Buffs Move Into Tie For 13th At Stanford Intercollegiate

STANFORD, Calif. – The University of Colorado women's golf team moved up and into a tie for 13th on Saturday at the Stanford Intercollegiate while junior Ellie Gower also moved into the top five and is tied for fourth (69-69—138) heading into the third round.   
 
"After a couple of hiccups starting today, we were making a nice comeback on our second nine," head coach Anne Kelly said. "Unfortunately we had a couple of bad holes by our counters that hurt. Ellie Gower continues her strong play and was very patient after a mediocre start to her round. She is a determined competitor and continues to make big strides with her game. Hopefully tomorrow we can get all five players going and move up in the standings."
 
Stanford shot a 10-under during the second round to stay in command of its own tournament, increasing its lead to 20 strokes. The Cardinal is now 21-over (273-274—547) through the first two rounds. Oregon moved up three spots and is second at 1-under (567), San Jose State is third (568).
 
The Buffaloes recorded a nine-stroke improvement on Saturday, carding a 293 at the 6,269-yard, par 71 Stanford Golf Course. They are currently 27-over and are tied with Iowa State and Pepperdine.
 
Gower remained the bright spot for the Buffs as she fired her second straight 2-under 69 on the course. Those two rounds in the 60s tie a CU program record for the most rounds in the 60s in a tournament, which has only been done four times. It also ties for second for the most consecutive rounds in the 60s (two), which has been done six times prior.
 
Gower and her teammates all started on the back nine Saturday. She made par on the first two holes before she recorded a pair of bogeys on No. 12 and 13. Then she collected herself and made par on the following four holes before finishing the back nine with a birdie. Her front nine was solid. She made par on six of the nine holes and on the three holes she did not par, she recorded birdies, including on the final hole which helped to move her up into a tie for fourth.
 
Lauren Gooding and Malak Bouraeda are tied for 73rd as both have recorded a 156 through two rounds and both saw improvements in the second round.
 
The biggest improvement for the Buffs came from Gooding, who cut 12 strokes off her first round total (84) to shoot a 1-over 72. She recorded a double on the first hole of the day (No. 10), but made par on the second hole. Then on the third hole, she carded the third eagle of her season to bring her score to even, which is where she would stay for the rest of the back nine. Gooding started the front nine with a birdie and then made par on three straight holes before recording back-to-back bogeys on No. 5 and 6, putting her back at 1-over. She finished the round making par on the final three holes.
 
Bouraeda, except for two holes, would play an even round. She sank four birdies which would offset her four bogeys. But she had two holes that gave her a bit of trouble, including the first of the day (No. 10). She started her round with a double bogey, putting her 2-over to start, and had a triple bogey on No. 8, which put her at 5-over for the day. But after all was said and done, it was still a four-stroke improvement from the first round.
 
Natalie Vo shot a 5-over 76 with three birdies and eight pars. She is currently tied for 67th and is 12-over. Hailey Schalk was 9-over in the second round with two birdies and seven pars. She is tied for 70th (155).
 
Stanford's Rose Zhang shot her second straight 6-under (65) to stay in the lead at 12-under (130) with one round remaining. Sara Kouskova (Texas) is five stroke back (135) for second and Alessia Nobilio (UCLA) is seven back from Zhang for third. There is a four-way tie for fourth, which includes CU's Gower at 4-under (138).
 
The third and final round will be played Sunday, October 17. It is a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. MT (8:30 a.m. PT).
 
NOTES: Ellie Gower's 69 in the second round tied her first round score from Friday, which is tied for the ninth-lowest 18-hole score on a par-71 course for the Buffs … her 138 through 36 holes is tied for the seventh-lowest 36-hole score in program history … it is the lowest score recorded since October 12, 2019, when Kirsty Hodgkins carded a 138 at the Betsy Rawls Invitational … before the Stanford Intercollegiate, Gower did not have a round in the 60s for the Buffaloes; now she has two … Lauren Gooding now has three eagles this season through three tournaments.