Behind individual champion Kiara Romero, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif., Oregon made its debut in the Big Ten Championship a winning one as the Ducks came on strong in the Easter Sunday windup at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md. to roll to a 14-shot victory.
The other ex-pats from the once powerful, but now defunct Pac-12 Conference struggled in coming to the East, but not Oregon, No. 5 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings.
A semifinalist in last year’s NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., Oregon came into Sunday’s final round trailing a traditional Big Ten power in Michigan State by three shots.
With Romero carding a 4-under-par 68 over the 6,235-yard, par-72 Pete Dye design at Bulle Rock while pulling away for the individual victory, Oregon closed with the best team round of the weekend, a 12-under 276, to finish with a 12-under 852 total.
The victory made Oregon the automatic qualifier from the Big Ten and the Ducks learned Wednesday afternoon that they will be the top seed in the Gold Canyon Regional at the Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz. The NCAA regionals tee off May 5.
It was the second conference title in the history of the Oregon program. The Ducks captured the Pac-12 crown in 2022 on their way to the NCAA Championship's Final Match at the Grahawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where they lost to a Rose Zhang-led Stanford team.
The first two days at Bulle Rock, a tricky wind was coming straight off the Chesapeake Bay from the south and the scores were mostly around par. The wind switched and was coming out of the north for the final round and that seemed to work to Oregon’s advantage.
The Ducks had opened with a 2-under 286 and added a 2-over 290 in Saturday’s second round and was at even-par through two rounds.
After opening with a 4-over 292, Michigan State, No. 24 in the Scoreboard rankings, put together a solid 7-under 281 in Saturday’s second round to take a narrow advantage into the final round.
The Spartans closed with a 5-over 293 that gave them a 2-over 866 total that left them 14 shots behind Oregon in second place.
Michigan State will be seeded fourth in the Norman Regional, which will be played at the OU Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Norman, Okla.
The summer before her freshman season at Oregon, Romero captured the title in the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur at the Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. and she has done nothing but get better ever since.
Bulle Rock hosted the LPGA Championship, the predecessor of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – by either name a major championship on the LPGA Tour – from 2005 to 2009. And it played tough for a talented field of college standouts.
Coming off a tie for seventh in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, Romero, No. 3 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round to gain a share of the lead with Michigan State’s Brooke Bierman, a senior from Wildwood, Mo., and Illinois’ Victoria Zheng, a junior from Canada, at 3-under going into Sunday’s final round.
Romero’s final-round 68 gave her a 7-under 209 total and a three-shot victory. It was her first individual title of the wraparound 2024-2025 season and the third of her career at Oregon.
The low individual round of the weekend was the sizzling 6-under 66 turned in by Romero’s teammate, Tong An, a freshman from China, in Sunday’s final round. An had opened with back-to-back 2-over 74s, but her fast finish enabled her to end up among a group of four players tied for fifth place in the individual standings with a 2-under 214 total.
Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, a freshman from Thailand, gave Oregon a third finisher among the top nine as she finished alone in ninth place at 1-under 215. After opening with a 3-over 75, Vinijcdhaitham added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round before contributing a 3-under 69 to the Ducks’ final-round charge.
Bierman played the role of senior leader for Michigan State as she finished alone in fourth place with a 3-under 213 total. Bierman matched par in the opening round with a 72 before moving into a tie for the lead with a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s second round. Bierman matched par again in the final round with another 72 to cap a solid showing in her final Big Ten Championship appearance.
Illinois, No. 47 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished another four shots behind Michigan State in third place with a 6-over 870 total. The Fightin’ Illini shared the lead with Oregon following an opening round of 2-under 286 before adding back-to-back 4-over 292s.
Illinois gets to stay in what once was considered Big Ten country as it will be seeded eighth in the Columbus Regional at The Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course, an Alister MacKenzie design – you know, the Augusta National guy – that is one of the very best college courses in the country.
Zheng led the way for the Illini as she added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 2-under 70 to get a share of the individual lead with Romero and Bierman. Zheng closed with a 1-over 73 to join Oregon’s An in the foursome tied for fifth place at 2-under 214.
Speaking of Ohio State, under head coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, the Buckeyes, No. 14 in the Scoreboard rankings, will be the host team and seeded third on their home course after finishing three shots behind Illinois in fourth place with a 9-over 873 total at Bulle Rock.
After matching par in the opening round with a 288, Ohio State added a 6-over 294 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 3-over 291.
Leading the way for Ohio State was Kary Hollenbaugh, a junior from New Albany, Ohio and No. 24 in the Women’s WAGR, as she closed with a sparkling 5-under 67 to share runnerup honors with Wisconsin’s Kate Brody, a sophomore at Grand Blanc, Mich., as each landed on 4-under 212, three shots behind Romero.
Hollenbaugh repeated as the champion of the South Atlantic Women’s Amateur Championship, better known by its shorthand moniker, The Sally, in January at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. and has never looked back.
Hollenbaugh matched par in the opening round at Bulle Rock with a 72 and she added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round. Her final-round 67 capped what has become a routinely excellent performance.
Perennial Big Ten power Northwestern, No. 12 in the Scoreboard rankings, was a shot behind Ohio State in fifth place with a 10-over 874 total.
The Wildcats, who always seem to be their best at this time of year, opened with a 5-over 293 and added a 3-over 291 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 290. Northwestern was awarded a two seed in the Norman Regional.
Northwestern was led by Hsin Tai Lin, a freshman from Taiwan who landed among the quartet tied for fifth place at 2-under 214. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Tai Lin recorded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.
Wisconsin won’t be playing in an NCAA regional, but the Badgers were certainly solid at Bulle Rock, finishing a shot behind Northwestern in sixth place with an 11-over 875 total.
After opening with a 5-over 293, Wisconsin posted back-to-back 3-over 291s in the final two rounds. In the process, the Badgers finished ahead of a couple of national powers in UCLA and Southern California, a couple of the other former Pac-12 members who didn’t handle the unfamiliar surroundings of April in the Mid-Atlantic as well as Oregon did.
Brody had an outstanding individual showing for Wisconsin as she opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 69 that left her in a tie for second place with Hollenbaugh at 4-under.
Penn State finished in 15th place in the 18-team field – don’t be fooled by that Ten in Big Ten, it’s a branding thing – with a 37-over 901 total. After opening with a 303, the Nittany Lions added their best round of the weekend, a 10-over 298, in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 300.
Ting-Hsuan Huang, a sophomore from Thailand, gave Oregon a fourth top-20 finisher as she ended up in the group tied for 19th place at 3-over 219. Huang was the low Duck in the opening round with a 3-under 69, struggled a little in Saturday’s second round with a 5-over 77 and closed with a 1-over 73.
Rounding out the Oregon lineup was Darae Chung, a sophomore from New Zealand who finished among the group tied for 46th place with a 9-over 225 total. Chung matched par in the opening round with a counting 72 and added a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 6-over 78.
The fourth member of the quartet tied for fifth place was Southern California’s Catherine Park, a junior from Irvine, Calif. and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR. After opening with a 2-under 70, Park matched par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s to join the group at 2-under.
Park can take her game anywhere. She was a member of the U.S. Curtis Cup team that battled hard, but fell, 10.5-9.5, to a determined Great Britain & Ireland team last summer at Sunningdale Golf Club in England.
It was a disappointing weekend at Bulle Rock for the rest of the Southern California team as the Trojans, No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished in ninth place with a 20-over 884 total.
Southern Cal is headed for the Keene Trace Golf Club in Lexington, Ky. where it will be a two seed in the Lexington Regional.
Michigan State’s Taylor Kehoe, a junior from Canada, and Ohio State’s Faith Choi, a senior from Frederick, Md., gave their teams a second top-10 finisher in the individual standings as they ended up in a tie for 10th place, each landing on even-par 216.
After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Kehoe added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73. Choi, the senior leader for Strom’s Buckeyes, was the picture of consistency, matching par in each round with three straight 72s.
Leading the way for Penn State was Drew Nienhaus, a senior from St. Louis, Mo. who capped a really solid final spring with the Nittany Lions by finishing in the group tied for 15th place with a 2-over 218 total.
Nienhaus was in a tie for fifth place going into the final round as she matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-under 71. Nienhaus fell back a little with a 3-over 75 in the final round.
Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus, wrapped up a solid career at Penn State as she finished among the group tied for 40th place with an 8-over 224 total. Cox bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 76 with a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 6-over 78.
Cox has been a constant presence in the Penn State lineup the last three years, the final season of Denise St. Pierre’s career and these last two seasons under Kristen Simpson.
Thailand’s Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun capped a strong freshman season at Penn State as she finished in the group tied for 46th place with a 9-over 225 total. Jiratthitnun opened with a 3-over 75 and added a 77 in Saturday’s second round before closing with her best round of the weekend, a 1-over 73.
Myron Quinton, a junior from Canada, added a 79 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 81 before closing with a 5-over 77 as she finished in 82nd place with a 237 total for Penn State.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Lauren Thompstone, a freshman from France who closed with a 3-over 75 to finish in 84th place with a 239 total. Thompstone added an 81 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 83.
UCLA, which fell to Stanford in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at La Costa last spring, struggled at Belle Rock as the Bruins, No. 27 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished in seventh place with a 15-over 879 total.
UCLA was awarded a five seed in the Charlottesville Regional, which will be played at Birdwood Golf Club in Charlottesville, Va.
Purdue No. 43 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished in a tie for 11th place in the Big Ten Championship with a 17-over 891 total. The Boilermakers made the field for the Lubbock Regional as a seven seed at The Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas.
Senior Natasha Kiel, a New Hope native who was a scholastic standout at George School, was in the lineup for Purdue for the opening round of stroke play, but was replaced after recording an 80. Kiel has been the runnerup in the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur each of the last two summers.
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