STANFORD, Calif. — Fifth-year senior Ching-Tzu Chen shot a 1-under 70 and freshman Kiara Romero was right behind with an even-par 71 to lead the Oregon women’s golf team on Friday in the opening round of the Stanford Intercollegiate at Stanford Golf Course.
Chen picked up where she left off after a top-five finish at the Windy City Classic the last time out, posting her fourth straight round of par-or-better. Romero continued her stellar start to her career, improving to 10-for-10 on par-or-better rounds so far as a Duck.
The No. 4 Ducks closed day one with a 12-over 296 to sit in 14th place in the 19-team field. No. 7 UCLA currently leads the field at 10-under par.
How it Happened: The Ducks started their day on the back nine, and Chen was 2 over through eight holes before making birdie at No. 18. She kept that momentum going onto the front nine with birdies at No. 2 and No. 4, and she bounced back from a bogey at No. 5 with a birdie at No. 7 to get back under par.
Chen is tied for 10th overall at 1-under par, with UCLA’s Zoe Campos holding the individual lead at 6 under.
Romero faced more adversity than she has to this point in her career, opening her day with a double bogey at No. 10. But the star freshman immediately responded with a birdie at No. 12, and added another on the 18th after making bogey on No. 17. Romero got back to even with a birdie on her first hole after the turn, and offset a bogey with a birdie at No. 7 to remain at even.
Freshman Ting-Hsuan (Tiffany) Huang carded a 5-over 76 in her Duck debut, while senior Ashleigh Park and junior Baylee Hammericksen each came in at 8 over.
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
14. Oregon – 296 (+12)
T10. Ching-Tzu Chen – 70 (-1)
T26. Kiara Romero – 71 (E)
T72. Ting-Hsuan (Tiffany) Huang – 76 (+5)
T89. Baylee Hammericksen – 79 (+8)
T89. Ashleigh Park – 79 (+8)
Notable: The Ducks are playing without two-time all-American Briana Chacon and senior Minori Nagano, who are both currently competing in the second stage of LPGA Q-School … Chen and Romero each had four birdies to lead the team … Chen now has 294 career birdies, six away from becoming the seventh Duck ever to reach 300 in a career.
Up Next: Oregon will look to move up the leaderboard during Saturday’s second round.
