NCAA WGOLF: Stanford takes lead in stroke play

The Pac-12 sent six schools to The Concession Golf Course in Bradenton, Fla. to compete in the NCAA Women's Golf Championships.

The event will run on a new format this year; 24 teams and 12 individual players will go through four rounds of stroke play over the weekend. That group will be chiseled down to 15 teams and nine individuals, who will take on another round of stroke play to determine the individual champion and which teams will compete in the match-play round on Wednesday. Stanford etched its name as the early leader after Friday's first round was cut short due to lightning delays.

Four Cardinal recorded birdies and Stanford ended the day 3-over through 11 holes, led by Mariah Stackhouse at 4-under. The 2014 champions Duke University is at a close second, holding down a 5-over score, followed by Baylor at 7-over.

The round will resume Saturday.

USC is sitting in fourth with 297 strokes and Arizona is a close fifth with 300 strokes.

Arizona's Wanasa Zhou won the NCAA Elite 89 Award, recognizing the golfer's academic and athletic achievements. The accounting major has a 4.0 GPA. California is at a distant 16th, finishing the day at 21-over. UCLA sits last with 319 strokes.

The Pac-12 sent three individuals to Friday's event. Oregon State's Anica Yoo finished the day at 2-over. Arizona State's Monic Vaughn finished with 75 strokes and WSU's Alivia Brown finished 12-over.