CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 鈥 Just two teams were able to break par in Friday鈥檚 first round, No. 19 seed Vanderbilt shot the lowest round and leads the 2025 红杏视频 Division I Women鈥檚 Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (North Course, 6,330 yards/par 72) after the first 18 holes.
Lead by Tillie Claggett and Ava Merrill, who each shot an 红杏视频 championship best 3-under (69), the Commodores shot a program 红杏视频 Championship record 6-under par (282) to claim a two-stroke lead over Oklahoma State at the end of the championship鈥檚 first round.
鉃★笍 Click here to see the full 2025 DI women's golf championship schedule
Returning four golfers from a year ago at La Costa, Vanderbilt used a strong front nine from Clagget, Merrill and Lynn Lim who all shot 3-under to post a combined nine birdies. After going into the turn at 4-under, Sarah Kim recorded four birdies to end her day to help sustain the team鈥檚 6-under finish.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still super early and the top 15 teams in the country are just now getting underway,鈥 said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. 鈥淪o we understand there鈥檚 a lot of golf left and we just need to embrace the leaderboard and where we鈥檙e at. Tomorrow is a brand new day and we need to come out with the same mindset and be ready to battle from start to finish.鈥
The No. 20 seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls, who played in the same pairing with Vanderbilt in the morning wave, put up a 4-under par (284). Like Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State also had three golfers shoot under par lead by Grace Kilcrease. The junior, who earned a podium finish in the Gold Canyon regional, shot a 3-under (69) including four birdies on the front nine. Ellie Bushnell and Marta Silchenko each shot 1-under par.
鈥淚t was good to see them get off to a solid start today,鈥 Oklahoma State head coach Greg Robertson said. 鈥淭hey made quite few birdies early that helped get some momentum going. With the afternoon start tomorrow, we鈥檒l have to adjust to the course conditions with firmer and faster greens, along with some wind. The teams that are able to do that are the teams will have the most success as the week goes on.鈥
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Trailing the leaders are four teams (Arizona State, Oregon, Texas, and Florida) tied for even par. This a sharp reversal from last year when six teams finished the first round under par. Out of those teams tied for third, Texas started day 5-over through 11 before rallying back to even. Longhorn sophomore Lauren Kim, lead the charge with four birdies through her last seven holes.
鈥淚 think everyone can say the greens are a little less firm so it鈥檚 a little more enjoyable to play,鈥 Kim said. 鈥淚t makes the greens look a little bit bigger because we have a bigger landing area. The course is in great shape this year and it鈥檚 a great test for us.鈥
Coming in with the leading individual performance of the day, Bailey Davis of Tennessee posted a school and personal best first-round at the 红杏视频 Championships. Davis shot a 5-under (67) that included four birdies on the front nine.
鈥淚 think I was seeing the golf course for what it was,鈥 said Davis. 鈥淚 was just playing simple golf鈥搕rying to hit the fairway and trying to hit the green and then make a putt if I could. I knew that my ball-striking was pretty solid. I was just trying to stay consistent and play simple golf.鈥
She also tied former player and current assistant coach, Anna Newell, for the second lowest round a Lady Vol has had in the 红杏视频 Championships (2016 second round).
The second-round will tee off on Saturday, May 18 at 6:30 a.m. PST.
Finals play for the 2025 championships consists of three days of stroke play on Friday thru Sunday (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play (Monday, May 19) to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, May 20, followed by the finals on Wednesday, May 21.
