At the Lamkin Invitational, two perfect seasons came to an end. Stanford fell to San Jose State by three strokes in a cold and rainy final round at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, after winning all four tournaments in the fall.
Similarly, top-ranked Rose Zhang, who won all three events she competed in as a freshman for the Cardinal last autumn, shot 75 and lost her first college tournament against classmate Rachel Heck, the College Player of the Year the previous year.
San Jose State made a statement with four players finishing in the top 15 spots.placed 13th heading into the spring season. San Jose State’s final-round 293 was six strokes better than the rest of the field. Arizona State came in third, 11 strokes behind the leaders.
The photo you have been waiting for all day!#SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/BNvBxzWSzX
— San Jose State Women's Golf (@SanJoseStWGOLF) February 15, 2022
Heck dunked an ace on the fourth hole of the day on Monday, playing a 6-iron on the 141-yard 14th. Stanford has two aces on the first day of play. In the second round, Caroline Sturdza aced the 181-year fifth hole, her 30th of the day.
When the second round was delayed on Monday evening, the Cardinal had a five-stroke advantage over San Jose State.
With a third-place finish, Malaysian senior Natasha Andrea Oon led the Spartans to victory. She was one of just three players who finished the tournament with a score of less than par. In the fall, San Jose State had three runner-up finishes as a team.
Congrats @rachelheck2020!
The individual medalist at the Lamkin Invitational and her SEVENTH collegiate win in the last 350 days.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/i7gFXIHzFv
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) February 15, 2022
Heck won by three strokes over the field with a 4-under 68, the best round of the day, and her seventh collegiate win in 350 days. She’s currently only two victories away from Andrea Lee’s school-record nine. In the first five events of the season, Stanford has had four individual champions, with Zhang winning three of them.
