Feb. 25, 2013

Cal Classic Round 1

PLEASANTON, Calif. - Stanford is tied for second at 10-over-par 298, after the opening round on Monday afternoon at the Cal Classic at the Ruby Hill Golf Club.

The Cardinal managed a 10-over-par deficit heading into the round. In the final nine holes, Stanford balanced a mix of birdies, pars, and bogeys to remain in contention of the title.

"It was really just the first three holes that were rough for us," said Anne Walker, Stanford's Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf. "We made some bad errors on those, but after that we played 15 holes of very solid golf."

Under ideal weather conditions and hard greens, all 11 teams shot over par in the first round with Arizona State in the lead at 296, two strokes ahead of the Cardinal.

Freshman Lauren Kim led Stanford at one-over-par 73. After three bogeys in the front nine, Kim came back with three birdies and a single bogey to tie for seventh.

"I felt like I was playing in a haze in the front nine," said Kim who birdied the 13th, 16th, and 18th holes. "The putts weren't dropping and I was too relaxed. Then in the back nine, I focused better and was really grinding it out there."

Close behind was freshman Mariah Stackhouse who had four birdies and six bogeys for 74. Stackhouse is tied for 10th.

Junior Danielle Frasier went three over to tie for 13th while sophomore Mariko Tumangan tied for 17th at four over. Sally Watson, a senior, carded a 78 to tie for 28th.

"It takes a lot of patience and belief to recover from a bad start," said Walker. "We showed that today and I believe that is a unique, but invaluable, quality for us."

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