KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — A perfect fall season closed out in a perfect way on Wednesday for the top-ranked Stanford Cardinal. The Nanea Invitational finished Stanford-heavy at the top, with the Cardinal winning the tournament, having the individual champion, and a trio of golfers land in the top four.
With the win, Stanford runs its tournament winning streak to six, the longest in program history. Stanford’s previous longest winning streak was five, which it did around its 2022 national championship and into the start of the 2022-23 season. It is also the longest active streak in the country.
The Cardinal cruised through the final round of the tournament, winning by nine strokes. Entering the third round with a three-stroke lead, Stanford added eight birdies on the first two holes of the tournament alone, with the lead getting to as many as nine strokes on the front nine before pushing it to double-digits later in the morning. Arizona State settled into second place, nine strokes behind the Card. Texas and San Jose State rounded out the top-four as the only other teams to finish the tournament under par.
It was one of the best tournaments in Stanford history. The Card finished 26-under as a team, which is tied for the sixth lowest under par Stanford has finished a tournament, and the best team finish on a par-73.
Coming on strong in the waning holes, a trio of Cardinal were in contention for the win. Megha Ganne had been there all week long, but Kelly Xu and Meja Ortengren made their mark on the back nine. Ganne birdied on 13 to pull into a share of first, while Xu joined her in first on the other side of the course with a birdie on four. When Xu dropped a stroke, Ortengren picked up birdies on 16 and 18 to tie for the lead.
Ortengren was the first to finish, with a par on the first hole to cap off a 4-under 69, her third round in the 60s this month. She then had to play the waiting game as Ganne, Xu and others wrapped their rounds. Ganne put the rest of the field on ice with her 18th hole, closing out the round exactly as she did each of the previous two days: a birdie. That dropped Ganne to a 2-under 71 and 9-under for the week, alone in first place.
One hole before, Farah O’Keefe of Texas bogeyed, which put Ganne in position to secure the win with that birdie on 18. It wrapped up the second collegiate win of her career, becoming the 11th Cardinal to win multiple collegiate tournaments in her career.
Ortengren settles for a share of second, the best finish of her collegiate career, with an 8-under performance for the week. Xu, competing as an individual, ties for fourth with a 7-under overall.
Stanford will head into the winter hiatus and await its return to action on February 10-11 with the San Diego State Classic. The spring portion of the schedule features three tournaments, one match play, and then postseason play beginning in April. The Card will be in the Bay Area during the annual Battle of the Bay (Feb. 25) and the Juli Inkster Invitational (Mar. 3-4).
Nanea Invitational (Nanea Golf Club, par 73)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 279 (-13) | 287 (-5) | 284 (-8) | 850 (-26) |
| 1. Megha Ganne | 67 (-6) | 72 (-1) | 71 (-2) | 210 (-9) |
| T2. Meja Ortengren | 71 (-2) | 71 (-2) | 69 (-4) | 211 (-8) |
| T9. Andrea Revuelta | 70 (-3) | 73 (E) | 71 (-2) | 214 (-5) |
| T12. Paula Martin Sampedro | 71 (-2) | 72 (-1) | 73 (E) | 216 (-3) |
| 17. Leigh Chien | 74 (+1) | 72 (-1) | 73 (E) | 219 (E) |
| T4. Kelly Xu* | 69 (-4) | 71 (-2) | 72 (-1) | 212 (-7) |
| T20. Nora Sundberg* | 71 (-2) | 76 (+3) | 74 (+1) | 221 (+2) |
| T29. Caroline Sturdza* | 75 (+2) | 75 (+2) | 74 (+1) | 224 (+5) |
* - competing as an individual