Stanford pulling away in race for top seed in match play in NCAA Championship at La Costa

 

   With an NCAA Championship record round of 18-under-par 270 Sunday at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., Stanford continued to pull away toward what is starting to look like an inevitable No. 1 seed when match play gets under way Tuesday morning.

   Hardly surprising considering the Cardinal have been the top seed in match play four straight times, dating back to the 2021 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Hardly surprising considering Stanford has won every stroke-play event it has teed it up in during the wraparound 2024-2025 season.

   After struggling, by its standards, to a 5-over 293 in Friday’s opening round, Stanford, in its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, just keeps getting better at La Costa.

  The Cardinal, the No. 1 team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, put together a 10-under 278 over the 6,330-yard, par-72 La Costa layout in Saturday’s second round before going off Sunday.

   Stanford stands at 23-under 841 through three rounds, 15 shots clear of Big Ten power Northwestern, No. 11 in the Scoreboard rankings.

  A fifth straight No. 1 seed in match play seems likely. A berth in the match-play bracket seems assured.

   Two of the Cardinal, Paula Martin Sampedro, a sophomore from Spain and No. 13 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Kelly Xu, a junior from Claremont, Calif. and No. 29 in the Women’s WAGR, moved into contention for the individual championship Sunday. That title will be decided Monday when cameras from The Golf Channel start rolling.

   Martin Sampedro contributed a sparkling 5-under 67 to Stanford’s surge in Sunday’s third round and that left her in second place in the individual standings, a shot behind Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin, a sophomore from Colombia and No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Xu signed for a solid 4-under 68 in Sunday’s third round and was a shot behind her teammate in third place in the individual standings at 7-under 209.

   Northwestern always seems to save its best stuff for this time of the year and it’s no different in 2025 as the Wildcats stubbornly held on to second place in the team standings. Northwestern put together a solid 8-under 280 Sunday that left it with an 8-under 856 total going into Monday’s final round of stroke play.

   Oregon, which won the title in its debut in the Big Ten Championship last month at the Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md., was the only other team under par as the Ducks were sitting in third place at 2-under 862, six shots behind Northwestern. Oregon is No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings.

   Another member of the Big Ten’s new West Wing, Southern California, No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings, was two shots behind Oregon in fourth place at even-par 864 after the Trojans recorded a 3-under 285 in Sunday’s third round.

   Southern California was led by Catherine Park, a junior from Irvine, Calif. and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR who was in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings with LSU’s Elsa Svensson, a senior from Sweden, and Florida State’s Mirabel Ting, a junior from Malaysia and No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR, each landing on 6-under 210.

   Park, who finished in a tie for second in the individual standings as a freshman in 2023 at Grayhawk, registered a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s third round to remain in contention for an NCAA individual crown.

   Stanford, Oregon and Southern California – then members a Pac-12 Conference about to meet its demise – were three of the four semifinalists in the NCAA Championship a year ago at La Costa.

   ACC champion Florida State, No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Southeastern Conference power Arkansas, No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings, were tied for fifth place at 3-over 867, three shots behind Southern California.

   The Seminoles started slowly in La Costa, but matched par in Sunday’s third round with a 288 to move up in the team standings. The Razorbacks also struggled in the  first two rounds at La Costa, but made a big move with an 8-under 280 in Sunday’s third round.

   Florida State was led by Ting as she carded a solid 3-under 69 to join the trio tied for fourth place in the individual chase at 6-under.

   Arkansas was led by Jose Marin as her 7-under 65 was the best individual round of the tournament and gave her a 9-under 207 and a one-shot lead over Stanford’s Martin Sampedro.

   Jose Marin was a semifinalist in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   Things start getting interesting in Monday’s final round for the teams on either side of the cutoff for the eight teams that will compete in match play beginning Tuesday morning.

   A couple of strong entries from the SEC, Texas, No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings, and SEC champion South Carolina, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings, enter Monday’s play holding down the last two spots in the match-play bracket.

   Texas matched par in Sunday’s third round with a 288 and was in seventh place at 5-over 869, two shots behind Florida State and Arkansas.

   South Carolina registered a 1-over 289 in Sunday’s third round and was in eighth place at 8-over 872, three shots behind Texas.

   Lurking just outside the top eight is the Big 12’s Arizona State as the Sun Devils posted a 5-over 293 and were three shots behind South Carolina in ninth place with an 11-over 875 total.

   ACC power Virginia, No. 10 in the Scoreboard rankings, and another SEC entry, Tennessee, No. 31 in the Scoreboard rankings, were a shot behind Arizona State in a tie for 10^th place, each landing on 12-over 876.

   The Cavaliers recorded a 1-over 289 in Sunday’s third round while the Volunteers matched par with a 288.

   Big 12 power Oklahoma State was two shots behind Virginia and Tennessee in 12^th place with a 14-over 878 total. The Cowgirls got off to a good start with a 4-under 284 in Friday’s opening round, but have struggled with back-to-back 9-over 297s in the second and third rounds.

   Backing up Martin Sampedro and Xu for Stanford was Meja Ortengren, a freshman from Sweden and No. 15 in the Women’s WAGR who ripped off a 6-under 66 in Sunday’s third round and was among the group tied for eighth place at 3-under 213.

   Megha Ganne, a veteran junior from Holmdel, N.J. and No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, had her best round of the weekend, a 2-under 70, and was in the group tied for 17^th place at 1-under 215. Stanford was so good Sunday, though, that the Cardinal were able to toss Ganne’s round.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Andrea Revuelta, a freshman from Spain and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR who was tied for 21^st place at even-par 216 after she posted a solid 3-under 69.

  Revuelta has been one of the hottest players in college golf as she was the individual winner at the ACC Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. and at the Norman Regional at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

   The season came to a close for a couple of the Philadelphia area players who were competing in the NCAA Championship.

   Purdue senior Natasha Kiel, a New Hope native who starred scholastically at the George School, matched par with a 72 in Sunday’s third round for a 12-over 228 total. Kiel has been the runnerup in each of the last two playings of the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship.

   Vanderbilt freshman Angelina Tolentino, the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion who starred scholastically at Lenape High in South Jersey, struggled to an 82 in Sunday’s third round and finished with a 234 total.

   Purdue, a Big Ten power and No. 41 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Vanderbilt, an SEC representative and No. 24 in the Scoreboard rankings, both failed to make the cut to the top 15 teams that will tee it up in Monday’s final round of stroke play.