March 28, 2025 • by Dan Davies / Photography by The Back of the Range, Stanford Athletics, Mario Terrana
Texas hits top spot with impressive Valspar win... David Ford shows his class in strong field... Stanford team shows grit to preserve perfect record... Auburn's Anna Davis hits form ahead of ANWA...
Texas hit top spot in the rankings with a commanding win at the Valspar Interollegiate Invitational in Palm City, Florida. The Longhorns now have three wins in their last five tournaments and have finished outside the top three only once in eight stroke play events this season.
Coach John Fields’ team won by 13 shots over a stacked field that included the top three teams in the country. They led from start to finish, posting a final-round score of 11-under 273 at Floridian National to set a tournament record for 54-hole low team score (816, 36 under par).
Three Texas players finished inside the top 10: South African freshman Daniel Bennett (above), who moves to #2 in the individual rankings after his third top-five finish in his first six stroke-play events; Christiaan Maas, who won last week and moves up a place to #5; and Jack Gilbert, who recorded his best ever finish in eighth place.
Arizona State, ranked #3, came in second at 23 under par, with Florida State in third a further shot back. Oklahoma State finished fourth with Auburn, which came into the event ranked #1, rounding out the top five.
University of North Carolina senior David Ford underlined why he is the number 1 ranked player in college golf by finishing as the individual medalist. It was Ford’s fifth career collegiate title and third of the season.
The 22-year-old left-hander produced a record-breaking performance against 10 of the top-25 ranked players, shooting rounds of 69, 63 and 64 to finish at 18 under par, a personal best by four shots and a new tournament scoring record (195). He also equaled North Carolina’s program record for lowest 54-hole total.
Oklahoma's Jase Summy (#14), who bogeyed his final hole, and Bennett, who was joint leader after round one, finished second, two strokes back on 16 under par. Auburn's Jackson Koivun (#15), who opened with a 65, was fourth, Florida State’s Luke Clanton (#3) came in seventh, while Arizona State’s Josele Ballester (#13) was 16th.
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Stanford claimed its sixth straight stroke play win of the season at the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate with arguably the grittiest performance yet by Coach Anne Walker’s all-star 2024/25 team.
In a field made up exclusively of teams in the top 50, Cardinal entered the final day at Colonial CC in Texas trailing by three. But in testing conditions on a tough golf course, they chased down and finally overcame Wake Forest and then Oregon to win by two and preserve their perfect stroke play record this season.
They were inspired by the third-round charges of All-American Megha Ganne (#10), who shot a three-under-par 67, and sophomore Paula Martin Sampredo (#8), who closed with a 68. Stanford was the only team to match par for 54 holes.
With three postseason tournaments remaining, Stanford is attempting to emulate the 1995 Arizona State side as the only teams to complete an unbeaten season.
Oregon, which has not finished outside the top five in eight stroke play tournaments this season, finished second. Auburn climbed up to third, six shots behind.
The Tigers were propelled forwards by the performance of Anna Davis (above), who finished as individual medalist after shooting a bogey-free 66 (-5) in the final round. The 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion shot a 54-hole score of 201 (-9), which set a new program record. She finished one clear of #8-ranked Kiara Romero of Oregon. It was Romero's third runner-up finish in the last four events.
“I really worked on keeping a steady mind and embracing every challenge,” the 19-year-old sophomore told the Auburn website. “I did that well.” Davis now has three collegiate titles to her name and jumps 15 places to #18 in the rankings.
Team Leaderboard | Individual Leaderboard | Tournament Stats
Koichiro Furuse (below) of Tohoku Fukushi University earned an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s The Ascendant presented by Blue this July by winning the second annual Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational at Silverado Resort in Napa. The Japanese player led by two going into the final round and finished the tournament six clear at 10 under par after rounds of 67, 68 and 71.
Tohoku Fukushi (below) held off charging #53 Santa Clara and defending champions BYU (#31) for the team victory with a 23-under 841. Tohoku Fukushi alumni include 2021 Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama, who won two Asian Amateur Championships and became the top-ranked amateur via the World Amateur Golf Rankings while at the university.
The Bridgestone Collegiate Development Program is dedicated to enhancing competitive and mentorship opportunities for golfers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and underrepresented communities. Additionally, it offers career development opportunities for both players and coaches.
Among its initiatives are the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking, the HBCU Coaches Summit presented by Bridgestone, the Pathway to Progression HBCU Performance Experience presented by Bridgestone and two collegiate golf tournaments – the Bridgestone HBCU Invitational and the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational.
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