Stanford and
Rose Zhang are still batting a 1.000 on the young season as the Cardinal and the world's top-ranked female amateur were victorious at the Windy City Collegiate held at Westmoreland Country Club outside of Chicago.
In a field that featured nine of Golfweek's top-16 teams, the 14th-ranked Cardinal won the team title with a score of 14-over 878, good for an eight-stroke victory over No. 10 Virginia which finished at 22-over 886 for the 54-hole event. No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Duke, No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Texas, and No. 16 USC were also a part of a loaded field.
One week after winning her collegiate debut at The Molly Intercollegiate in Seaside, Calif., Zhang picked up her second individual title in as many tries, finishing at 4-under 212 to earn a one-stroke victory over Jackie Lucena of Florida. Zhang fired 2-under 70 on Tuesday to clip Lucena, who played her first two seasons at UC Davis before transferring to Florida.
With her 70 on Tuesday, the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur champion has shot under par in three of her six rounds to open her collegiate career and five of the six have been even par or better.
Joining Zhang in the top-10 was senior
Aline Krauter, the 2020 R&A Women's Amateur champion who fired 74-72-74 to finish tied for seventh. It is Krauter's 10th career Top-10 finish and her 17th career top-20.
Angelina Ye (t-22) and
Rachel Heck (t-38) both made their season debuts for the Cardinal, while freshman Caroline Sturda finished tied for 42nd.
The win is Stanford's seventh in a multi-day, stroke play event in the calendar year and the eighth consecutive tournament where a Cardinal player has won the individual title. Heck closed out last season winning the last six events, including the NCAA individual championship, while Zhang has won her first two events this season.
Day One Recap; Oct. 4
The Heck-Zhang Era of Stanford women's golf officially began on Monday at the Windy City Collegiate being held at Westmoreland Country Club outside of Chicago.
Joining forces for the first time as collegians, the two top-ranked women's amateurs in the world helped Stanford to a 7-over score of 583 and the clubhouse lead when play was suspended early Monday evening.
Behind rounds of 72-70 by Zhang, the Cardinal was two strokes ahead of Texas when play was halted. Florida sits in third place, nine strokes off the pace.
Zhang, who won her collegiate debut last week at the Molly Intercollegiate, is the leader in the clubhouse at 2-under 142 after rounds of 72-70 on Monday. Bohyun Park of Texas was 4-under for the tournament when play was suspended.
Heck, who won last year's NCAA individual title as a freshman, opened her sophomore season with an even-par 72 but struggled to an 81 in the afternoon.
Senior Aline Krauter, the 2020 R&A Women's Amateur champion, is tied for sixth at 2-over. Freshman Caroline Sturdza bounced back from opening round 81 to record an even-par 72 in the second round and help catapult the Cardinal to the top of the leaderboard.
The 15-team field at the Windy City Classic includes nine squads that are ranked in the top 25 of the latest Division I WGCA Coaches poll (Sept. 17).
The Windy City Classic will resume second-round play at 7:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 5. The third and final round will begin immediately following the end of the second round.
ABOUT THE Windy City Collegiate
54-hole women's college event hosted by
Northwestern University. Team (best four scores out of
five players each round) and individual competitions.
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