Stanford's dominance on display in 19-shot victory in Nanea Invitational

 

   It hardly seems possible that this Stanford team would be better than the one that was stunned by Northwestern in the Final Match of last spring’s NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   But when you look at the Cardinal shooting 23-under-par 269 in the final round of the Nanea Invitational at Nanea Golf Club in Kailua Kona, Hawaii to capture the team title by 19 shots over Arizona State, when you look at the top of Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and see Paula Martin Sampedro, a junior from Spain, at No. 2, Andrea Revuelta, a sophomore from Spain, at No. 3, Megha Ganne, a senior from Holmdel, N.J. at No. 4 and Meja Ortengren, a sophomore from Sweden, at No. 5, you’re thinking maybe they just are even better.

   Stanford, No. 1 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd rankings, is really good and really deep. And they are hardened by match-play losses last spring to Wake Forest in the semifinals of the Cardinal’s inaugural appearance in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and by Northwestern in that gut-punch of a national final.

   As good as they are, this Stanford team knows nothing will be handed to it. They know that in match-play golf, there is no sure thing.

   Stanford could have been in Atlanta playing in the East Lake Club with temperatures in the 50s and wind and rain. But the Cardinal turned down the invitation that was extended to last spring’s four NCAA semifinalists and played instead in Hawaii, where, I’m guessing, the weather was a little better.

   It used to be the Nanea Pac-12 Preview and most of the members of what was the best conference in Division I women’s golf would show up. The Pac-12 has been scattered to the winds, but some of its once proud members have remained loyal to Nanea.

   A couple of Southeastern Conference powers, Auburn and Texas, joined the party this year and finished third and fourth, respectively. But in the end, it was two of the former Pac-12 teams, Stanford, now in the ACC, and Arizona State, which joined the Big 12 in the aftermath of the Pac-12’s implosion, battling it out for the team title.

   But really it was just Stanford at the end when the Nanea Invitational wrapped up Oct. 29^th. The Cardinal had trailed Arizona State, which jumped from No. 21 to No. 13 in the Scoreboard rankings on the strength of its showing at Nanea, by a shot going into the final round.

   Stanford had opened with a 10-under 282 over the 6,449-yard, par-72 Nanea layout before adding an 11-under 281 in the second round. The Sun Devils, who lost in a playoff and settled for runnerup honors in its first year in the Big 12 Championship last spring, had blitzed the Nanea layout with a 17-under 275 in the opening round before adding a 5-under 287 in the second round.

   But Stanford just went off in the final round with that sizzling 23-under finish that left the Cardinal with a 44-under 832 total, the third-best total in relation to par in the proud history of the program.

   Arizona State closed with a 3-under 289 to earn runnerup honors with a 25-under 851 total. The Sun Devils finished one frustrating shot outside the top eight that qualified for match play in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa.

   Ortengren led the way for Stanford as she closed with a sizzling 7-under 66 to get a share of medalist honors with Texas’ Cindy Hsu, a senior from Taiwan, and Auburn’s Anna Davis, a junior from Spring Valley, Calif. and No. 13 in the Women’s WAGR, each ending up with a 10-under 209 total.

   Ortengren had opened with a 2-under 71 before adding a 1-under 72 in the second round.

   Revuelta was right on the heels of the top three as she closed with a sparkling 6-under 67 to finish alone in fourth place with a 9-under 210 total. Revuelta had matched Ortengren’s start, opening with a 2-under 71 and adding a 1-under 72 in the second round.

   Ganne, winner of August’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon, Martin Sampedro and their teammate Kelly Xu, a senior from Claremont, Calif. and No. 21 in the Women’s WAGR, were part of a group of five players who finished in a tie for fifth place in the individual standings at 8-under 211.

   After struggling a little in the opening round with a 2-over 75, Ganne posted a 4-under 69 in the second round before finishing strong, matching Revuelta’s 6-under 67 in the final round.

   Martin Sampedro tallied back-to-back 2-under 71s in the first two rounds before closing with a 4-under 69.

   For a lot of programs, Xu would be the star, but she is a steady presence amid all the talent around her. Xu signed for back-to-back 4-under 69s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 73.

   Stanford was scheduled to tee it up in the Windy City Collegiate Challenge earlier this fall, but only sent a couple of individuals because its best players were in Singapore representing their various countries in the World Amateur Team Championship (WATC).

   Ganne was a member of the U.S. team that lifted the Espirito Santo Trophy, her third-round 72 giving the Red, White & Blue the tiebreaker edge over Spain, with Martin Sampedro and Revuelta in the lineup, and South Korea for the title.

   Ortengren represented Sweden, which finished in sixth place in Singapore.

   Auburn, behind Davis, finished four shots behind Arizona State in third place in the team standings in the Nanea Invitational with a 21-under 855 total.

   The Tigers, who improved three spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 16 to No. 13 in the aftermath of the Nanea Invitational, grabbed the lead with an opening round of 21-under 271. They struggled in the second round with a 6-over 298 before closing with a 6-under 286.

   Davis sparked Auburn’s opening-round surge with a sizzling 7-under 66 and added a 3-under 70 in the second round before matching par in the final round to get her share of medalist honors at 10-under. It was her fourth collegiate title.

   Davis was coming off an individual victory in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational at the Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, N.C. that led the Tigers to the team title. Davis fell to Ganne in a heavyweight matchup in the second round of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes in August.

   It was a disappointing end to the season for Auburn last spring as the Tigers failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a three seed in the Gold Canyon Regional.

   Texas, behind Hsu, finished two shots behind Auburn in fourth place with a 19-under 857 total. After opening with a 5-under 287, the Longhorns added an 11-under 281 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 289.

   Hsu carded back-to-back 4-under 69s in the first two rounds at Nanea, then birdied the last three holes of her final round for a 2-under 71 that got her a share of the individual crown, the first collegiate victory of her career.

   Texas, in its first year in the SEC, earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship last spring at La Costa and fell to Big Ten champion Oregon in the quarterfinals.

   California, which joined Stanford in the ACC after the demise of the Pac-12, finished alone in fifth place in the team standings, 16 shots behind Texas with a 3-under 873 total.

   The Golden Bears, who stood at No. 51 in the Scoreboard rankings following their solid showing in the Nanea Invitational, opened with a 5-under 287 and added a 2-over 294 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 292.

   California failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a six seed in the Gold Canyon Regional last spring.

   Two more Pac-12 ex-pats, UCLA, now in its second year in the Big Ten, and Colorado, which joined Arizona State in the Big 12, finished in a tie for sixth place in the 11-team field in the Nanea Invitational, each landing on even-par 876.

   UCLA, which dropped six spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 17 to No. 23 following the Nanea Invitational, opened with a 4-under 288 and added a 1-over 293 in the second round before finishing up with a 3-over 295.

   The Bruins advanced to the NCAA Championship at La Costa by finishing in fifth place as a five seed in the Charlottesville Regional last spring.

   Colorado, which moved up two spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 44 to No. 42 following its showing in the Nanea Invitational, opened with a 4-under 288 before adding back-to-back 2-over 294s in the final two rounds.

   Not completely sure all of the Stanford starters will be returning for the spring portion of the wraparound 2025-2026 season. Doesn’t look like Ortengren, Martin Sampedro or Revuelta participated in the qualifying process for the Ladies European Tour (LET).

   Anne Walker, the Margo and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf at Stanford, brought four other players to the Nanea Invitational to compete as individuals and that group would probably for a nice nucleus of starters for many college teams.

   Anna Song, a freshman from Los Angeles, finished among the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-under 216 total. After opening with a 1-over 74, Song recorded a 1-under 72 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 70.

   Leigh Chien, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., finished in the group tied for 26^th place with an even-par 219 total as she opened with a 3-under 70 and added a 2-over 75 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 74.

   Kaila Elsayegh, a freshman from Pacific Palisades, Calif., finished among the trio tied for 32^nd place with a 2-over 221 total. Elsayegh got off to a solid start, adding a 3-under 70 in the second round to her opening round of 1-under 72 before struggling in the final round with a 6-over 79.

   Rounding out the Stanford contingent was Nora Sundberg, a sophomore from Sweden who finished in the group tied for 35^th place with a 3-over 222 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 73, Sundberg struggled in the second round with a 6-over 79 before bouncing back with a solid 3-under 70 in the final round.

   Backing up Hsu for Texas was Farah O’Keefe, a junior home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR, as she joined the Stanford trio of Ganne, Martin Sampedro and Xu as well as Auburn’s Charlotte Cantonis, a freshman from Naples, Fla., in the tie for fifth place at 8-under.

   O’Keefe, one of Ganne’s teammates on the winning U.S. Team in the Women’s WATC in Singapore, matched par in the opening round with a 73 and added a 5-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 70 to join the group at 8-under.

   Backing up Davis for Auburn, Cantonis opened with a scintillating 8-under 65, the best individual round of the tournament. Cantonis backed off with a 2-over 75 in the second round before finishing up with a 2-under 71 to end up in the group at 8-under.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings was Arizona State’s Patience Rhodes, a redshirt junior from England and No. 22 in the Women’s WAGR, as she finished alone in 10^th placed with a 7-under 212 total.

   Rhodes, a key figure in Great Britain & Ireland’s victory over the United States in the Curtis Cup Match in the summer of 2024 at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England, opened with a 5-under 68, fell back with a 2-over 75 in the second round and finished up with a 4-under 69.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solano right at home in Philly Junior Tour victory at Buena Vista

 

   Lucas Solano of Vineland, N.J., playing close to home at Buena Vista Country Club, carded a sparkling 1-under-par 71 to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division Oct. 26^th.

   Solano made birdies at the seventh, 12^th and 18^th holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a run of five pars in a row from the 13^th through the 17^th holes. Solano finished strong, touring the incoming nine at Buena Vista in 1-under 35.

   Henry Sokol, fresh off a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman at Harriton, made birdies at the first, fourth and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of seven straight pars from the ninth through the 15^th holes, as he earned runnerup honors among the younger guys with a 2-over 74.

   Like Solano, Henry Sokol finished strong with a 1-under 35 on the back nine at Buena Vista.

   Torrin Denton of Mullica Hill, N.J. made an early birdie on the seventh hole, then ripped off three birdies in his last five holes at 14, 15 and 18 as he finished in third place with a 77. Denton had seven pars on his card.

   David Padgett of Barnegat, N.J. took fourth place with a 78, Lucas Shank of West Chester was fifth with an 80, Nicholas DiMedio of Haddonfield, N.J. was sixth with an 82, Conor Coughlin of Haddon Township, N.J. was seventh with an 87 and Jack Sokol, Henry Sokol’s twin brother who also had a strong freshman season at Harriton, teeing it up in the District One Class AAA Championship, was eighth with an 88.

   Evan Hahn of Berlin, N.J. took ninth place with an 89 and Ryan Russell of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with a 93.

   Brody Calle, who qualified for the District One Class AAA Championship as a senior at Owen J. Roberts this fall, and Ravi Gohel of Mount Laurel, N.J. shared the top spot on the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division as each signed for a 4-over 76.

   Calle made birdies at the third, seventh and ninth holes and had nine pars on his scorecard. Gohel made a birdie at the fifth hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from 13 to 16.

   Nicholas Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J., Eric Coombs of North Cape May, N.J., David Watts of Haddonfield, N.J. and David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. finished in a four-way logjam for third place, each tallying an 80.

   Fargnoli made birdies on the fifth and 10^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from six through nine, as he matched par on Buena Vista’s outgoing nine with a 36.

   Coombs made a birdie on the third hole and had nine pars on his card, Watts made a birdie at 12 and had eight pars on his card and Dempsey had 13 pars on his card, including a string of eight pars in a row from three through 10.

   Paul O’Malley, a junior on the Methacton golf team, took seventh place with an 81 and Ryan Stankoski of Mullica Hill, N.J. and Adam Esemplare of Haddonfield, N.J. shared eighth place, each recording an 85.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Logan Hensel of Mickleton, N.J. as he finished in 10^th place with an 87.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Harriton sophomore Megan Choi, coming off a tie for 20^th place in her second straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State, carried that momentum from her solid scholastic postseason to a 3-over 75 at Buena Vista.

   Choi made birdies at the eighth and 11^th holes and had 12 pars on her scorecard, finishing up her round with five straight pars.

   Siena Cohen of Marlton, N.J. made pars on the seventh and 15^th holes as she earned runnerup honors with a 94. Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. had four pars on her card as she finished two shots behind Cohen in third place with a 96.

   Brianna Stwalley, a sophomore on the Central Bucks West golf team, and Hailey Cousins of Port Republic, N.J. rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as they shared fourth place, each registering a 100.

   Nicole Tarquinio of Bridgeton, N.J. made a birdie at the 12^th hole and had seven pars on her scorecard as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with an 85.

   Maddie Gibson of Cinnaminson, N.J. had five pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 89 that left her just four shots behind Tarquinio.

   Emily Renouf, another Cinnaminson, N.J. entry, had four pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 97.

   Christina St. Pierre, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Pennsbury this fall, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she finished in fourth place with a 101.

   Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J. bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers as he made birdies at the first and seventh holes and had five pars on his scorecard while matching par with a 36.

   It was the 15^th victory of the season for Dollard, one of the many standouts among the boys nine-holers who have battled it out throughout 2025.

   Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. had six pars on his card, including four straight pars to finish up his round, as he earned runnerup honors with a 4-over 40.

   Aidan Treshaj of Ambler made pars on the last five holes of his round as he finished in third place with a 42.

   Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. took fourth place with a 43, Helmut Dang of Newtown Square, coming off a share of first place in a Philly Junior Tour stop a day earlier at Reading Country Club, was fifth with a 45 and Kelly Salvesen of Cape May Court House, N.J. was sixth with a 47.

   Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley took seventh place with a 51 and Kayaan Patel, another Mullica Hill, N.J. entry, rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished eighth with a 57.

   Allison Choi, another member of Penn Valley’s Team Choi, was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and carded a 56.

 

 

 

 

Bishop Shanahan's Drake makes his pars count as he claims a Philly Junior Tour victory at Reading

 

   Pierce Drake, a junior on the Bishop Shanahan golf team, carded a solid 3-over-par 73 at Reading Country Club, the classic layout in Exeter Township along Route 422, to capture a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Oct. 25^th.

   Drake was a par machine at the tricky Reading layout as he had 15 pars on his scorecard, including a string of eight straight pars from the fifth through the 12^th holes, on his way to the win.

   Luke Farnese, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Plymouth-Whitemarsh this fall, made an early birdie at the fifth hole, went back-to-back with birdies at 13 and 14 and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with an 8-over 78.

   Josh Mohn of Wilmington, Del. and Jake Ruppert, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Father Judge this fall, finished in a tie for third place, each posting an 80.

   Mohn made a birdie on the seventh hole, closed out his round with a birdie at Reading’s finishing hole and had seven pars on his card. Ruppert had nine pars on his card.

   Vyom Shukla of Berwyn took fifth place with an 81, Eoin Regan, who wrapped up his scholastic career at North Penn this fall, was sixth with an 82, Shane Cornell, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior on the Avon Grove golf team this fall, was seventh with an 84, Justin Wheeler, a junior on the William Tennant golf team, was eighth with an 87 and Jaden Irvin, a junior on the Hershey High golf team, was ninth with an 88.

   Blake Shakal of Hershey took 10^th place with an 89 and Logan Hyndman of Newtown rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as he finished 11^th with a 90.

   Ben Nowland, a sophomore on the Avon Grove golf team, got it going late with birdies at the 14^th, 16^th and 18^th holes and had seven pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with an 8-over 78.

   Casey McGinley of Perkasie made a birdie on the third hole and had five pars on his card as he captured runnerup honors with an 81.

   Anthony Albano, a sophomore on the Saucon Valley golf team, and Owen Fanning of Gap shared third place, each signing for an 83.

   Albano had 10 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from the 11^th through the 14^th holes, and Fanning opened his round with a birdie at the first hole and had five pars on his card.

   Mason Kim, a freshman on the Wissahickon golf team, and Toby Lerner of Philadelphia shared fifth place, each tallying an 84, and Gavin Lane of Cinnaminson, N.J. and Carson McNamee of Harleysville finished in a tie for seventh, each recording an 87.

   Grayson McCann of Downingtown took ninth place with an 88 and John Wenzel of Maple Glen rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with a 90.

   Delaney Kearney, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Springfield this fall, made back-to-back pars on the 15^th and 16^th holes on her way to a 90 as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 13-to-15 division.

   Antonella Ferrer of Wynnewood made a par on the 15^th hole as she was the runnerup in a short field in the 13-to-15 division with a 121.

   The most competitive division on the Philly Junior Tour throughout the fall has been the boys 12-and-under nine-holers and it was more of the same at Reading as Helmut Dang of Newtown Square, Jaxson Freeborn, playing not too far from his home in Reading, and Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr finished in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, each registering a 5-over 39.

   Dang had five pars on his scorecard on his way to his 12^th Philly Junior Tour victory of the season. Freeborn also had five pars on his card. Muego had five pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from the third through the sixth holes, as he earned his ninth Philly Junior Tour win of 2025.

   Graeme Day of West Chester, Connor Masulis of Pottstown and Dean Matta of West Grove finished in a tie for fourth place, each ending up just a shot behind the top three with a 6-over 40 on the outgoing nine at Reading.

   Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J. took seventh with a 41, Grayson Wright of Philadelphia was eighth with a 43 and Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for ninth, each carding a 44.

   That’s only five shots separating the top-10 finishers as the balance among the young guys remains pretty remarkable.

   Claire Malbacho of Haverford had two pars on her scorecard as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 48.

   Lillian Fry of Pennsburg and Aashi Chakraborty of Kennett Square rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for second place, each ending up two shots behind Malbacho with a 50.