Albane Valenzuela of Stanford sank a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole to win the individual title in the East Lake Cup by one stroke over Yu-Sang Hou of Arizona at East Lake Golf Club https://www.eastlakegolfclub.com/ in Atlanta.
That helped the Cardinal earn the top seed for match play that will determine the team champion in match play beginning on Tuesday.
Valenzuela, a junior from Switzerland, finished at 4-under-par 68, while Hou, who made a 17-foot birdie putt on the last hole, was second at 69.
“It had a couple good looks at the line (from players who putted before her) and that definitely helped (on her eagle),” said Valenzuela, who claimed the second victory of her Cardinal career and first since winning the NCAA West Regional title as a freshman. “I just kept it in the middle of the hole and hit it pretty hard.
“I just stayed very patient because I didn’t make anything for the first seven holes before making a good birdie on 8 that gave me some momentum. And then to make a birdie at 16 and an eagle at 18 was huge, obviously.”
Andrea Lee of Stanford, who won the East Lake individual title two years ago, shot 71 to tie for third with Malia Nam of USC, while Aline Krauter of Stanford totaled 72 to tie for fifth with Bianca Pagdanagan of Arizona.
Angelica Moresco of Alabama was seventh at 73, followed by Gabi Ruffels of USC at 74, while Ziyi Wang of Stanford finished at 75 to tie for ninth with Jennifer Chang of USC and Mika Liu of Stanford.
Stanford posted a score of 2-under 286, followed by USC at 296, Arizona at 299 and Alabama at 312.
In the semifinals, Stanford will play Alabama and USC will face Arizona.
Victor Hovland, of top-ranked Oklahoma State and Norway who is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, made an eagle on the 14th hole and claimed the men’s title with a score of 68, while Duke teammates Alex Smalley and Chandler Eaton tied for second at 69.
Davis Shore of Alabama shot 71 to tie for fourth with Adrien Pendaries of Duke and Austin Eckroat of Oklahoma State.
Jovan Rebula of Auburn was seventh at 72, followed by Matthew Wolff of Oklahoma State at 73, while Davis Riley of Alabama totaled 74 to tie for ninth with his Crimson Tide teammates Prescott Butler and Frankie Capan, plus Trace Crowe of Auburn.
Duke finished first in qualifying at 3-under 285, followed by Oklahoma State at 287, Alabama at 293 and Auburn at 286.
In the semifinals, Duke will take on Auburn, while Oklahoma State meets Alabama.
For complete results, visit http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=17411
