FORT WORTH, Texas — It's never easy at the Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational. In a field that contained 11 ranked teams, with over half the field inside the top-10 of the latest rankings, Stanford was able to persevere and win the Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational for the second consecutive year.
The course at Colonial Country Club is tricky for multiple reasons. It plays as a par-70, and on blustery days, like the last two days, scores get elevated in a hurry. Despite shooting 8-over as a team for the week and 6-over in the final round, Stanford was able to beat No. 7 Oregon by three strokes.
The Ducks weren't necessarily on Stanford's radar heading into Tuesday's final round. Stanford originally led No. 5 Texas by seven strokes, and the Cardinal was 11 strokes in front of Oregon. However, Oregon shot 2-under on the day, the only team to finish under par, gaining eight strokes on the eventual champions. For context, Oregon's 2-under on Tuesday was one of two team rounds in the entire tournament to finish under par. Stanford's 1-under in Monday's second round was the only other.
A trio of Cardinal finished tied for fifth at Colonial. Kelly Xu entered Tuesday in the best position for a win, starting the final 18 just one stroke off the lead at 2-under overall. She slumped out of the gate, going four over across her first five holes, before steadying the ship to finish. She closed with a 3-over 73 to finish the week 1-over (211), securing her third top-five finish of her senior season.
Joining her at 211 overall was Meja Örtengren, who began the day even at par for the week. After a birdie on two, it looked like Örtengren was about to start a charge towards the lead. That birdie would be her only one of the round, settling for a 1-over 71. Örtengren has now finished in the top-10 in every tournament since September, with her lone finish outside the top-10 coming in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup to open her sophomore season.
The best round of the day was played by Paula Martín Sampedro, who joined Xu and Örtengren in a tie for fifth at 211. She was the lone Cardinal to finish under par on Tuesday, firing a 1-under 69. She birdied her first hole, and then added two more to open her back nine on holes 10 and 11, vaulting her up the leaderboard when most golfers were trending in the opposite direction. That gives the junior from Spain five consecutive top-five finishes.
World Amateur No. 1 Kiara Romero won the tournament at 6-under. Lauren Kim of Texas was the only other golfer in the field to finish under par (-1).
Stanford will send select individuals to the Silicon Valley Showcase on March 30-31. The next time the entire field will compete will be at the 2026 ACC Championships on April 16-19 in Wilmington, N.C. All teams will compete in three rounds of stroke play before match play determines a champion.
Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational (Colonial Country Club, par 70)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 283 (+3) | 279 (-1) | 286 (+6) | 848 (+8) |
| T5. Kelly Xu | 70 (E) | 68 (-2) | 73 (+3) | 211 (+1) |
| T5. Meja Örtengren | 68 (-2) | 72 (+2) | 71 (+1) | 211 (+1) |
| T5. Paula Martín Sampedro | 73 (+3) | 69 (-1) | 69 (-1) | 211 (+1) |
| T19. Andrea Revuelta | 74 (+4) | 70 (E) | 73 (+3) | 217 (+7) |
| T46. Anna Song | 72 (+2) | 76 (+6) | 75 (+5) | 223 (+13) |
| T62. Kaila Elsayegh | 78 (+8) | 74 (+4) | 75 (+5) | 227 (+17) |