Update: No. 3 Wake Forest captured its first-ever NCAA DI women’s golf national title on Wednesday, defeating No. 5 Southern California 3-1-0. Demon Deacons players Emilia Migliaccio, Rachel Kuehn and Lauren Walsh won their respective matches to clinch the 2023 title. Of note, Walsh took down USC’s Brianna Navarossa in the day’s anchor match — a day after Navarrossa beat Stanford’s Rose Zhang, who won the individual title on Monday. Wake Forest finished third in the stroke play portion of the competition to advance to match play. The Demon Deacons beat No. 6 Florida State in the quarterfinals before downing No. 7 Texas A&M to reach the national championship match, where they beat USC.
The 30-team field is set for the 2023 NCAA DI women’s golf championships, set for May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, with defending champion Stanford leading the charge among the six regional qualifying tournaments that wrapped on Wednesday. The Cardinal recorded both the best team and individual scores of the week, posting a combined for 50-under par to win the Pullman (Washington) regional by 17 shots.
Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang, who won the 2022 individual NCAA title, led the Cardinal with a score of 19-under over three rounds, highlighted by an 8-under 64 in her first round on Monday. Zhang set a new NCAA record for the low 54-hole score at Regionals by three shots at Palouse Ridge Golf Club, while her team obliterated the NCAA 54-hole team scoring mark by 17 strokes. The Pullman Regional produced the five lowest team scores of the week, as four teams (Stanford, Clemson, Southern California, Baylor) shot better than 20-under.
Other notable performances came from Arizona, which rallied on Wednesday to win the Raleigh Regional, while the Georgia defended its home course in the Athens Regional, holding off a late push from South Carolina. Also advancing out of Athens was No. 11 seed Augusta, who will make its first appearance at nationals in program history. In the Westfield Regional, Mississippi State won its first-ever regional tournament, while Michigan State won the Palm Beach Regional to also mark a program first. Pepperdine and SMU finished tied atop the leaderboard in the San Antonio Regional.
This year marks the first time in women’s tournament history that that five teams will advance from each regional rather than four (increasing the field from 24 to 30 teams). In January, the NCAA gained approval to increase the number of schools moving on to nationals, aligning it with the number of teams in the men’s championships.
The Stanford Cardinal are the defending champions, beating the Oregon Ducks in the 2022 finals at Grayhawk GC. Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang will aim to defend her individual title as well, and looks to keep the momentum rolling this spring after wins at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Pac-12 Championships, where she claimed her 10th career collegiate title to set a new Cardinal record.
Read on as On Her Turf breaks down all you need to know about this year’s championships, and be sure to check back here for updates and results as the tournament progresses.
Matchups and results
On Monday, Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang became the first women’s player to ever win consecutive NCAA individual titles on Monday at Grayhawk Golf Club. Zhang finished at 10-under 278 after 54 holes, beating USC’s Catherine Park and San Jose State’s Lucia Lopez-Ortega by one stroke. Complete scoring details can be found here.
Quarterfinals matchups and results:
- Match 1: No. 7 Texas A&M defeats No. 2 Texas, 3-1
- Match 2: No. 3 Wake Forest defeats No. 6 Florida State, 3-1
- Match 3: No. 1 Stanford defeats No. 8 Pepperdine, 3-1
- Match 4: No. 5 Southern California defeats No. 4 South Carolina, 3-1
Semifinal matchups and results:
- Match 5: No. 3 Wake Forest defeats No. 7 Texas A&M, 3-0-0
- Match 6: No. 5 Southern California defeats No. 1 Stanford, 3-1-0
Championship matchup and results:
- Match 7: No. 3 Wake Forest defeats No. 5 Southern California, 3-1-0
How to watch the 2023 NCAA DI women’s golf championships
You can watch the 2023 NCAA DI women’s golf championships on Golf Channel, Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Check out the complete TV and streaming schedule:
- Monday, May 22: 5 p.m. ET (final round, individual stroke play), Golf Channel and Peacock
- Tuesday, May 23: Noon ET (quarterfinals, team matches) and 5 p.m. ET (semifinals, team matches), Golf Channel and Peacock
- Wednesday, May 24: 5 p.m. ET (national championship team match), Golf Channel and Peacock
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Who’s playing in the 2023 NCAA DI women’s golf championships?
UPDATE: Stanford, Texas, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Southern California, Florida State, Texas A&M and Pepperdine advanced to match play.
FINALS FIELD
Thirty teams — five from each of the six regions — qualified for the finals, May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Also qualifying were six individuals (one from each regional site) whose teams did not advance. They are:
Athens Regional:
- 1. Georgia
- 2. South Carolina
- 3. San Jose State
- 4. Ole Miss
- 5. Augusta
- Individual: Leon Takagi – Kent State
Palm Beach Gardens Regional:
- 1. Michigan State
- 2. Duke
- T-3. Texas
- T-3. Northwestern
- 5. LSU
- Individual: Sara Byrne – Miami (FL)
Pullman Regional:
- 1. Stanford
- 2. Clemson
- 3. Southern California
- 4. Baylor
- 5. Texas Tech
- Individual: Tiffany Le – UC Riverside
Raleigh Regional:
- 1. Arizona
- 2. NC State
- 3. Wake Forest
- 4. TCU
- 5. Florida State
- Individual: Dorota Zalewska – Chattanooga
San Antonio Regional Site:
- T-1. Pepperdine
- T-1. SMU
- T-3. Oklahoma State
- T-3. Texas A&M
- 5. New Mexico
- Individual: Camryn Carreon – UTSA
Westfield Regional:
- 1. Mississippi State
- 2. Oregon State
- 3. Vanderbilt
- 4. Virginia
- 5. Tulsa
- Individual: Isabella McCauley – Minnesota
Past NCAA DI women’s golf champions
The NCAA DI women’s golf championships went to a combination stroke-play and match-play format in 2015. The previous format was strictly stroke play (72 holes) from the championships’ inception in 1982 through 2014.
| YEAR | TEAM CHAMPION | COACH | SCORE | RUNNER-UP | INDIVIDUAL CHAMP (school, score) | LOCATION |
| 2022 | Stanford | Anne Walker | 3-2 | Oregon | Rose Zhang (Stanford, 282) | Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale, AZ |
| 2021 | Ole Miss | Kory Henkes | 4-1 | Oklahoma State | Rachel Heck (Stanford, 280) | Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale, AZ |
| 2020 | n/a (pandemic) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2019 | Duke | Dan Brooks | 3-2 | Wake Forest | Maria Fassi (Arkansas, 211*) | Blessings Golf Club, Fayetteville, AR |
| 2018 | Arizona | Laura Ianello | 3-2 | Alabama | Jennifer Kupcho (Wake Forest, 280) | Karsten Creek Golf Club, Stillwater, OK |
| 2017 | Arizona State | Missy Farr-Kaye | 3-1-1 | Northwestern | Monica Vaughn (Arizona State, 275) | Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, IL |
| 2016 | Washington | Mary Lou Mulflur | 3-2 | Stanford | Virginia Elena Carta (Duke, 272) | Eugene Country Club, Eugene, OR |
| 2015 | Stanford | Anne Walker | 3-2 | Baylor | Emma Talley (Alabama, 285) | The Concession Golf Club, Bradenton, FL |
*Stroke play shortened to three rounds.
What format is used for the 2023 NCAA DI women’s golf championships?
Thirty teams and six individuals will make up the field for the 2023 NCAA DI women’s golf championships, set for May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, and hosted by Arizona State and The Thunderbirds. All teams and individual competitors will compete in 54 holes of stroke play (May 19-21), with the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team moving on for one additional day of stroke play (May 22), which will determine the eight teams for the match-play competition as well as the individual champion.
Any ties after 54 holes – either to determine the teams or individuals who’ll advance to the final round of stroke-play – will be broken by sudden-death playoff. Additionally, ties to determine the eight teams advancing to match play — as well as the individual champion — also will be broken by sudden-death playoff.
Following the conclusion of 72 holes of stroke play, the top eight teams will advance to single-elimination match play, with seeds determined by the team results. A total of five points will be available in each round, with the first team to three points winning. Once a team has won three individual matches, any remaining individual matches will be halted at that point, and the score recorded as it currently stood. Quarterfinals and semifinals are set for May 23, with the finals on May 24.
Regionals rewind: 72 teams take aim at qualifying for nationals
Regional action took place May 8-10 at six regional sites, featuring 72 teams and 36 individuals (396 competitors total). Twenty-seven conferences received automatic bids to regional championships, with each regional site hosting 12 teams and six individuals. The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site moved on to the national championships, set for May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee announced the teams and individuals for each of six regional tournaments on April 26, with Stanford, Wake Forest, LSU, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Texas A&M all earning No. 1 seeds. The SEC led the way with 13 conference programs securing spots in the regional fields (including four No. 1 seeds), followed by the Big Ten and Pac-12 with eight each, and the ACC and Big 12 with seven.
Each regional hosted 12 teams and six individuals competing in a 54-hole tournament, with the top five teams — along with the low individual not on an advancing team — from each site qualifying for nationals at Grayhawk. The six regional sites, including selected teams and individuals, were as follows (includes seeding; conference automatic qualifiers indicated in parentheses):
PULLMAN REGIONAL
Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington; hosted by Washington State
Teams:
- 1. Stanford
- 2. Baylor
- 3. Southern California (Pac-12 Conference)
- 4. Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference)
- 5. Kentucky
- 6. Texas Tech
- 7. Houston
- 8. North Carolina
- 9. UNLV
- 10. Sacramento State (Big Sky Conference)
- 11. Cal Poly (Big West Conference)
- 12. Green Bay (Horizon League)
Individuals:
- Camille Boyd, Washington
- Tiffany Le, UC Riverside
- Harriet Lynch, Fresno State
- Darcy Habgood, Washington State
- Stefanie Deng, Washington
- Cassie Kim, Gonzaga
WESTFIELD REGIONAL
The Club at Chatham Hills Golf Course in Westfield, Indiana; hosted by Indiana and Indiana Sports Corp
Teams:
- 1. Mississippi State
- 2. Oregon
- 3. Vanderbilt
- 4. Iowa State
- 5. Virginia
- 6. Tulsa
- 7. Tennessee
- 8. Michigan
- 9. Oregon State
- 10. Xavier (Big East Conference)
- 11. Lipscomb (ASUN Conference)
- 12. Morehead State (Ohio Valley Conference)
Individuals:
- Isabella McCauley, Minnesota
- Carmen Griffiths, Louisville
- Luisamariana Mesones, Minnesota
- Sofia Torres, Colorado State
- Lauren Beaudreau, Notre Dame
- Sabrina Coffman, Cleveland State (Horizon League)
RALEIGH REGIONAL
Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, North Carolina; hosted by NC State
Teams:
- 1. Wake Forest
- 2. Arizona State
- 3. Florida State
- 4. Florida
- 5. Arizona
- 6. North Texas (Conference USA)
- 7. TCU
- 8. NC State
- 9. Purdue
- 10. Nebraska
- 11. Campbell (Big South Conference)
- 12. Richmond (Patriot League)
Individuals:
- Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga
- Kendall Turner, James Madison
- Mallory Fobes, UNCW
- Morgan Ketchum, Virginia Tech
- Becca DiNunzio, Virginia Tech
- Sarah Kahn, High Point (Big South Conference)
ATHENS REGIONAL
University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia; hosted by Georgia
Teams:
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. San Jose State
- 3. Ole Miss
- 4. Ohio State
- 5. Georgia
- 6. Maryland
- 7. Kent State (Mid-American Conference)
- 8. Charleston (Colonial Athletic Association)
- 9. Kansas
- 10. Furman (Southern Conference)
- 11. Augusta (Southland Conference)
- 12. Sacred Heart (Northeast Conference)
Individuals:
- Carla Bernat, Tulane
- Mathilde Delavallade, Penn State
- Mikhaela Fortuna, Oklahoma
- Catie Craig, Western Kentucky (Conference USA)
- Christy Chen, Boston U (Patriot League)
- Isabella Gomez, Harvard (The Ivy League)
SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL
TPC San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas; hosted by UTSA and San Antonio Sports
Teams:
- 1. Texas A&M (Southeastern Conference)
- 2. Auburn
- 3. Pepperdine
- 4. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference)
- 5. SMU (American Athletic Conference)
- 6. UCLA
- 7. New Mexico (Mountain West Conference)
- 8. Denver (The Summit League)
- 9. Illinois (Big Ten Conference)
- 10. Sam Houston (Western Athletic Conference)
- 11. ULM (Sun Belt Conference)
- 12. Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference)
Individuals:
- Victoria Gailey, Nevada
- Allysha Mae Mateo, BYU
- Haley Vargas, Kansas State
- Camryn Carreon, UTSA
- Jasmine Leovao, Long Beach State (Big West Conference)
- Alex Giles, Incarnate Word (Southland Conference)
PALM BEACH GARDENS REGIONAL
PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; hosted by Florida Atlantic and Palm Beach County Sports Commission
Teams:
- 1. LSU
- 2. Texas
- 3. Northwestern
- 4. UCF
- 5. Duke
- 6. Michigan State
- 7. California
- 8. Arkansas
- 9. Alabama
- 10. South Florida
- 11. Penn (The Ivy League)
- 12. Quinnipiac (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
Individuals:
- Christin Eisenbeiss, North Florida
- Sara Byrne, Miami (FL)
- Yanjun Liu, Princeton
- Karissa Kilby, FIU
- Leah Onosato, Old Dominion (Sun Belt Conference)
- Katherine Lemke, Creighton (Big East Conference)
Last year at Grayhawk Golf Club
The No. 1-ranked Stanford Cardinal captured their second national title — and first since 2015 — with a 3-2 win over the No. 2 Oregon Ducks at Grayhawk Golf Club, marking the first time that a No. 1 seed won the title since the tournament switched to match play in 2015. The Cardinal also became the first team since Arizona State in 2017 to win both the team and individual championship in the same year.
In the championship matches, Stanford’s Brooke Seay and Aline Krauter each won to give the Cardinal a 2-0 edge, but Oregon’s Briana Chacon and Tze-Han Lin tied it up with wins over Sadie Englemann and Rachel Heck, respectively. Stanford’s hopes rested on Rose Zhang, who closed out Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen on the 17th hole, 3 and 1, and secured Stanford’s team title.
Earlier in the week, Zhang also secured the individual NCAA title, finishing four rounds of stroke play at 6-under 282. Despite a 3-over 75 in the final round, Zhang won by three shots over SJSU’s Natasha Adrea Oon, who finished solo second, followed by Texas A&M’s Jennie Park and LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad, who tied for third. Zhang became the second consecutive Cardinal to win the title following teammate Heck’s win in 2021. Heck and Zhang are the only two Stanford women to win the individual national championship, and each did so as freshmen.
More about Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course
This year marks the third straight year that the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club will host the women’s NCAA golf championships. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, less that 20 miles from the Arizona State campus, Grayhawk was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1995. The Raptor Course will play as a par 72 (36-36), stretching 6,384 yards, and is known for its generous fairways, large and undulated greens, and deep bunkers, which are especially noteworthy considering Fazio sculpted these features from what started as a flat piece of desert land.
Grayhawk GC also will host the men’s NCAA tournament May 26-31, but both tournaments move to the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad, California, for 2024. This year marks the eighth consecutive edition of the NCAA Division I Golf Championships that one course will host both the women’s and men’s championships in the same year in consecutive weeks.
The NBC Sports golf research team contributed to this report.
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