Stanford Intercollegiate takes center stage this weekend

October 14, 2021 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Rachel Heck (L) and Stanford head coach Anne Walker. (Stanford Athletics)

Nine of the top-25 teams in the nation converge at Stanford Golf Course, in Palo Alto, California

After opening the fall season with wins at The Molly Intercollegiate and Windy City Collegiate, the second-ranked Stanford women’s golf team will play a home game this weekend as it welcomes eight of the top-25 teams in the nation to The Farm for the Stanford Intercollegiate.

The three-day, 54-hole event, hosted by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, gets underway on Friday morning at Stanford Golf Course.

The Cardinal will look to defend its home turf against one of the strongest fields of the fall, which includes No. 5 Oregon, No. 8 Texas, No. 15 UCLA, No. 16 Arizona, No. 17 Georgia, No. 18 San Jose State, No. 19 Arizona State and No. 25 Iowa State. Rounding out the field will be California, Colorado, Northwestern, Oregon State, Pepperdine, UC Davis, USC, Washington and Washington State.

"We are thrilled to welcome a deep and talented field to this weekend's Stanford Intercollegiate,” said Stanford head coach Anne Walker. “We are always so appreciative to have Dr. Condoleezza Rice host this event and provide a first-class experience to each of the competitors. It is a unique opportunity for our team to compete in front of their family and friends at their home course. The Stanford Golf Course is a first-class facility and welcoming eight of the top-25 teams is exciting for the entire Stanford community."

The individual field resonates with mega-watt star power.

Stanford features the top two female amateurs in the world in No. 1 Rose Zhang, winner of the 2020 Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior championship in July, and No. 2 Rachel Heck, last year’s ANNIKA Award winner whose six wins as a freshman included the NCAA individual championship.

The Cardinal’s talented squad also features senior Aline Krauter, the 2020 R&A Women’s Amateur champion who has opened the season with back-to-back top-10 finishes, Angelina Ye, a two-time All-American who won this event as a freshman in 2019, and freshman Caroline Sturdza of Switzerland.

"I've been really pleased with how the whole team has approached the beginning of the season,” said Walker. “Rose has dominated the headlines with her two wins, but I am proud of the entire team for the way they have played to earn the two team victories. Aline's leadership as a senior has been important for some of the young golfers who are learning how to deal with not only a fall schedule for the first time, but also a golf schedule while taking in-person classes. She has earned two Top 10s and her game looks poised to be in contention every week.”

Excited to tee it up this weekend at the Stanford Intercollegiate! We hope to see you at Stanford Golf Course to cheer us on!#GoStanford
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) October 14, 2021

Oregon and its talented sophomore Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu won the Mason Rudolph Championships in dominating fashion in September, which helped the Ducks rise to fifth in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll, the program’s highest ranking ever. Lu signed with Oregon as the highest-ranked player coming out of Asia in 2020 and is the top-ranked recruit in the program’s history.

Georgia’s Jenny Bae, who advanced to the final 16 of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in August, won three times during the summer, including the Georgia Women’s Amateur and the Georgia Women’s Open in the same week. She also claimed medalist honors at a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier at Woodmont Golf and Country Club in Canton, Ga.

Arizona’s Vivian Hou was runner-up to Jensen Castle at the U.S. Women’s Amateur in August. On her bag at Westchester Country Club was her sister, Yu-Sang Hou, an All-Pac-12 selection who has helped the Wildcats to the semifinals of match play of the NCAA Championships in 2018, ’19 and ’21.

UCLA’s Emma Spitz finished second to Stanford’s Heck at last year’s NCAA Championships at Grayhawk while Bruin teammate Annabel Wilson of Northern Ireland was part of the Great Britain & Ireland team at this year’s Curtis Cup Match. Redshirt freshman Alessia Nobilio has back-to-back top-five finishes to start her collegiate career, placing fifth at The Molly Intercollegiate and second at the Blessings Collegiate.

The Bruins always seem to play well at Stanford Golf Course, winning five team championships on the venerable layout over the last 18 years, including back-to-back Stanford Intercollegiate titles in 2016 and ’17. UCLA has also achieved five individual tournament titles at Stanford.

AmateurGolf.com will have daily coverage of the Stanford Intercollegiate beginning on Friday.

Stanford and UCLA Athletics Communications contributed to this report.

About the Condoleezza Rice Intercollegiate

Stanford Intercollegiate takes center stage this weekend

54-hole women's college event hosted by Stanford University. Team (best four scores out of five players each round) and individual competitions.

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