Division I women’s golf championship preview — Jeeno gets it done at Liberty National
The IX: Golf Thursday with Marin Dremock, May 15, 2025
The NCAA Division I Women’s Golf National Championship is finally on the horizon, and it’s time we get a preview.
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Welcome back to Golf Thursday, everyone.
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For the second year in a row, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. plays host to the NCAA DI Women’s Golf Championship. The course is primed and ready for the players to step foot on the grounds Friday, May 16 to Wednesday, May 21. Stanford is the defending team champion and has a strong chance to repeat with its unstoppable starting five.
But who else is coming out of the regional tournaments geared to make noise? Here are each regional site’s final five teams and one individual that qualified for the National Tournament.
Charlottesville Regional Site
- South Carolina
- Mississippi
- Florida (T3)
- Virginia (T3)
- UCLA
Individual: Marie Madsen (NC State)
Columbus Regional Site
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Ohio State
- UNLV
- LSU
Individual: Moa Svedenskiold (Houston)
Gold Canyon Regional Site
- Oregon
- Arizona State
- Oklahoma State
- Mississippi State
- Cal State Fullerton
Individual: Anna Davis (Auburn)
Lexington Regional Site
- Florida State
- Georgia Southern (T2)
- Kansas State (T2)
- Southern California
- Vanderbilt
Individual: Sofia Barroso Sá (TCU)
(Kansas State’s Carla Bernat Escuder, 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion, did win individual medalist honors, so definitely watch out for her and her team.)
Lubbock Regional Site
- Wake Forest
- Texas
- Iowa State
- Tennessee
- Purdue
Individual: Lousiane Gauthier (Florida Gulf Coast)
Norman Regional Site
- Stanford
- Northwestern
- Michigan State
- Oklahoma
- Baylor
Individual: Audrey Ryu (Furman)
It’s looking pretty great for Stanford going into the National Championship. It has a chance to win three national titles in four years. But South Carolina is also a surging contender, as the Gamecocks won their regional by 11 strokes and had a trio of their stars finish T-4. So is Oregon, a team that ran away with its regional championship as well.
You can catch the NCAA D-I Women’s Golf Championship on Golf Channel from May 19–21 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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Jeeno Thitikul plays bogey-free and no one can catch her in the Mizuho Americas Open
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Five at The IX: Jeeno Thitikul has outstanding week to win the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open
On Sunday, May 11, Jeeno Thitikul finally nabbed her first win of the season at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. Her 2025 is off to a fantastic start, with six cuts made in seven starts, six additional top-10 finishes and now a win under her belt. Thitikul shot a bogey-free final-round 69 to climb four shots ahead of Celine Boutier and take the title. Throughout the week, she led the field in birdies and the least number of bogeys, with 23 and five respectively. With her setup for the final round pairing and then victory, Thitikul set the 54-hole and 72-hole tournament scoring records. These records were previously held by 2024 Mizuho Americas Open champion Nelly Korda. Here’s what Thitikul had to say after her win.
THE MODERATOR: Jeeno, congratulations on the win. It was a pretty steady day, three birdies, no bogeys. Just tell me what it took to get it done today and to get this first win of the season for you.
JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I mean, actually I have no idea how I can do out there. I mean, bogey-free on the final round, final group, as well, because the pin positions were so tough today, as well. We got a lot of wind, and then a lot of nerves and excitement for sure.
I just really told myself to be patient out there. I know I was just trying to keep my ball where I have a chance to make it, but if I [don’t] make it, I’m fine because I know not every putt or not [every] hole that we’re going to make it for sure. It’s definitely going to be on and off, on and off for sure for the putts that we have for all 18 holes.
But I think my big key today is making par.
Q. The past two years you’ve played really well at this course, top-10 finishes both years. Did you feel like a win was possible here coming into the week? Did you feel like you were good enough on Liberty National to win this week coming into the week?
JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, I mean, knowing the course pretty well, it’s good. But you have to see how your performance or your golf was going to be solid for you out there. I know I had good finishes last couple years, but I don’t really know coming into this week that I’m going to win.
But I just tried to keep it going and going, trying to do my things. I know I have practiced last week because I have a week off, I have a good practice, a good feeling-wise on my game. But coming here a lot of players have a lot of talent, but I’m trying to do my thing. I’m trying to get all my frustration from not making putts at Chevron to making putts here.
Q. What are your thoughts on holding off such a stacked leaderboard, Nelly, Celine, major winners? How do you feel about being able to win and holding off such a talented leaderboard?
JEENO THITIKUL: Yeah, definitely it feels good to get the job done here. I know so many talented players in front of me. Also in my group I have Celine. In front of me we’ve got Nelly Korda, which is No. 1 in the world.
But I feel like everyone is just doing their part. I’m doing my own part, too. I can’t control them. I just can control myself. I just have to do my job.
I think if I win or not, I’m just doing my job, doing my process. I’m happy for that.
Q. What was it like on the back nine? Were you watching the leaderboard, asking where you were? What was your mindset there?
JEENO THITIKUL: I have no idea until 18, last putt. I just asked my caddie if I had to make a par or it’s safe, bogey is fine. He’s just like, the second is 13-under par. I was like, oh, okay. Because I didn’t look at the leaderboard at all. Like I said, I think everyone just gets to do their part. I want to do my part, too. It’s not depend on what rank am I off the leaderboard. I’m just trying to make the putts. My job is trying to keep the ball as good, and as long as I play good golf, I’m just happy for that.
Q. At age 22, to have five career wins now, when you joined the Tour is that something you would have thought you would have by now? And now that you do, what do you think about that?
JEENO THITIKUL: Well, I think when I was a kid wanting to play on the LPGA Tour, I just told my dad, and my dad just told me, winning on the LPGA Tour once, it’s good enough. I always tell myself, yeah, actually two. I joined the Tour in 2022 and then get the first win maybe my fifth start from the beginning of the season, and then get my first win was just really a dream come true. But I had no idea I’m going to be this far for sure.
I’m just trying to do my part. I’m just trying to improve myself every day. Winning or not, I’m just — I think the real win that I have, it’s all the people around me. If I do my job, either get the win or not really, how many wins that I have, holes in my belt, I just set it down beside me.
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