CARLSBAD, Calif. — In the third round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship, top-seeded Stanford women’s golf continued to make history. After a remarkable bounce-back from rounds one to two, the Cardinal set the NCAA Championship single-round scoring record, shooting an incredible 18-under 270 on Sunday at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. This has Stanford in prime position to enter match play as the top overall seed for the fifth year in a row.
There were a lot of circles on the scorecard for Stanford. The team recorded 29 birdies compared to just nine bogeys, with seven different instances of a golfer recording consecutive birdies.
Never has a team shot 18-under in a single round at the NCAA Championship. The previous record was -15, which Stanford accomplished in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Championship. Sitting at -23 as a team through three rounds, Stanford is currently four strokes better than the all-time NCAA Championship scoring record of -19, set by USC in 2013.
A historic Sunday morning in Carlsbad 🌲#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/b9sJRO14LD
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 18, 2025
“I’m in awe of what this team accomplished today,” Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf, Anne Walker said following Sunday’s electric performance. “Their poise and patience were world-class, and that resulted in a tremendous amount of birdies and key par saves. They have had a fantastic year and deserve this NCAA scoring record honor.”
The Cardinal heads into the final round of stroke play, competing against 14 other teams after the field was cut following the third round. Northwestern posted the second-best round of the day at 8-under to hold onto second place, still 15 strokes behind Stanford. Oregon is third at 2-under while USC is even at par.
Paula Martín Sampedro is in second through three rounds and has been nearly flawless over the last 36 holes. Since Saturday morning, she has 10 birdies and just one bogey. Her 5-under 67 on Sunday is a personal best at the NCAA Championship, and it got started fast, with birdies on her first two holes. She added consecutive birdies again on 11 and 12 to solidify her standing at the top of the leaderboard, putting herself in position to make history on Monday. A two-time winner this season, Martín Sampedro has never won a postseason event in her Cardinal career but sits just one stroke behind Maria Jose Marin of Arkansas for the lead.
“I think just learning from every round I've played on this course is helping a lot,” explained Martín Sampedro on her steady improvements. “Continuing to bring the energy from yesterday definitely helped me make some good putts and play some solid golf. I just tried to stick to my plan and good strategy and just keep going with what I'm doing.”
Just one stroke back of Martín Sampedro is Kelly Xu, who is in the midst of the best tournament of her career. She fired a 4-under 68 on Sunday, her third straight round of par or better. She was going back and forth with her teammate on the back nine for the individual lead before settling for a one-stroke difference. Xu has never won at the collegiate level, finishing twice on two separate occasions. If she finishes at par or better on Monday, she will join Martín Sampedro, Rose Zhang, and Lauren Kim as the only Cardinal to shoot four rounds at par or better in an NCAA Championship.
One of the lowest rounds of the day was shot by Meja Örtengren, who continues a remarkable turnaround from Friday. At one point sitting in 111th position, she is now tied for eighth overall after a 6-under 66 on Sunday. Like Martín Sampedro, she opened her day with birdies on the first two holes, but then caught fire on the back nine, with five-straight birdies on holes 11-15. That run vaulted her up the leaderboard and into the top 10, where she will sit heading into Monday’s final round of stroke play. After starting 5-over, Örtengren is now 3-under and five back of the leaders.
It's an everyday process on The Farm. It's a Stanford thing. 🤓 pic.twitter.com/tzXneXwAGY
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 19, 2025
“I think the biggest thing is that we learn from each other every single day, not just here at this tournament, but back home as well,” Örtengren mentioned about what makes this team different. “I think we all feed off each other's energy and each other's successes. We learn from each other and get a little bit better every single day.
Andrea Revuelta posted her best round of the tournament, shooting a 3-under 69 to break even for stroke play. She bogeyed her first hole but was clean the rest of the way, with four birdies on the front nine.
Megha Ganne shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday, becoming the best drop-score in NCAA Championship history. There were times when she was up and down, with six birdies and four bogeys, but she was clean on the back nine and shot 3-under during that stretch.
The final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship begins on Monday morning at 10:30 am, with the Cardinal teeing off last at 12:30 pm. Follow play, the individual national champion will be crowned, and match play pairings will be set for Tuesday’s quarterfinals. If Stanford holds onto the top spot following Monday’s round, it will become just the second women’s golf team in NCAA history to finish unbeaten in stroke play (1994-95 Arizona State).
NCAA Championship (Omni La Costa Resort & Spa North Course, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 293 (+5) | 278 (-10) | 270 (-18) | -- | 841 (-23) |
| 2. Paula Martín Sampedro | 73 (+1) | 68 (-4) | 67 (-5) | -- | 208 (-8) |
| 3. Kelly Xu | 72 (E) | 69 (-3) | 68 (-4) | -- | 209 (-7) |
| T8. Meja Örtengren | 77 (+5) | 70 (-2) | 66 (-6) | -- | 213 (-3) |
| T17. Megha Ganne | 74 (+2) | 71 (-1) | 70 (-2) | -- | 215 (-1) |
| T21. Andrea Revuelta | 74 (+2) | 73 (+1) | 69 (-3) | -- | 216 (E) |