Third-place Stanford (577) is four shots behind leader UCLA and three back from second-place Arizona heading into Sunday’s final round. The Cardinal is 1-over for the tournament after its 3-over 291 in the second round.
“We played pretty well and most of our bogeys came during a storm that passed on holes 16 and 17,” Stanford coach Anne Walker said. “The winds and rain made it very challenging. Overall, I’m very pleased with our play thus far. We have a chance to win, and that’s all we can ask for.”
A cold wind provided an extra challenge as the greens ran fast, and Kim’s ace was above and beyond the highlight of the day.
Kim used a 6-iron that landed to the right of the 13th green, bounced past the hole and used a far-side slope to roll back into the cup. She went to 3-under after the ace and picked up two bogeys when the storm found itself over the course.
“I’m happy with how I played in the tough weather conditions,” Kim said. “I hit it much better than yesterday and eliminated the three-putts that caused me problems. Our team has been consistent, and we’ll find ourselves in a good position at the end if we keep the momentum heading into tomorrow.”
Stackhouse was 3-over on the day with Mar contributing an even-par 72.
Casey Danielson added a 73 and is tied for 21st. Her first birdie came on 16 after standing at 2-over.
Mariko Tumangan followed her clubhouse-leading 67 with an 81 while falling into a tie for 23rd.
Men’s golf
First-place Stanford extended its lead to 21 shots at the Pac-12 Conference Championships after a 7-over 367 during the third round of the event at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz.
The Cardinal will head into Sunday’s final round at 3-over in front of Cal’s 24-over. Washington is third at 27-over.
Battling a variety of conditions that featured cool temperatures and high winds in the morning, mid-afternoon rain and finishing under sunny skies, the Cardinal was paced by Maverick McNealy’s even-par 72. McNealy was 2-over heading into the turn and sank birdies on 12 and 14 to get back to even.
McNealy overcame a shaky start that included bogeys on three of the first five holes. He slid in a birdie on three during that stretch by sinking a 26-foot putt.
McNealy hit 15 greens and relied on his putter to do the deed, holing an 18-footer on five and a 14-footer to end his round with a par on 18.
“The putter was feeling good today,” McNealy said. “I missed a lot of putts yesterday and worked on a few things before today’s round to change that. We’ve been prepared very well for this. I got over my nerves after the first couple of holes yesterday. Playing with Cal and Washington made it a big day today. We did what we wanted to do by extending our lead, and we’d like to do that again tomorrow.”
Patrick Rodgers leads all players at 7-under following Saturday’s 73, five strokes ahead of USC’s Paul Smith.
Following Friday’s second round that was suspended due to darkness, Rodgers needed to complete his final two holes Saturday morning before beginning the third round of competition. He went eagle-par to complete the second round with a 7-under 65.
Cameron Wilson chipped in on two for an eagle and went to 3-under with a birdie on four. Bogeys on four of the next five holes put him at 1-over through nine.
Wilson birdied the par-4 10th before finishing at 1-over on the day. He is even for the tournament and tied for fourth.
Viraat Badhwar shot a 78 to move to 11th and David Boote was solid with a 74. Boote stood at 4-over but birdied 13 and 17 for his 2-over.
Jim Liu added a 3-over 75.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics