Stanford is pulling away. The top-ranked Cardinal fired a 9-under third round — the low team round of the day — to reach 21 under and stretch their lead at the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship to five shots over Southern California. Sunday’s round also closed the stroke-play cut at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California: the 30-team field has been trimmed to the 15 squads that advance to Monday’s fourth and final round of stroke play.
How to Watch — Quick Guide
- Event
- 2026 NCAA DI Women’s Golf Championship
- Round 4
- Monday, May 25 — final round of stroke play
- Location
- Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.
- TV / Stream
- GOLF Channel and Babygrandegolf.com (free livestream)
- Live scoring
- NCAA.com
- Title decided
- Wednesday, May 27
Round 3 Recap: Stanford Pulls Away
Through 54 holes, Stanford has not posted a single bad round — 6 under, 6 under, 9 under — and Anne Walker’s team enters the championship’s decisive stretch firmly in control. Southern California kept the deficit from growing larger with a 7-under charge of its own, fueled by Catherine Park’s sizzling 7-under individual round, and sits second at 16 under. Oklahoma State holds third at 10 under. The day’s biggest move belonged to host Texas: an 8-under third round vaulted the Longhorns from eighth place into fourth at 6 under — the only team in red figures outside the top three.
| Pos | Team | Rank | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford | No. 1 | −21 |
| 2 | Southern California | No. 2 | −16 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | No. 21 | −10 |
| 4 | Texas | No. 5 | −6 |
| T5 | Iowa State | No. 17 | −3 |
| T5 | Arkansas | No. 7 | −3 |
| T7 | Florida | No. 3 | +2 |
| T7 | Arizona State | No. 23 | +2 |
| T7 | Duke | No. 10 | +2 |
| 10 | Eastern Michigan | No. 27 | +6 |
Team leaderboard after Round 3, top 10 — all advance to Round 4. Full standings and live scoring at NCAA.com.
The Cut Is Set — What Round 4 Decides
Sunday’s third round doubled as the stroke-play cut. With 54 holes complete, the 30-team field has been trimmed to the top 15 teams, who advance to Monday’s fourth round. Monday, May 25, is the hinge of the championship: those 15 teams play one more 18-hole round of stroke play that does two things at once — it crowns the 72-hole individual national champion, and it narrows the team race to the eight squads that reach match play. From there, the national title is settled head-to-head, with quarterfinals and semifinals Tuesday and the final Wednesday, May 27.
For Stanford, five shots is a cushion — but a championship that ends in match play is never won on a stroke-play leaderboard.
Stanford Is Built to Finish the Job
A year ago, Stanford walked off the closing holes at La Costa one match short of a national championship. This time the Cardinal arrive at the final round of stroke play well in front, powered by the depth that has defined their season. Sophomore Meja Örtengren sits third individually at 9 under and Megha Ganne is fourth at 8 under — giving Stanford two live contenders for the medal on top of a commanding team margin. With six wins this season and an ACC Championship already in hand, the Cardinal have spent three days making clear they intend to finish what last May’s 3–2 final-match loss left undone.
Texas Surges Into Contention on Home Soil
Host Texas saved its best round for Sunday. The Longhorns’ 8-under third round was bettered only by Stanford and lifted Texas from eighth into a tie for the championship’s third tier at 6 under. The engine is Farah O’Keefe, who shares the individual lead at 10 under after a third-round 68 and leads the field in birdies. “My putter has been doing great so far,” O’Keefe said earlier in the week. “Any putt I miss is only a foot by.” Three rounds in, the championship’s most consistent player has the host program dreaming.
The Individual Race After Round 3
The medal chase is a sprint to Monday’s finish. Texas’s Farah O’Keefe and USC’s Catherine Park share the lead at 10 under — Park rocketing up the board with a 7-under Sunday — with Stanford’s Meja Örtengren (−9) and Megha Ganne (−8) in close pursuit. Because the 72-hole individual national champion is crowned at the end of Round 4, one more strong round decides it.
| Pos | Player | Team | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Farah O’Keefe | Texas | −10 |
| T1 | Catherine Park | Southern California | −10 |
| 3 | Meja Örtengren | Stanford | −9 |
| 4 | Megha Ganne | Stanford | −8 |
| T5 | Kyra Van Kan | Tennessee | −7 |
| T5 | Marta Silchenko | Oklahoma State | −7 |
| T5 | Ellie Bushnell | Oklahoma State | −7 |
| T8 | Kirstin Angosta | TCU (Ind.) | −6 |
| T8 | Thanana Kotchasanmanee | Princeton (Ind.) | −6 |
| T8 | Siuue Wu | Florida | −6 |
Individual leaderboard after Round 3, top 10. The 72-hole individual champion is crowned after Monday’s fourth round.
Six Regions, Six Champions
2026 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship Schedule & Results
| Date | Round |
|---|---|
| May 22 ✓ | Round 1 stroke play — Complete: USC led at 7 under |
| May 23 ✓ | Round 2 stroke play — Complete: Stanford led at 12 under |
| May 24 ✓ | Round 3 stroke play — Complete: Stanford leads at 21 under; field cut to 15 teams |
| May 25 | Round 4 stroke play — 72-hole individual champion crowned; cut to the top eight teams |
| May 26 | Match play — quarterfinals and semifinals |
| May 27 | Match play final — national champion crowned |
