LAKE BLUFF, Ill. — The 2025-26 season began for No. 1 Stanford women’s golf on Monday at Shoreacres in Lake Bluff, Ill. at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup. The first two rounds of stroke play were completed on a very difficult course that resulted in higher scores across the board, atypical from how all six teams in the field typically perform. In a stacked field with six top-15 teams, Stanford atop the leaderboard, tied with two other teams heading into the final round of stroke play.
The only Cardinal to finish on the right side of par was Megha Ganne, finding herself in a tie for third at 2-under through 36 holes. She got off to a fast start in the morning, with birdies on three of her first four holes. Things got a bit more difficult once she made the turn to play 1-9, where she went 2-over going out. In the afternoon portion, Ganne again opened with a birdie but stayed right around par the rest of the round, officially posting scores of a 1-under 69 and an even-70. She is in contention for the win, three strokes behind clubhouse leader Macy Pate of Wake Forest.
Andrea Revuelta is positioned inside the top-10 and is on the verge of getting back into the red. That’s where she finished the first round with a 1-under 69, thanks to a birdie on 8, her second-to-last hole of the round. Her front nine was clean during the second round with a pair of birdies, but she managed just one birdie on the back nine and finished with a 1-over 71. Still, she is just one stroke back of another top-five finish, building off her strong freshman season.
The biggest rebound of the day came from senior Kelly Xu, who went 3-over in the first round but tied for the team lead during the second round with an even-70. Her back nine during the second round is where she made up the ground, with a birdie on 10 and an eagle on 15, one of just two eagles from all teams on the day. She sits in a tie for 12th through 36 holes.
Paula Martín Sampedro (3-over) and Meja Örtengren (4-over) round out the lineup for Stanford and both will look for improvements on Tuesday. Strong finishes to their round could be the key, as they both birdied on 15 and 17 to close out the second round, while Martín Sampedro added another birdie on 18 to move to 2-over for the second round.
No. 3 Oregon and No. 12 Wake Forest share the lead with Stanford at 2-over following Monday’s action. No. 2 Texas (+9) and No. 11 South Carolina (+14) round out the top-five.
The final round of stroke play takes place on Tuesday to determine a stroke-play champion, and then the teams will be split up for match play on Wednesday to determine a champion, third-place finisher, and fifth-place finisher. Golf Channel will have live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. PT.
Jackson T. Stephens Cup (Shoreacres, par 70)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1. Stanford | 280 (E) | 282 (+2) | -- | 562 (+2) |
| T3. Megha Ganne | 69 (-1) | 69 (-1) | -- | 138 (-2) |
| 7. Andrea Revuelta | 69 (-1) | 71 (+1) | -- | 140 (E) |
| T12. Kelly Xu | 73 (+3) | 70 (E) | -- | 143 (+3) |
| T12. Paula Martín Sampedro | 71 (+1) | 72 (+2) | -- | 143 (+3) |
| T16. Meja Örtengren | 71 (+1) | 73 (+3) | -- | 144 (+4) |