At what Head Coach Justin Silverstein previously called the “premier collegiate golf course,” No. 2 USC women’s golf battled back from a slow start over the weekend to finish in third place — but their “biggest rival” still got the best of them.

After finishing the first round tied for ninth place, the Trojans shot back-to-back 277s to close the Stanford Intercollegiate Invitational, putting them four strokes behind No. 3 Oregon, which placed second. 

No. 8 Pepperdine, who finished in fourth place, shot 277 once, and Oregon did twice. The only team to shoot below that mark was No. 1 Stanford, the host and winner of the tournament, who did it in all three rounds to win by more than 20 strokes, 25 over USC. 

Out of 100 golfers, senior Catherine Park tied for second place, finishing with a score of 204. Sophomore Jasmine Koo placed first at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic in September, finished the tournament with a total score of 210, and tied for twelfth. 

The second round allowed the team to move up the rankings after its slow start, finishing the first round in ninth place. With a 7-under-par performance, the team ended the second round tied for seventh. Park led the team and moved up to third place on individual rankings at 5-under-par. 

She finished the third round with a score of 3-under-par, while Koo finished her third round with a score of 5-under-par. Sophomore Elise Lee placed seventh at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, scored even par and finished tied for 25th place to end with a total score of 213. Freshman Sarah Hammett, who finished 11th at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, scored 1-over-par and finished tied for 53rd place with a total score of 220.

Throughout the tournament, the Trojans seemed to thrive in shorter holes while struggling with longer ones. Out of the 19 teams in attendance, USC ranked second on par 3s — one of just two teams averaging below par — and fourth on par 4s, but fell to 11th on par 5s. 

The team’s long-game struggles extended to an individual level as well: Koo ranked second out of all 100 golfers on par 3s and eighth on par 4s, but placed near the bottom of the pack on par 5s at just 83rd.

Following the invite, USC held steady at its No. 2 ranking, behind only Stanford for the top spot in the country. The Trojans now hold three spots in the top 20 for individual golfers: Koo leads the team at No. 11 — thanks in large part to her tournament win at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic in September — followed closely behind by Park and Lee at No. 16 and 17, respectively.

Next up for women’s golf is a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, to play in the East Lake Cup from Oct. 27 to Oct 29.