Southern California and Stanford are no longer in the same league, the old Pac-12 having died an untimely death a few summers ago.
But at No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, the Women of Troy and the Cardinal appear to be on a collision course that may or may not be resolved by the end of this month in the NCAA Championship at the Omni LaCosta Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Southern Cal, in the first Big Ten Championship staged in Southern California at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, Calif., rolled to its first conference championship in its second shot at a Big Ten crown by 12 shots over a Big Ten OG in Ohio State.
While Stanford was dominating the field in the Atlantic Coast Conference at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C., the Trojans were doing the same thing on the other side of the country, although the Big Ten played just a 54-hole stroke-play event while the ACC added a layer of match play to mimic the format for the NCAA Championship.
With individual champion Jasmine Koo, a sophomore from Cerritos, Calif. and No. 13 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), leading the way, Southern Cal opened with a 3-under 277 over the 6,107-yard, par-70 Oakmont layout and added a 1-under 279 before closing with an 8-over 288 in gusty winds in the final round April 26th for a 4-over 844 total.
It was the Trojans’ seventh victory in the wraparound 2025-2026 season and sixth straight tournament title. They were awarded the top seed in the Ann Arbor Regional when the NCAA regional bids were announced Wednesday on The Golf Channel.
Despite its location in Southern California, USC head coach Justin Silverstein said his players had never laid eyes on the Oakmont layout until getting in a practice round before the Big Ten Championship.
But the Trojans proved to be a quick study.
Koo opened with a 1-under 69 and matched par in the second round with a 70 before closing with a 68 that gave her a 3-under 207 total and a two-shot victory over teammate Bailey Shoemaker, a junior from Dade City, Fla. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, and Ohio State’s Nellie Ong, a sophomore from England and No. 52 in the Women’s WAGR.
After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Shoemaker ripped off a sizzling 5-under 65, the low individual round of the tournament, in the second round that gave her a one-shot lead over Purdue’s Luana Valero, a freshman from Colombia, in the individual chase going into the final round.
Shoemaker struggled a little in the final round with a 4-over 74 that left her two shots behind her teammate Koo with a 1-under 209 total.
Elise Lee, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. and No. 55 in the Women’s WAGR, and Catherine Park, the veteran senior who also hails from Irvine and is No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, gave Southern Cal two more top-10 finishers as they were part of a four-way logjam tied for ninth place at 4-over 214.
Lee opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 1-over 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 4-over 74.
Park opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 3-over 73 in the second round before closing with a 72.
Koo and Park were teammates on the United States team that dropped a hard-fought 10.5-9.5 in the Curtis Cup Match at Sunningdale Golf Club in the summer of 2024.
They were also invited to attend a practice session for candidates for this year’s U.S. Curtis Cup that was held in December at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., site of the biennial matches against a team from Great Britain & Ireland in June.
Only a Lottie Woad-Mirabel Ting-led Florida State team prevented a Southern Cal-Stanford showdown in last spring’s NCAA Championship, the Seminoles halting the Trojans’ postseason run in the quarterfinals at La Costa.
Ohio State, behind Ong’s tie for second place in the individual standings, earned runnerup honors in the team standings with a 16-over 856 total.
The Buckeyes, under head coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, opened with a 2-over 282 and added a 5-over 285 in the second round before closing with a 289.
Ohio State, which improved from No. 32 to No. 29 in the Scoreboard rankings following the Big Ten Championship, is also headed for the Ann Arbor Regional, where it will be the fifth seed.
Ong opened with a solid 2-under 68 and added a 2-over 72 in the second round before finishing up with a 69 to get a share of second place with Shoemaker.
Ohio State also got a solid showing from Sophie Eppelstein, a freshman from Australia who finished among a foursome of players tied for fifth place at 3-over 283. Eppelstein opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 1-over 71 in the second round before closing with a 73.
Purdue, behind Valero’s fourth-place finish in the individual standings, was six shots behind Ohio State in third place with a 23-over 863 total.
The Boilermakers, who dropped four spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 45 to No. 41 with its solid showing at Oakmont, added a 3-over 283 in the second round to their opening-round 284 before closing with a 296 in the final round’s gusty winds.
Purdue will represent the Big Ten as a seven seed in the Tallahassee Regional.
Valero was just a shot off of Shoemaker’s pace in the individual chase going into the final round after Valero opened with a sparkling 3-under 67 and added a 69 in the second round. She closed with a 4-over 74 to end up in fourth place at even-par 210.
Lauren Timpf, a sophomore from Macomb, Mich., joined Ohio State’s Eppelstein in the quartet tied for fifth place at 3-over for Purdue as Timpf bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 74 with a 3-under 67 in the second round before closing with a 72.
Indiana moved up a spot from No. 46 to No. 45 in the Scoreboard rankings by finishing in fourth place, nine shots behind Purdue with a 32-over 872 total.
After opening with a 12-over 282, the Hoosiers put up a solid 5-over 285 in the second round before closing with a 295.
Indiana’s showing at Oakmont just might have been enough to earn it an at-large bid to an NCAA regional as the Hoosiers will be seeded eighth in Louisville.
UCLA and Illinois shared fifth place, each ending up a shot behind Indiana with a 33-over 873 total.
The Bruins, who dropped a spot in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 14 to No. 15 following the Big Ten Championship, opened with a 17-over 297 and added a 7-over 287 in the second round before closing with a 289.
UCLA is headed for the Tallahassee Regional as a three seed.
Illinois, which moved up three spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 50 to No. 47 following its showing at Oakmont, opened with a solid 2-over 282 and added a 289 in the second round before struggling to a 302 in the final round.
The Fightin’ Illini were led by Brielle Mapanao, a freshman from Australia who landed among the foursome tied for ninth place at 4-over. Mapanao added a 1-over 71 in the second round to her opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 70.
Illinois will return to the West Coast after earning a spot in the field for the Stanford Regional as an eight seed.
Penn State is the only team among the top-10 finishers in the Big Ten Championship that will not be moving on to the NCAA regionals as the Nittany Lions finished in seventh place with a 35-over 875 total.
Penn State opened with a solid 4-over 284 and closed with a 9-over 289, but struggled in the middle round with a 302. The Nittany Lions were No. 62 in the Scoreboard rankings following the Big Ten Championship.
Audrey Lam, a freshman from Belgium, rounded out the quartet tied for ninth place at 4-over to lead the way for Penn State. Lam got off to a fast start with a 2-under 68 and added a 4-over 74 in the second round before closing with a 72.
Still, an encouraging season for Penn State, which I’ll delve into a little later in this post.
Perennial Big Ten power Michigan State finished two shots behind Penn State in eighth place with a 37-over 877 total.
The Spartans, who moved up a spot in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 40 to 39 following their showing at Oakmont, were solid in the first two rounds, adding a 6-over 286 in the second round to their opening-round 285, but struggled in the final round with a 306.
Michigan State was led by Taylor Kehoe, a veteran senior from Canada and No.79 in the Women’s WAGR, as she landed in the quartet tied for fifth place at 3-over. Kehoe added a solid 2-under 68 in the second round to her opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 74.
Michigan State was awarded a spot in the field in the Chapel Hill Regional as a seven seed.
Oregon had won the Big Ten title in its first year as a member of the conference a year ago at the Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md. and finished in ninth place in defense of its crown with a 38-over 878 total that left the Ducks a shot behind Michigan State.
Pretty significant caveat in the Oregon result as the Ducks were without their best player, Kiara Romero, a junior from San Jose, Calif. who is the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR.
Romero accepted an invitation to play in The Chevron Championship, the first major championship of the year on the LPGA Tour’s calendar. She missed the cut with a 5-over 149 total at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas, but gained a ton of experience and, let’s face it, the LPGA Tour and major championships is where Romero is headed.
In Romero’s absence, Oregon opened with a 10-over 290 and added a 291 in the second round before closing with a 297.
Oregon came into the Big Ten Championship at No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings and left Oakmont at No. 8. Still, the Ducks are headed for the Waco Regional as a two seed.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 18-team Big Ten Championship field was reigning national champion Northwestern as the Wildcats finished in 10th place with a 45-over 885 total.
Northwestern opened with a 10-over 290 and added a 299 in the second round before closing with a 296.
Northwestern is always at its most dangerous at this time of the year as the Wildcats proved with their stunning upset of Stanford in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match a year ago at La Costa.
Northwestern fell a couple of spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 30 to No. 32 in the aftermath of the Big Ten Championship. The Wildcats will open defense of their national title as a six seed in the Ann Arbor Regional.
Rounding out the Southern California lineup was Kylie Chong, a sophomore from Torrance, Calif. and No. 57 in the Women’s WAGR, as she finished among the group tied for 25th place with a 10-over 220 total.
Chong recorded back-to-back 3-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 74.
Koo, Shoemaker, Park and Chong were all in the lineup when Southern Cal fell to Florida State in the quarterfinals at La Costa a year ago.
Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley, a senior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., closed with a 1-under 69 to join Purdue’s Timpf, Ohio State’s Eppelstein and Michigan State’s Kehoe in the foursome tied for fifth place at 3-over.
McCauley had opened with a 4-over 74 before matching par in the second round with a 70.
The Golden Gophers finished 11 shots behind Purdue in 11th place with a 56-over 896 total
McCauley will wrap up one of the great careers in the history of the Minnesota program competing as an individual in the Ann Arbor Regional.
Backing up Lam for Penn State was Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun, a sophomore from Thailand, who finished in the group tied for 16th place with a 7-over 217 total. Jiratthitinun sandwiched a 5-over 75 in the second round with a pair of solid 1-over 71s.
Sophomore Hannah Rabb, the PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Warrior Run in 2022 and the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, capped her first season at Penn State by finishing in the group tied for 29th place with an 11-over 221 total.
Rabb, who transferred to Penn State after a solid freshman season at James Madison, opened with a solid 1-over 71 and struggled with a 78 in the second round before closing with a 72.
Mara King, a freshman from Lake Mary, Fla., finished among a trio of players tied for 38th place with a 13-over 223 total. King sandwiched a 5-over 75 in the second round with a pair of 74s.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Lauren Thompstone, a sophomore from France who finished in the group tied for 72nd place with a 234 total. After opening with a 6-over 76, Thompstone added back-to-back 79s in the final two rounds.
Kristen Simpson, in her third year as Penn State’s head coach, took a young team to Oakmont, a team that definitely made some strides this season.
A Big Ten that was already tough got exponentially tougher with the addition of Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. But Simpson beefed up the schedule and is casting a wider recruiting net and the results of those initiatives started to show up during the wraparound 2025-'26 season.
Sophomore Megan Meng, who starred scholastically at Hopewell Valley Central in Pennington, N.J., was in the lineup for Northwestern and finished among the group tied for 61st place with a 227 total.
Meng matched par in the opening round with a 70, but struggled after that, posting a 7-over 77 in the second round before closing with an 80.
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