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Behind aces by Rachel Heck and Caroline Sturdza, the top-ranked Stanford women’s golf team built a five-stroke lead when play was suspended late in the second round of the Lamkin San Diego Invitational being held at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, on Monday.
Heck aced the par 3, 141-yard 14th hole in the morning round en route to a first-round 70. Rose Zhang, the world’s top female amateur who’s in search of her fourth consecutive individual title, and sophomore Sadie Englemann opened with 3-under rounds of 69 to lead the Cardinal to an 8-under first round of 280, which was seven shots clear of Arizona State and San Jose State.
In round two, Sturdza, a freshman from Geneva, Switzerland, aced the par-3, 181-yard fifth hole for the Cardinal’s second hole-in-one of the day.
🚨 HOLE IN ONE FOR CARO 🚨
An ace for Caroline Sturdza on the 181-yard fifth hole! Our second ace of the day!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/UBHFPGztN3
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) February 15, 2022
The Cardinal had not had a hole-in-one since April 8, 2019, a span of almost three years since Aline Krauter’s ace at the Silverado Showdown. Krauter is not in the Card’s lineup this week after participating in the LET’s Magical Kenya Ladies Open, where she made the cut.
After shooting an 8-under round in the morning, Stanford was 6-over on its second 18 when play was suspended due to darkness with the majority of the field still on the course. The second round will be completed on Tuesday morning followed by final round action.
Emma Spitz of UCLA managed to complete both of her rounds and at 4-under 140 (72-68) is the leader in the clubhouse. Natasha Andrea Oon of San Jose State is 3-under for the tournament with one hole remaining on her second round, while Bentley Cotton of Texas and Ashley Menne of Arizona State are in the clubhouse at 2-under 142.
In addition to top-ranked Stanford, the Lamkin Invitational field features nine teams ranked inside the Golfweek/Sagarin Top-25, including No. 4 Oregon, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 San Jose State, No, 15 UCLA, No. 16 USC, No. 17 and defending NCAA champion Ole Miss and No. 23 Arizona.
