CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – Just two teams were able to break par in Friday’s first round, No. 19 seed Vanderbilt shot the lowest round and leads the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s 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 NCAA championship best 3-under (69), the Commodores shot a program NCAA Championship record 6-under par (282) to claim a two-stroke lead over Oklahoma State at the end of the championship’s first round.
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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’s 6-under finish.
“It’s still super early and the top 15 teams in the country are just now getting underway,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “So we understand there’s a lot of golf left and we just need to embrace the leaderboard and where we’re at. Tomorrow is a brand new day and we need to come out with the same mindset and be ready to battle…
