After moving up into seventh following Wednesday’s second round, the 12th-seeded Stanford women’s golf team slipped out of the top 10 on Thursday, finding itself in 14th at the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal turned in the third-worst Thursday score in the 24-squad field, posting a 14-over 294 at the Tulsa Country Club. In the individual competition, sophomore Lauren Kim is in a three-way tie for third, with classmate Mariah Stackhouse now sitting outside the top 25 in a tie for 27th.
The third round began incredibly well for Anne Walker’s quintet, which vaulted into a tie for third by virtue of completing its first nine holes with a cumulative 1-over score. Stanford was particularly successful on the par-5 16th hole, recording two eagles, two birdies and a par. However, the group was unable to sustain its torrid pace in the latter half of the round, shooting 13-over and tumbling down the team leaderboard. Kim, who took the individual lead with a birdie on the par-4 18th, went 3-over on her back nine, with three bogeys and a double bogey dragging down her performance. Nevertheless, Kim is still within striking distance of the leaders and sits only three strokes back.
Stackhouse was unable to replicate her strong second round, posting three bogeys on the six par-4s on the back nine en route to a 4-over 74. Her T-27th position is ahead of her 29th-place finish at last year’s championships. If the statistics are any indication, Stackhouse should finish strong in today’s final round, given her 72.42 final round scoring average this season.
The core of the Cardinal’s issues in Tulsa, however, has been their inability to produce solid third and fourth scores. Freshman Casey Danielson—who showed incredible promise during the spring season and certainly has a bright future on the Farm—has not played up to her potential with rounds of 79-72-74. In addition, although senior Marissa Mar has improved her score with each successive day, she is currently tied for 116th in the 126-woman field. Finally, junior Mariko Tumangan is still mired in a slump, in which she has not cracked the top 30 in any spring event.
Today’s final round begins at 5 a.m., with Stanford teeing off between 5:55 and 6:39. Live scoring is available on NCAA.com.