Prior to the start of the NCAA D1 Men’s Golf Championship very few analysts were talking about OSU (Oklahoma State University). The consensus seemed to be that the battle would be between the number one ranked program, Auburn and FSU (because of their star Luke Clanton). OSU was ranked #2 in the country coming into the competition.
Surprises from stroke play: The most shocking outcome from stroke play was that FSU did not make it to the top eight so they never even had a sniff at match play. The other surprises were that Texas A&M (#11 in the rankings) and Ilinois (#12 in the rankings) did not make the top 15 cut.
The individual champion from stroke play came for Ole Miss, Michael La Sasso with a final score of 11 under par. Again, this was not a player getting press at the start of the championship. The big names really did not play well: Luke Clanton from FSU (+1, finished 22nd) and Jackson Koivun from Auburn (-6, finished 4th).
Surprises from Match Play:
Just like with the women’s championship we had a team that was not on the radar take down some big teams. Virginia (#11 ranked school) took down Auburn (#1) 3&2 in the first round of match play. Then Virginia took down the Florida Gators (#6) 4&1. The Gators took down Texas (#5 ranked) in the first round.
The Final day it was OSU against Virginia and at the start of the matches it looked like Virginia was going to take down the #2 program in the country; but momentum change as the matches got deeper into their rounds and OSU came out on top 4&1.
The most famous current PGA Tour golfers from OSU, Rickie Fowler and Victor Hovland, must be a very happy alumni!
If you enjoyed the Women’s NCAA golf championship now you can follow the best male golfers in college as the top schools vie for the national championship.
The format for the men’s NCAA is the same as the women. First, three rounds of stroke play to get into the top 15 and on Monday, May 26 the final round of stroke play to determine the final eight teams moving on to match play.
Match play will be on Tuesday May 27 and the Final Match Play Wednesday May 28. Golf Channel will televise the NCAA on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Or you can follow the championship on the college scoreboard site.
Top teams competing include: #1 Auburn, #2 Oklahoma State, #3 Ole Mis, #4 Texas, #5 Arizona State. FSU is ranked #9 but they have one of the best players in college, Luke Clanton who has already earned his PGA Tour Card via the PGA University program. Clanton has deferred going to the PGA tour because he wants to win a national title with FSU. Although Clanton is a junior, he will turn pro after the NCAA championships.
Auburn is the number #1 ranked team in men’s college golf and the NCAA defending champion. Auburn has a stellar player in junior, Jackson Koivun named the 2025 SEC player of the year. Of course, Arizona State has their own star in Josele Ballester, the 2024 U.S. Amateur ( and recently famous for peeing in the woods at The Masters).
It’s hard not to predict Auburn as the winner but I am going to pick FSU because they lost to Auburn in 2024 in the finals and so I think (1) FSU has a chip on their shoulder and (2) It is very hard to win back-to-back National Championships and that is what Auburn is attempting to achieve this week.
Of course, like the women’s competition, you never know if another team will surprise everyone and come out on top.
Northwestern Women’s Golf team, ranked #11 in the college golf rankings going into the NCAA championships, are the 2025 NCAA D1 Women’s Golf Champions.
It may seem odd to say that Northwestern was not on everyone’s radar or that they were an underdog; but when you look at the competition they really were not a team people were talking about this year.
Here is journey of Northwestern through the NCAA D1 Women’s Championship.
Stroke Play
Day1 in 8th place (score of +3), Day 2 in 2nd place (score of Even), Day 3 in 2nd place (score of 8 under par), fourth and final day of stroke play 3rd place (score of +2). First place was Stanford at 27 under par and second place at six under was Oregon.
It is interesting to note that the NCAA used to be a stroke play event. If that were true today; Standford would have run away with the championship. Some believe the change was for television and yes, it is easier for TV coverage with match play but that is not the true reason for the change. The championship went to a combination of stroke play and match play to mirror the major amateur events college golfers play.
So after stroke play Northwestern was the #3 seed in match play and would face University of Arkansas in round one.
Match Play
Northwestern golfers were tough competitors in match play.
Round One: I don’t think any analyst of college women’s golf picked them to beat the #2 ranked team in women’s golf, University of Arkansas. But they did! Northwestern won 3&2 (out of five matches they won three).
Round 2 (Semi-finals): Facing another top rated team in Oregon ranked third in the college golf rankings. Again, Northwestern won 3&2.
Final Round: Northwestern goes up against the #1 ranked college golf team, Stanford. To put this in perspective, Northwestern is ranked #11 in the college golf rankings so they really were considered the underdog; especially since Standford took down FSU (which has the #1 and #2 rank female golfers in the world) in the semi-final match. The match between Lottie Woad (FSU) and Megha Ganne (Stanford) was electric with birdies needed to win holes. And for Megha Ganne to beat Lottie Woad was a huge momentum builder for Standford going into the finals.
At first it looked like Stanford would have an easy time taking down Northwestern with Megha Ganne winning the first match 5&4; but midway through Northwestern was leading in three of the four other matches. Northwestern won Match 2 (1 Up), Match 3 (3&2). Next Stanford won the 4th Match (1 Up) and it all came down to the final match.
The final match came down to the final 18th hole and the final putt. Dianna Lee of Northwestern had a one up lead and only needed two putts to win but she loves to hit her putts firm and instead of giving herself an easy tap in on the second putt, she had a nerve wracking five footer to win.
I must admit when I saw Standford against Northwestern was going to be the final match I thought it would not be very exciting and it felt that way watching Megha Ganne take a 3 up lead right out of the gate; but Northwestern showed their toughness and made it a very competitive and exciting final match.
Side Bar: It was very shocking to see the top teams that did not play well at Nationals. Wake Forest did not even make the cut to the top 15 teams. South Carolina, #5 ranked team in the country, made it into the top 15 but did not make the final eight for match play.
Florida State (the team I thought would win) was taken down by Stanford in the semi-finals; thanks to the stunning upset of Megha Ganne beating world #1 Lottie Woad. And finally it was really shocking to see both Arkansas and Oregon fall to Northwestern. It just speaks to the heart of Northwestern to believe in their ability and their team.
Congratulations to the 2025 NCAA D1 Women’s Golf Champions – Northwestern University!
The regional championships where held May 5 -7 (see previous post for details). The top seeds in each region made it to the the NCAA championship to be held May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resorts & Spa in Carlsbad, CA.; and televised on Golf Channel, ESPN, Peacock (check local listings). Monday TV coverage will be final day of stroke play; Tuesday and Wednesday will be match play. See screenshot below for Golf Channel coverage (time is EST).
Below is a list of the 5 teams and one individual from each region (not on a winning team) moving on to the championship.
Charlotte Region
Winner: South Carolina (won by 11 shots with a final team score of 2 under par). Rounding out the top 5 teams are: (2) Ole Miss, (3) Florida, (3) Virginia, and (5) UCLA. Individual Champion was Marie Madsen of NC State (she is also the individual moving on that was not on a winning team).
Columbus Region
Winner: Kansas (with a team score of 6 under par). Rounding out the top five teams are: (2) Arkansas, (3) Ohio State, (4) UNLV, and (5) LSU. Individual Champion was Lyla Louderbaugh of Kansas (with a winning score of 12 under par). The other low score individual advancing is Moa Svedenskilod of Houston. The one surprise was UNLV (7th seed) advancing.
Golf Canyon Region
Winner: Oregon (winning team score 12 under par). Rounding out the top five teams are: (2) Arizona State, (3) Oklahoma Sate, (4) Mississippi State, (5) Cal State Fullerton. The individual Champion was Kiara Romero (16 under par). The surprise team moving on is Cal State Fullerton which was the 10th seed out of 12 teams. The upset was that the third seed, Auburn, did not make the championship. However, Anna Davis of Auburn is the low individual moving forward from a team not advancing.
Lexington Region
Winner: Florida State (no surprise as the top seed). Rounding out the top five teams are: (2) Georgia Southern who were the sixth seed, (3) Kansas State, (4) Southern California, (5) Vanderbilt. The Individual winner was Carla Bernat of Kansas State. You may recall that name because she was the women that won this year’s Augusta National’s Women Amateur. What is really interesting is she beat the top two players in the world; Lottie Woad (#1) and Mirabel Ting (#2) both play for Florida State. The upset at the Lexington Region was that third seed, TCU, did not advance. However, Sofia Barroso Sa of TCU is the low individual on a non-advancing team moving forward.
Lubbock Regional
Winner: Wake Forest. The wind and rainy weather did not stop the #1 seed from winning the Region, Wake Forest advances and the individual champion from the region is from Wake Forest – Carolina Chacara. The other individual moving forward is Lousiane Gauthere from Florida Golf Coast.
The big surprise was that Arizona, #3 seed did not advance; and Tennessee (#6 seed) did advance. Also, the most exciting situation in all the regions was a playoff between Texas A&M (#4 seed) and Purdue (#7 seed). Purdue won the playoff to win the fifth slot from the Lubbock Region going to Nationals.
As expected most of the top seeds advanced to the NCAA national championship. I still believe that one of the following will win: Florida State, Wake Forest, or Stanford. If it were purely stroke play, Standford would probably win because they have not lost a stroke play event this year; but any team that can make it to match play has a chance. After all, Wake Forest took out Stanford at the ACC in the seim-final matches.
There could be a surprise winner! It’s hard not to put your money on Florida State since they won the ACC Championship where both Wake Forest and Standford competed. But I would not be surprised is South Carolina or Arkansas win because both teams have been playing stellar golf coming into the championship season. Who I want to win – South Carolina. Who I think will win and my final pick – Florida State wins it.
The women’s golf college conference championships are completed and now the focus is on NCAA D1 Regional competitions that will set the field for the 2025 NCAA D1 Championship to be held May 16 -21 in Carlsbad, CA at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.
Regionals are contended at six different sites with 12 teams at each regional; as well as 6 individual golfers from teams that did not qualify. The individuals are top players that qualified to compete for the Individual NCAA D1 title.
Regional qualifying is always very exciting because it seems like every year there is a team that no analyst is touting that catches fire and knocks out a top team. Only five of the 12 teams at each region will move on to Nationals. In other words, of the 72 teams competing for a spot only 30 teams will advance to the national championship. And the top individual golfer not on an advancing team will also go to the national championship.
If you want to see all the teams (and individual) seeding for the regions you can get all the details at the NCAA website. The top seed in each region are no surprise if you follow women’s college golf.
Charlottesville RegionalTop Seeds: #1 South Carolina, #2 Virginia, #3 Ole Miss, #4 Florida
Norman Regional Top Seeds: #1 Stanford University, #2 Northwestern, #3 North Carolina, #4 Michigan State
It will be interesting to see if where the teams play in regional competition impacts outcome. For example, Wake Forest plays in the Texas regional location so there will be lots of wind. Will the wind be an issue? Will teams like Texas and Texas A&M have an advantage because they are used to Texas wind?
Side Bar: Texas A&M fun fact – the coach, Gerrod Chadwell is married to LPGA star, Stacey Lewis.
Can’t wait to see who advances and what upsets may occur at the 2025 NCAA D1 Women’s Golf regional competitions.
Looking forward to the NCAA D1 Championship:
PastWinners: Stanford (2024), Wake Forest (2023), Stanford (2022), and Ole Miss (2021)
For me, one of the following teams will win the NCAA D1 Championship in 2025: Standford, Wake Forest, South Carolina or Florida State.
South Carolina won the 2025 SEC championship so are in great form for championship season. Wake Forest beat Stanford in the semi-finals of the ACC but lost to Florida State in the championship match play; but it was very close and came down to the last putt on the 18th hole of the last match. So just the fact that Wake Forest beat Stanford in match play gives them a lot of confidence going into the NCAA series. Florida state is a “no-brainer” as a pick to win it all with the #1 and #2 rank women golfers in the world on the Seminoles roster.
Unfortunately none of the regional competitions will be televised but you can keep track online and I will, of course, blog before the D1 Championships to give an overview of the teams that made it to the NCAA finals for women’s golf.
After the completion of the NCAA D1 Championships, two notable amateur golfers turned professional. Rose Zhang the #1 female amateur golfer in the world and Sam Bennett the #5 ranked male golfer in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Rose Zhang
You cannot call yourself a golf fan if you do not know about Rose Zhang. She won the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, she has been ranked the #1 female golfer in the world for a record 141 weeks, she has won the D1 Individual NCAA Championship title back-to-back (2022 and 2023). Other notable wins in her amateur career include the U.S. Girls Junior (2021) and the U.S. Women’s Amateur (2020). Her other amateur accomplishments are too long to list.
She had all eyes on her at the LPGA’s Mizuho American Open (at Liberty National in New Jersey where the President’s Cup was held in 2017). How did she do? She WON!!!
It’s incredible that Rose Zhang won her 1st LPGA professional event. Her scores were:
Round One: Tied 12th at 2-under par
Round Two: Tied 4th at 5-under par
Round Three: Leader at 11-under par
Round Four: Tied 1st at 9-under. Won in playoff.
It was an exciting ending for fans (probably very stressful for Zhang) because she was in a playoff against Jennifer Kupcho. Zhang won on the 2nd playoff hole.
It really is remarkable what she has accomplished. The last player to win in her debut on the LPGA was in 1951.
Sam Bennett
Although Sam Bennett was not the #1 amateur in the world; he became an amateur darling with his stellar performance at the 2023 Masters taking home the low amateur honors but more impressive was his T16 (2-under) finish. Of course, he was invited to the Masters as the reigning U.S. Amateur.
Bennett made his professional debut at the Memorial Tournament (notable for being hosted by Jack Nicklaus at his course at Muirfield Village in Ohio). So how did Bennett fare:
Round One: 1-under
Round Two: Even
Round Three: Even
Round Four: Tied 63rd, +12 (an 84 on the last day was not a great finish)
Final Thoughts
Sam Bennett had a very respectable showing for his first PGA Tour event. Just making the cut in your debut on tour would be considered a major accomplishment.
As for Rose Zhang – she has once again shown the golf world what a special golfer she truly is by winning her first professional tournament. Keep an eye on her at the U.S. Women’s Open because she holds the course record (63) at Pebble Beach. And even better is that she is now eligible for The Solheim Cup this fall. I would bet my house on Zhang being a captain’s pick by Stacey Lewis.
Last week was the Women’s NCAA championship and Wake Forest won. This week the men compete for the national title. The competition began on Friday with rounds determining the cut for individual stroke play and also the final teams for match play.
Days and Format of Play:
Same format as the women. Below is the stroke play and match play information:
Friday, May 26 | Stroke play (All 156 participants)
Saturday, May 27 | Stroke play (All 156 participants)
Sunday, May 28 | Stroke play ( All 156 participants)
Monday, May 29 | Stroke play (Top 15 teams, top nine individuals)
Tuesday, May 30 | Match play (Top eight teams, Individual champion crowned)
Wednesday, May 31 | Match play (Team champion crowned)
How to Watch:
Same timeline as the women’s last week. The Golf Channel Broadcast times (in the USA):
May 29 (Monday) at 5 pm: Final Round Individual Stroke Play
May 30 (Tuesday) at Noon: Quarter Finals, Team Matches May 30 (Tuesday) at 5 p.m.: Semi-Finals, Team Matches
Individual Stroke Play: Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt University
Team Match Play: Texas University
Top 5 Individuals (going into the final round of Stroke Play)
Ross Steelman (-9), Georgia Tech
Neal Shipley (-5), Ohio State
Dylan Menante (-5), North Carolina
Barclay Brown (-4), Stanford
Fred Biondi (-4), Florida
You may be wondering about Gordon Sargent #1 ranked college player. Sargent is currently T59 at 7 over par. In fact, none of the top five ranked college players have played well in the first few rounds so they have work to do to win the national championship.
For those that remember Sam Bennett from his wonderful performance at The Masters, he sites T89 at +10.
Top Five Teams of the 15 remaining in stroke play
Note: Of the 15 the top 8 will move to match play.
University of Illinois
Pepperdine
Florida
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
The big shock was that Texas Tech, with Ludvig Aberg did not make the 15 teams for Monday. They were tied 15 with Ohio State and Ohio advanced.
Background on Team and Players
Rankings of the College Teams
You can check out all the rankings for college golf teams on the GolfWeek website but the top teams are currently:
Vanderbilt University
North Carolina
University of Illinois
Arizona State University
Texas Tech
Stanford University
Rankings of College Players
These rankings are college rankings which are different from the WAGR (World Amatuer Golf Rankings). I have listed the WAGR rankings below.
Golf Expectations 