05-28-2024, 11:41 PM
A little late to this party, but happy for the women's golf team and their many fans on this site, and particularly for Rachel Heck, who overcame so much just to be there (including having a rib taken out last year for thoracic outlet syndrome) and her poignant blog about why she is not turning pro (https://nolayingup.com/blog/why-im-remaining-an-amateur).
I mean, how cool is it that her last putt clinched Stanford a National title?
A few other miscellanea:
Stanford won the Pac-12 title, its regional, the stroke play portion (tied, but had the tiebreaker) and the match play. To win a national title, you have to be both good and a little bit lucky, especially in match play, and Stanford was very good and a little bit lucky.
How about Kelly Xu, who went 3-0 in match play, and won each match decisively (4&2 in the quarters, 3&2 in the semis, and 4&3 in the finals)! By my count, across three matches, she only lost 7 holes!
In addition to Xu, Ganne went 2-0 (and was leading her unfinished match by 2 holes with 3 to play), Heck and Engleman went 2-1. Only Martin Sanpedro struggled in the match play, ending 0-1 with 2 unfinished matches (one in which she was down 3 with 3 to play, the other one she was tied). But Martin Sanpedro finished 3rd in stroke play and was instrumental in winning the stroke play tournament.
Overall, we went a pretty incredible 9-3 in match play, with 3 unfinished matches (in which we were leading in 1, all square in 1 and trailing in 1).
As much as luck is a factor in match play, this team did its darnedest to minimize it. I don't think Stanford trailed the championship match after Ganne took the 5th hole, and we had a 2+ hole cushion for the entire back 9 of 3 of the contests. Epic comebacks late happen (eg Mariah Stackhouse), but Xu, Ganne, and Heck were very much in control of their matches.
So again, congratulations to the women golfers.
BC
Quote:It’s hard to imagine how it will feel to put my clubs away at the end of the season. How will it feel to stand over my last putt? How will I feel waving back to my teammates one last time? I still look forward to playing amateur events and, hopefully, many more USGA Championships. However, it will be undeniably different. Taking a step away from the game that has given me everything has been a gut-wrenching decision. To say golf has given me the most incredible memories is to minimize the experiences I ask God every day why I deserve.
I mean, how cool is it that her last putt clinched Stanford a National title?
A few other miscellanea:
Stanford won the Pac-12 title, its regional, the stroke play portion (tied, but had the tiebreaker) and the match play. To win a national title, you have to be both good and a little bit lucky, especially in match play, and Stanford was very good and a little bit lucky.
How about Kelly Xu, who went 3-0 in match play, and won each match decisively (4&2 in the quarters, 3&2 in the semis, and 4&3 in the finals)! By my count, across three matches, she only lost 7 holes!
In addition to Xu, Ganne went 2-0 (and was leading her unfinished match by 2 holes with 3 to play), Heck and Engleman went 2-1. Only Martin Sanpedro struggled in the match play, ending 0-1 with 2 unfinished matches (one in which she was down 3 with 3 to play, the other one she was tied). But Martin Sanpedro finished 3rd in stroke play and was instrumental in winning the stroke play tournament.
Overall, we went a pretty incredible 9-3 in match play, with 3 unfinished matches (in which we were leading in 1, all square in 1 and trailing in 1).
As much as luck is a factor in match play, this team did its darnedest to minimize it. I don't think Stanford trailed the championship match after Ganne took the 5th hole, and we had a 2+ hole cushion for the entire back 9 of 3 of the contests. Epic comebacks late happen (eg Mariah Stackhouse), but Xu, Ganne, and Heck were very much in control of their matches.
So again, congratulations to the women golfers.
BC