CARLSBAD, Calif. — Top-ranked Stanford women’s golf has started to find its stride at the 2026 NCAA Championship, and that’s scary for the rest of the field. On the third round of the championship course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Stanford once again put up the best round of the day to take the overall team lead heading into the final round of stroke play.
Stanford survives the first cut of the tournament, from 30 to 15 teams, by posting an 843 as a team (-21), five strokes better than No. 2 USC in second and 11 strokes better than No. 21 Oklahoma State in third. It’s the second day in a row where Stanford shot the best round of the day, with the team’s 9-under 279 the lowest round of the tournament to this point.
While the race atop the team leaderboard might not be the tightest, it’s a wide-open race to crown an individual national champion, with two Stanford Cardinal in the mix. Seven golfers are in within three strokes of the lead, currently held by Farah O’Keefe of Texas and Catherine Park of USC at 10-under. Meja Örtengren (-9) and Megha Ganne (-8) hold third and fourth place outright, both primed to become Stanford’s fourth individual national champion and the program’s first since 2023.
The scorecard was nearly identical to Saturday’s for Örtengren, who shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday. She bogeyed the same holes on Sunday morning (1 and 7), but then went clean on the back nine, with four birdies both days, including consecutive birdies on holes 14 and 15. The sophomore from Sweden has not yet won in 2026, with her most recent win coming at the Nanea Invitational in October. However, she will be the final Cardinal to tee off on Monday, playing in a threesome with Park, for a chance to become a national champion.
Just in front of her will be Ganne, in her final NCAA Championship, looking to add yet another trophy to her case. She also shot a 69 on Sunday, with hot starts and finishes. She birdied on three of her first six holes, and then again on three of her final five holes, keeping herself in contention for a title. In last year’s final round, Ganne shot a 69, which was her lowest round of the championship. A repeat performance could end in celebration on Monday evening.
Paula Martín Sampedro and Kelly Xu both shot under par again on Sunday in the third round. Martín Sampedro shot a 2-under 70, which puts her inside the top 20 overall. While her streak of finishing in the top five at the NCAA Championship is in jeopardy, she has posted consecutive rounds under par, with just one bogey on Sunday. Xu matched Martín Sampedro with just one bogey en route to a 71, as she sits just one stroke over par in stroke play.
Stanford will tee off last in the final round of stroke play, grouped with No. 2 USC and No. 21 Oklahoma State, beginning at 12:20 pm. Stanford is all but locked into advancing into the match play portion of the championship, which begins on Tuesday morning with the final eight teams. The Cardinal currently sits 23 strokes above the projected cutline and has never failed to advance to the match play portion of the NCAA Championship.
2026 NCAA Championship (Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 282 (-6) | 282 (-6) | 279 (-9) | -- | 843 (-21) |
| 3. Meja Örtengren | 70 (-2) | 68 (-4) | 69 (-3) | -- | 207 (-9) |
| 4. Megha Ganne | 68 (-4) | 71 (-1) | 69 (-3) | -- | 208 (-8) |
| T20. Paula Martín Sampedro | 73 (+1) | 71 (-1) | 70 (-2) | -- | 214 (-2) |
| T36. Kelly Xu | 71 (-1) | 75 (+3) | 71 (-1) | -- | 217 (+1) |
| T83. Andrea Revuelta | 75 (+3) | 72 (E) | 75 (+3) | -- | 222 (+6) |