Best of the Best at the Top – Stanford Cardinal

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Heading into the 2024-25 season, Stanford women’s golf and the University of Texas were both sitting atop the NCAA golf rankings as the teams to beat. Stanford began the year ranked No. 1 while Texas trailed at No. 2. That’s exactly how both teams sit following two rounds of the Nanea Invitational, with the Cardinal out in front by three strokes over the hard-charging Longhorns.

While Stanford was the class of the field on Monday, Texas matched Stanford’s round one performance on Tuesday. The Longhorns shot a 13-under 279 as a team in round two, gaining eight strokes on the Cardinal. Stanford’s 5-under 287 was still the second-best round of the day by any team, with scores a bit higher across the board. Texas leapfrogs Arizona State and San Jose State, both 10-under through two rounds, for second place. Stanford’s 18-under through two rounds is good for a three-stroke lead, one stroke larger than the lead it held following Monday.

Meja Ortengren made strides in the second round, once again posting a 2-under 71 to move up three spots into a tie for ninth. She found a lot of life in the middle of her round, going bogey-free from 4-14 on the scorecard, with three birdies. She gained two more strokes with birdies on 16 and 18 near the end of her round to shoot a 34 on the back nine.

Joining Ortengren with a 2-under 71 was Kelly Xu, who sits in a tie for seventh heading into the final round. Her round featured ups and downs, highlighted by an eagle on the fourth hole, one of four eagles in the tournament so far. That was part of a six-hole run where Xu was 5-under, which got her back into the top 10 after falling out earlier in the round.

A trio of Cardinal shot 1-under 72s on Tuesday. Megha Ganne, Paula Martin Sampedro and Leigh Chien were able to remain under par with steady rounds, all representing counting scores for the Card. Ganne is just one stroke back of the overall lead in a tie for fourth, sitting at 7-under through two rounds. She posted five birdies on Tuesday, with a pair of back-to-back birdies. Martin Sampedro compiled four birdies in her round to move up one spot into a tie for 11^th while Chien jumped up seven spots into the top 20 with her 71.

Farah O’Keefe of Texas had the best round of the day, posting a 6-under 67 to move into a three-way tie for the lead with Isla McDonald of Arizona State and Raya Nakao of Oregon State. All three are 8-under, while Ganne is in a three-way tie of her own at 7-under.