South Carolina, Stanford, Wake Forest, LSU, USC and UCLA each earned No. 1 seeds as the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee announced its selection of 72 teams and 36 individuals to participate in the 2024 NCAA Women’s D-I Regionals, May 6-8.
Thirteen SEC schools earned spots into the regional fields (including four No. 1 seeds), the most of any conference, followed by nine from the Pac-12, eight from the ACC and seven for the Big Ten.
For the third time, there will be six women’s regional tournaments, each scheduled for 54 holes, an increase from four in previous seasons. And for the second year five teams will advance from each regional to the NCAA Women’s Championship rather than four, aligning it with the number of men’s teams that qualify.
But for the first time, the national championship will be held at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.. The North course, newly renovated by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, will begin a three-year stint in hosting the women’s and men’s championships, with some hoping that the new venue might eventually become a permanent host for the NCAA finals.
Back to regionals: each site will have 12 teams and six individuals competing. In addition to the five teams qualifying for nationals, the low individual golfer not on one of those teams will also be moving on to La Costa.
For the ninth time, the national championship will include a stroke-play segment to determine the individual champion (72 holes) and whittle the field down to eight schools who then compete in a head-to-head match-play bracket to determine a team champion. Twenty-nine different programs have advanced to match play since the format was adopted in 2015, with Stanford being the lone school that has reached match play all eight times while USC has reached six and Duke have reached five.
Wake Forests is the defending NCAA women’s champion, after knocking off USC in the finals last May at Grayhawk G.C. in Scottsdale. Stanford’s Rose Zhang became the first player to ever defend her individual title when she won to cap her sophomore season a year ago. She has since turned pro so we’re assured to have a new champions in 2024.
This year’s NCAA Women’s Championship will be May 17-22.
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Teams (listed by seed; conference champions in parenthesis)
South Carolina
Auburn
Oregon
Georgia
North Carolina
Michigan
Houston
Tulsa
Miami (Florida)
Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun)
East Tennessee State (Southern)
Albany (MAAC)
Individuals
Anna Morgan, Furman (Southern)
Isabella McCauley, Minnesota
Gabi Nicastro, Samford
Audrey Ryu, Furman
Lauren Thompson, Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun)
Viktoria Hund, College of Charleston
Private Auburn University Club: Auburn University Auburn, AL 3.8 13 Panelists Located just minutes from campus, the Auburn University Club—home to the Tigers’ men’s and women’s programs—was designed by architect Bill Bergin, an Auburn men’s team alum, opening in 1999. The layout, which can be stretched to over 7,300 yards from the back tees, is situated on 225 acres of rolling hills and woodlands surrounding Yarbrough Lake. The length of the course, combined with narrow fairways and many elevation changes make this a stern test. View Course BERMUDA RUN REGIONAL Bermuda Run Country Club, Bermuda Run, N.C.
Teams (listed by seed; conference champions in parenthesis)
Wake Forest (ACC)
Texas (Big 12)
Ole Miss
Mississippi State (SEC)
UCF
South Florida
Tennessee
Oregon State
North Texas
Delaware (Coastal Athletic Association)
Charleston Southern (Big South)
Navy (Patriot League)
Individuals
Lauren Olivares, N.C. State
Louise Reau, Georgia Southern
Christin Eisenbeiss, North Florida
Kendall Turner, James Madison
Isabel Amezcua, NC State
Maria Beltran, Fairfield (MAAC)
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Teams (listed by seed; conference champions in parenthesis)
LSU
Texas A&M
Clemson
Vanderbilt
SMU (American Athletic)
Ohio State
Maryland
Iowa State
Texas State (Sun Belt)
Sam Houston (Conference USA)
Sacred Heart (Northeast)
Little Rock (Ohio Valley)
Individuals
Carla Bernat, Kansas State
Camryn Carreon, UTSA
Lois Lau, TCU
Sofia Barroso Sá, TCU
Daniela Abonce, UTSA (American Athletic)
Ryann Honea, Abilene Christian (WAC)
Private Traditions Club at Texas A&M Bryan, TX 3.6 39 Panelists
- Best In State
Booking overnight accommodations at Traditions Club allows the public access to this 7,146-yard Jack Nicklaus design with views of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field and the university in the distance. Emphasis here is on accuracy instead of distance with water on 11 holes, forced carries on 16 of them and plentiful native vegetation throughout. View Course LAS VEGAS REGIONAL Spainish Trail Country Club, Las Vegas
Teams (listed by seed; conference champions in parenthesis)
UCLA
Arkansas
Arizona
Florida State
California
Purdue
Baylor
Oklahoma
Colorado State
Kent State (Mid-American)
Xavier (Big East)
Dartmouth (Ivy League)
Individuals
Toa Yokoyama, UNLV
Lauren Lehigh, New Mexico
Lauren Zaretsky, Texas Tech
Myah McDonald, New Mexico
Victoria Liu, Princeton (Ivy League)
Lizzie Neale, Northern Arizona (Big Sky)
EAST LANSING REGIONAL Forest Akers Golf Course, East Lansing, Mich.
Teams (listed by seed; conference champions in parenthesis)
Southern California
Northwestern
Florida
Pepperdine
Michigan State
Kentucky
Denver (Summit League)
Oklahoma State
Indiana (Big Ten)
Augusta (Southland)
Illinois State (Missouri Valley)
Oakland (Horizon League)
Individuals
Isabel Sy, Illinois
Catie Craig, Western Kentucky
Lauren Beaudreau, Notre Dame
Carmen Griffiths, Louisville
Hana Ryskova, Louisville
Kate Petrova, Evansville (Missouri Valley)
CLE ELUM REGIONAL Tumble Creek Club, Cle Elum, Wash.
Teams (listed by seed; conference champions in parenthesis)
Stanford (Pac-12)
Duke
Arizona State
Virginia
San Jose State (Mountain West)
Washington
Alabama
Virginia Tech
Kansas
Long Beach State (Big West)
Sacramento State (Big Sky)
Seattle University (WAC)
Individuals
Emma Bunch, New Mexico State (Conference USA)
Riana Mission, San Francisco
Kelli Ann Strand, Nebraska
Morgan Miller, Colorado
Sabrina Iqbal, Colorado
Madelyn Gamble, Washington State
Private Tumble Creek Golf Course At Suncadia Cle Elum, WA 3.9 40 Panelists
- Best In State
Tumble Creek is the private member course at Suncadia Resort on the eastern slope of the Wenatchee Mountains, east of Seattle. The design is a more sublime turn for Tom Doak and his associates at Renaissance Golf. The holes lay quietly over the elevations, refusing to compete for attention with the surrounding topography and evergreen borders. The architecture exudes calmness and confidence without being showy, with elegantly contoured greens and just enough bunkering to demand players work shots into position. The exception is a hole like the bending par-5 fourth that rides up and over a steep should of land, daring players to cut the inside corner around a ravine, as well as the ninth and 18th holes that also tackle sloping terrain. The par 3s are some of the state’s best, particularly the second hole that would feel at home at any course in the Heathlands outside London. View Course
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