KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Stanford women’s golf claimed another individual medalist on Tuesday, with Meja Örtengren winning her second consecutive tournament, taking first at the 2026 Nanea Invitational. She defended her title from one year ago, closing out the fall portion of the schedule in style.
There are times when you’re on as a golfer, and everything seems to fall. That’s the kind of run Örtengren is on, as she put together one of the best tournaments in program history. She shot 201 (-18), the lowest a Cardinal has shot on a par-73 and just one stroke in relation to par away from the program record set by Rose Zhang at the 2023 NCAA Pullman Regional. By finishing 18-under, she ties the score Rachel Heck shot at the 2022 Gunrock Invitational.
It looked as if Örtengren and Patience Rhodes of Arizona State would battle side-by-side all day long for the win, but Örtengren sailed ahead and never looked back. The turning point was on holes 6-7, where Örtengren birdied six while Rhodes landed a double-bogey on seven. That three-stroke difference gave Örtengren the solo lead, and then she added four birdies on the back nine to pad the lead, while Rhodes only had two, with one bogey.
Örtengren set a program record for the lowest 36-hole score in relation to par by shooting 15-under over the last two rounds, breaking her own record set in 2025 at the San Diego State Classic (-14). Over the last two tournaments, which span just 13 days, Örtengren has shot at least three strokes under par in every round. Her average round is 66.67.
The team battle for the win was just as exciting as the individual battle. Heading into the day with a three-way tie, Stanford and Arizona State broke away from the pack. The Sun Devils led by as many as eight strokes over Stanford during the final round, but hole by hole, the Cardinal came clawing back. The pressure came down to the final group, where Örtengren and Patience Rhodes were the golfers who would determine team champions. Stanford needed Örtengren to finish two strokes better than Rhodes, and Örtengren did her part, knocking down a birdie putt with a difficult slope. Rhodes was in great position, though, and put down a tap-in birdie to give Arizona State the win.
Stanford finished 31-under as a team, and 10-under in the final round, but Arizona State’s 33-under set a new program record, shattering their previous mark by eight strokes.
Behind Örtengren, Anna Song was next on the leaderboard for Stanford, finishing at 9-under for the week thanks to a 68 (-5) on Tuesday. She opened her day with two birdies and then finished her round with consecutive birdies again, part of six she had on the round. Song has been on a tear to close out the fall, finishing fifth at the Stanford Intercollegiate last week and adding another top-five finish this week. She tied with Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio of Texas A&M and the defending NCAA Champion, Farah O’Keefe of Texas.
Kaila Elsayegh stayed hot on Tuesday and closed out the best tournament of her collegiate career with the best round she’s ever shot. Elsayegh was clean during the final 18 holes of golf, landing four birdies on the back nine, including three in a row from holes 3-5, to shoot a 69 (-4). That put her at 8-under for the week, good for a share of eighth on the leaderboard for her first collegiate top 10 finish.
The fall season comes to an end with Stanford winning two tournaments and two golfers combining for three individual medalist honors. The Cardinal will not be in action again until Feb. 22-23 at the Bruin Wave Invitational, hosted by UCLA and Pepperdine. That begins the first of three stroke-play tournaments for Stanford in the spring before the ACC Championship on Apr. 15-18.
Nanea Invitational (Nanea Golf Club, par 73)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Stanford | 283 (-9) | 280 (-12) | 282 (-10) | 845 (-31) |
| 1. Meja Örtengren | 70 (-3) | 65 (-8) | 66 (-7) | 135 (-18) |
| T5. Anna Song | 70 (-3) | 72 (-1) | 68 (-5) | 142 (-9) |
| T15. Nora Sundberg | 69 (-4) | 75 (+2) | 74 (+1) | 144 (-2) |
| T19. Andrea Revuelta | 74 (+1) | 70 (-3) | 74 (+1) | 144 (-1) |
| T33. Paula MartÃn Sampedro | 74 (+1) | 73 (E) | 75 (+2) | 147 (+3) |
| T8. Kaila Elsayegh (IND) | 71 (-2) | 71 (-2) | 69 (-4) | 140 (-8) |
| T19. Nikki Oh (IND) | 70 (-3) | 70 (-3) | 78 (+5) | 141 (-1) |
| T38. Jude Lee (IND) | 69 (-4) | 77 (+4) | 77 (+4) | 146 (+4) |
| T38. Leigh Chien (IND) | 74 (+1) | 73 (E) | 76 (+3) | 147 (+4) |
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