KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — The final tournament of the 2025 portion of the schedule for No. 1 Stanford women’s golf began on Monday morning on the Big Island, with the Cardinal golfing in the Nanea Invitational. Despite shooting a strong opening round, the competition is fierce, with Stanford sitting in third place after 18 holes of golf.
As a team, Stanford’s 282 (-10) is one of the team’s best all-time on a par-73, but the Cardinal sit in third overall. No. 6 Auburn shot a dazzling 21-under in the opening round, while No. 21 Arizona State came out of the gates hot at 17-under.
As such, Auburn and Arizona State occupy the top three spots on the individual leaderboard. Charlotte Cantonis leads the field with an 8-under 65, while her teammate Anna Davis trails after shooting a 7-under 66. Isla McDonald O’Brien holds outright third with a 67 on Monday.
Continuing a recent run of good starts, Kelly Xu is the team’s leader after Monday’s action with a 4-under 69. She began her round with birdies on her second and third holes and only had one bogey on the morning. She added three more birdies during her final eight holes to close among the leaders, sitting in a tie for sixth and four strokes back of the lead. In her last three tournaments, Xu has shot 70, 70, and 69 in the opening round.
A trio of Cardinal sit tied at 2-under after shooting 71s on Monday. Andrea Revuelta, Meja Örtengren, and Paula Martín Sampedro sit just outside the top 20 after following similar scripts on their scorecards. Revuelta began the day with two birdies on her first four holes, then had three in a five-hole span to begin the back nine. Örtengren was clean during her final 11 holes, with two birdies during that run. Marín Sampedro finished strong with three birdies over the final six holes.
On the individual side, Leigh Chien sits atop the four extra Stanford golfers with a 3-under 70, putting her in a tie for ninth. She was 2-over through her first nine holes and then caught fire on the back nine, recording five birdies, including birdies on holes two and three, which were her final on the day. The 70 is the best round she has fired this season, and the third-best in her collegiate career.
Kaila Elsayegh also impressed with a 1-under 72. Her day was a bit more up-and-down than Chien’s, with two early birdies on her second and third holes, and then consecutive birdies on 13 and 14 before finishing with a birdie on hole two. Scattered elsewhere in the round were two bogeys and a double-bogey, but she battled through to land just outside the top 20 overall.
The second round of the Nanea Invitational gets underway at 10:30 am PT on Tuesday morning, with the third round on Wednesday.
Nanea Invitational (Nanea Golf Club, par 73)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. Stanford | 282 (-10) | -- | -- | 282 (-10) |
| T6. Kelly Xu | 69 (-4) | -- | -- | 69 (-4) |
| T16. Meja Örtengren | 71 (-2) | -- | -- | 71 (-2) |
| T16. Andrea Revuelta | 71 (-2) | -- | -- | 71 (-2) |
| T16. Paula Martín Sampedro | 71 (-2) | -- | -- | 71 (-2) |
| T45. Megha Ganne | 75 (+2) | -- | -- | 75 (+2) |
| T9. Leigh Chien | 70 (-3) | -- | -- | 70 (-3) |
| T24. Kaila Elsayegh | 72 (-1) | -- | -- | 72 (-1) |
| T32. Nora Sundberg | 73 (E) | -- | -- | 73 (E) |
| T42. Anna Song | 74 (+1) | -- | -- | 74 (+1) |