Friday, May 22
Carlsbad, Calif. / Omni La Costa: North Course
2:50 p.m. (18 holes)
Florida Gators
at
NCAA National Championships
Elaine Widjaja (left) and head coach Emily Glaser (right) walk down the first tee in the opening round of the 2026 National Championship. Photo by: Dan Lavin.
Widjaja 3-under, sits one back of lead at National Championship
Friday, May 22, 2026 | Women's Golf
Sophomore Elaine Widjaja shot an opening round of 69 (-3) and is one back of the individual lead.
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Florida women's golfer Elaine Widjaja led the No. 3 Gators in the opening round of the NCAA National Championship with a 3-under 69 to sit one shot back of the individual lead on Friday at La Costa. The Gators tied for 23rd.
Entering as the top seed out of the SEC, Florida was paired with No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 USC, who sit first and second with the Trojans 7-under and Stanford 6-under. The group of the top three ranked teams tee off round two tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
The first to tee off nationals for UF, Widjaja made the turn bogey-free and 2-under. She only made one bogey in her first round, which didn't come until her fifteenth hole, on hole six (Florida teed off the back nine). The sophomore erased it by a pair of birdies on seven and eight. She made one her four birdies on the second-hardest hole of the day and it was one only seven total birdies, which came on the par4 seventh (450 yards).
This was the second straight season a Gator opened with a 3-under in the National Championship with Jessica Guiser shooting the mark last year. Widjaja is one stroke back of leaders Ellie Bushnell of Oklahoma State and Megha Ganne of Stanford. The round was a career low for her in the postseason.
As a team, Florida had round one score of 297 (+9) and are tied for XX. The next three counting scores all fell within a shot of one another with Megan Propeck's 75 (+3), Siuue Wu's 76 (+4) and Paula Francisco's 77 (+5).
There will be a 54-hole cut of the top-15 teams on and nine individuals on a non-advancing team on Sunday to earn a spot and play in the final round of stroke play on Monday.
After the final 18 holes, the top-8 teams will advance to match play and a 72-hole individual national champion is crowned. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format features the quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, followed by the finals on Wednesday.
Florida Scores
T3. Elaine Widjaja – 69 (-3)
T100. Megan Propeck – 75 (+3)
T113. Siuue Wu – 76 (+4)
T122. Paula Francisco – 77 (+5)
T135. Katelyn Huber – 78 (+6)
Team Leaderboard
1. USC (-7)
2. Stanford (-6)
3. Oklahoma State (-5)
4. Iowa State (-4)
T5. Arkansas (-2)
T5. Eastern Michigan (-2)
7. Missouri (-1)
T8. SMU (E)
T8. LSU (E)
T8. Texas (E)
T11. Baylor (+1)
T11. Texas A&M (+1)
T11. Arizona State (+1)
T11. Virginia (+1)
15. Northwestern (+2)
T16. Duke (+3)
T16. Tennessee (+3)
18. Florida State (+4)
19. North Carolina (+5)
20. Houston (+6)
T21. Texas Tech (+8)
T21. Pepperdine (+8)
T23. Florida (+9)
T23. Ohio State (+9)
T25. Kentucky (+10)
T25. Michigan State (+10)
T27. Wake Forest (+12)
T27. Oregon State (+12)
29. Ole Miss (+12)
30. Auburn (+14)
Entering as the top seed out of the SEC, Florida was paired with No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 USC, who sit first and second with the Trojans 7-under and Stanford 6-under. The group of the top three ranked teams tee off round two tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
The first to tee off nationals for UF, Widjaja made the turn bogey-free and 2-under. She only made one bogey in her first round, which didn't come until her fifteenth hole, on hole six (Florida teed off the back nine). The sophomore erased it by a pair of birdies on seven and eight. She made one her four birdies on the second-hardest hole of the day and it was one only seven total birdies, which came on the par4 seventh (450 yards).
This was the second straight season a Gator opened with a 3-under in the National Championship with Jessica Guiser shooting the mark last year. Widjaja is one stroke back of leaders Ellie Bushnell of Oklahoma State and Megha Ganne of Stanford. The round was a career low for her in the postseason.
As a team, Florida had round one score of 297 (+9) and are tied for XX. The next three counting scores all fell within a shot of one another with Megan Propeck's 75 (+3), Siuue Wu's 76 (+4) and Paula Francisco's 77 (+5).
There will be a 54-hole cut of the top-15 teams on and nine individuals on a non-advancing team on Sunday to earn a spot and play in the final round of stroke play on Monday.
After the final 18 holes, the top-8 teams will advance to match play and a 72-hole individual national champion is crowned. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format features the quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, followed by the finals on Wednesday.
Florida Scores
T3. Elaine Widjaja – 69 (-3)
T100. Megan Propeck – 75 (+3)
T113. Siuue Wu – 76 (+4)
T122. Paula Francisco – 77 (+5)
T135. Katelyn Huber – 78 (+6)
Team Leaderboard
1. USC (-7)
2. Stanford (-6)
3. Oklahoma State (-5)
4. Iowa State (-4)
T5. Arkansas (-2)
T5. Eastern Michigan (-2)
7. Missouri (-1)
T8. SMU (E)
T8. LSU (E)
T8. Texas (E)
T11. Baylor (+1)
T11. Texas A&M (+1)
T11. Arizona State (+1)
T11. Virginia (+1)
15. Northwestern (+2)
T16. Duke (+3)
T16. Tennessee (+3)
18. Florida State (+4)
19. North Carolina (+5)
20. Houston (+6)
T21. Texas Tech (+8)
T21. Pepperdine (+8)
T23. Florida (+9)
T23. Ohio State (+9)
T25. Kentucky (+10)
T25. Michigan State (+10)
T27. Wake Forest (+12)
T27. Oregon State (+12)
29. Ole Miss (+12)
30. Auburn (+14)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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