STANFORD, Calif. — The opening round of the 2026 NCAA Stanford Regional teed off on Monday morning, with the top-ranked Stanford Cardinal getting an early start on its home course. That familiarity paid off as Stanford shot 9-under as a team, pacing the field, while placing four of its five golfers in the top ten to open regional action.
The Cardinal sits in first place amongst a West Coast-heavy top of the leaderboard. The West Coast Conference is represented in second and third, with Oregon State off to a hot start, shooting 5-under as a team. No. 11 Pepperdine is in third at 1-under, the last team to finish under par. Above the very-early cutline are No. 13 Vanderbilt in fourth and Arizona in fifth.
A pair of Stanford golfers are tied for second on the leaderboard with 68s, finishing three strokes under par. Megha Ganne and Meja Örtengren both got to the same score in different ways. With Ganne, she began the day as Stanford’s fifth golfer in the lineup, teeing off right at 8 a.m. She delivered with the team’s first birdie, adding four more throughout the round, including a great birdie putt on 18 to cap off her 68. It is Ganne’s best round of 2026, having not shot better than a 68 since the Nanea Invitational in October.
Örtengren got there with a clean scorecard, going bogey-free in her first round of the regional. Her first birdie of the day came on the fifth hole, where she chipped in from just outside the green. She added two more birdies on the back nine, including the 12th, which four of the five Stanford golfers birdied. Her 68 is just one stroke off her best opening round of the season, and it’s the second time in the last three tournaments she has opened with a 68.
Two other Cardinal golfers finished under par in the opening round. Paula Martín Sampedro, the individual champion of the ACC, overcame a double bogey on the fourth hole to shoot a 2-under 69. She followed up her double bogey with three birdies on the next seven holes, getting below 70 for the 13th time this season, easily the most in the Stanford lineup. She closes out the opening round in a tie for fifth.
Kelly Xu opens the NCAA Regional with a 1-under 70. She helped her cause on the back nine, getting consecutive birdies on 12 and 13 to move to 2-under for the round, before settling in at 1-under for Monday. She has been the most consistent opening round golfer in Stanford’s lineup this season, with all but one round at par or better to open up tournaments in her senior season. After Monday’s round, Xu is tied for tenth.
By virtue of finishing atop the leaderboard on Monday, Stanford will once again tee off at 8 a.m. off the first tee on Tuesday. Should Stanford remain in that position, their morning tee time would hold for Wednesday’s final round. The top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which begins on May 22.
2026 NCAA Stanford Regional (Stanford Golf Course, par 71)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 275 (-9) | -- | -- | 275 (-9) |
| T2. Meja Örtengren | 68 (-3) | -- | -- | 68 (-3) |
| T2. Megha Ganne | 68 (-3) | -- | -- | 68 (-3) |
| T5. Paula Martín Sampedro | 69 (-2) | -- | -- | 69 (-2) |
| T10. Kelly Xu | 70 (-1) | -- | -- | 70 (-1) |
| T16. Andrea Revuelta | 71 (E) | -- | -- | 71 (E) |