No. 2 USC Women’s Golf Leads the Way After the NCAA Championship Opening Round

Friday, May 22

Carlsbad, Calif.

6:30 a.m. PT

USC

NCAA Championships

Kylie Chong tees off in front of NCAA signage during the 2026 NCAA Women's Golf Championships

Photo by: John McGillen

No. 2 USC Women’s Golf Leads the Way After the NCAA Championship Opening Round

May 22, 2026 | Women's Golf

Round One Scores

All four Trojan scorers went under par and are in the top 25.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The No. 2 USC Women's Golf team wasted no time putting itself atop the leaderboard after the first round of the 2026 NCAA Championship, held at The Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. on Friday, May 22.

The four scoring Trojans played bogey-free front sides and senior Catherine Park had four birdies to help USC shoot up the leaderboard with a 281 (-7) total. Playing alongside each other at the par-72, 6,271-yard course, USC and No. 1 Stanford separated themselves from the pack early and now sit one stroke apart from each other heading into the second round. The 30 teams will play two more rounds of stroke play before the top 15 teams and nine individuals on non-qualifying teams make the cut.

All four Trojan scorers finished under par, while USC has four players in the top 25. Sophomore Kylie Chong, senior Catherine Park and junior Bailey Shoemaker are leading the way for the Trojans and are all in an 11-way tie for 13th after firing 70s (-2) on Friday. The trio is two strokes back of Oklahoma State's Ellie Bushnell and Stanford's Megha Ganne, who are tied for first place.

"As a group, we are very pleased with that start and happy to have that first afternoon round to learn more about this golf course," Head Coach Justin Silverstein said. "Two bogey-free rounds from Kylie Chong and Bailey Shoemaker were huge for us and it was nice to see Catherine and Jasmine put together good rounds as well."

Playing in her second NCAA Championships, Chong's 70 (-2) was her lowest collegiate career round at The Omni La Costa course. The sophomore had a bogey-free round with birdies on the par-5 No. 18 and the par-4 No. 5.

Shoemaker also had a bogey-free round on Friday. She remained at par on the front side before lowering her score with birdies on the par-4 No. 4 and the par-5 No. 6 in short succession. Her 70 was her second-lowest round at The Omni La Costa course of her collegiate career.

Competing in her last collegiate tournament, Park started with a stellar front side in which she had four birdies over the span of six holes. Making the turn at -4 and tied for the lead, Park stayed atop the leaderboard until she found trouble with a double-bogey on the par-3 No. 8.

Back in the lineup after missing the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional with an illness, sophomore Jasmine Koo fired a 71 (-1) to finish tied for 24th. Koo lowered her score with her first birdie of the day on the par-4 No. 17 as she approached the turn. However, Koo found trouble with the first of two bogeys on the front side on the par-4 No. 1. Koo recovered with a birdie on the following hole and wrapped up the back side with another birdie on No. 6 and another bogey on No. 8.

Rounding out the Trojans, sophomore Elise Lee is tied for 135th place with a 78 (+6) total.

"We understand this golf course will change quite a bit overnight, so we will need to be quick with our adjustments in order to get off to a quick start tomorrow," Silverstein said.

USC begins the second round at 6:30 a.m. PT tomorrow. The round will be livestreamed via Babygrande Golf, which requires a subscription. A link to the live stream and live results can be found on the women's golf team's schedule page on usctrojans.com.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

THE OMNI LA COSTA RESORT & SPA

CARLSBAD, CALIF.

MAY 22, 2026/PAR 72/6,271 YARDS

INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T13. Kylie Chong, -2 (70)
T13. Bailey Shoemaker, -2 (70)
T13. Catherine Park, -2 (70)
T24. Jasmine Koo, -1 (71)
T135. Elise Lee, +6 (78)

TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. No. 2 USC, -7 (281)
2. No. 1 Stanford, -6 (282)
3. No. 21 Oklahoma State, -5 (283)
4. No. 17 Iowa State, -4 (284)
T5. Eastern Michigan, -2 (286)
T5. No. 7 Arkansas, -2 (286)
7. Missouri, -1 (287)
T8. No. 16 SMU, E (288)
T8. LSU, E (288)
T8. No. 5 Texas, E (288)
T11. No. 11 Baylor, +1 (289)
T11. No. 4 Texas A&M, +1 (289)
T11. No. 23 Arizona State, +1 (289)
T11. Virginia, +1 (289)
15. Northwestern, +2 (290)
T16. No. 18 Tennessee, +3 (291)
T16. No. 10 Duke, +3 (291)
18. No. 22 Florida State, +4 (292)
19. No. 12 North Carolina, +5 (293)
20. Houston, +6 (294)
T21. Texas Tech, +8 (296)
T21. No. 11 Pepperdine, +8 (296)
T23. No. 3 Florida, +9 (297)
T23. No. 25 Ohio State, +9 (297)
T25. Kentucky, +10 (298)
T25. Michigan State, +10 (298)
T27. No. 8 Wake Forest, +12 (300)
T27. Oregon State, +12 (300)
29. No. 20 Ole Miss, +13 (301)
30. No. 6 Auburn, +14 (302)

TEE TIMES
6:30 a.m. PT, hole 1 — Elise Lee
6:41 a.m. PT, hole 1 — Jasmine Koo
6:52 a.m. PT, hole 1 — Kylie Chong
7:03 a.m. PT, hole 1 — Bailey Shoemaker
7:14 a.m. PT, hole 1 — Catherine Park

FOLLOW THE TROJANS
For more information on the USC women's golf team, a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Trojans can follow the team on Instagram and on X @USCWomensGolf.