FAIRFAX, Calif. — With the skies full of sunshine for a bulk of the day, the weather was considerably better during the first two rounds of the 2025 Juli Inkster Invitational than it has been in past years. Top-ranked Stanford women’s golf continues to pace the field as it has all season, but the top of the leaderboard is tighter than in previous tournaments. The Cardinal leads by one stroke over No. 3 Oregon heading into the final round of the event.
With three different individual winners already during the 2024-25 season, Stanford is 18 holes away from a fourth winner. Kelly Xu is tied for the clubhouse lead after 36 holes and did so by rocketing to the top of the leaderboard during the second round. Her Monday got off to a shaky start with two bogeys after three holes, but she played clean the rest of the day. She posted a 4-under 68 in the first round and followed that up with a 6-under 66 in the second round. That included four birdies in the first six holes, and she closed out her day with birdies on eight and nine.
With a 66 in the second round, Xu went one stroke shy of career-low. She went 7-under during the final round of the 2024 Pac-12 Championship, which is also when she matched a career-best finish of second. Xu (68-66-134) heads into Tuesday’s final round tied for the lead with Karen Tsuru of Oregon.
Right in the thick of it once again is Paula Martin Sampedro, who was the runner-up at the San Diego State Classic three weeks ago. She continues to show remarkable consistency, with scores of 67 and 70 to put her just three strokes back of Xu for the lead, and alone in fourth place. Martin Sampedro recorded one of the two eagles on the day for Stanford, doing so on the par-5 first hole during the second round. The sophomore made the most of par-5s all day long, going 6-under, tied for the second-lowest of anyone on par-5s.
The winner of the San Diego State Classic, Meja Örtengren, finds herself in 14th after finishing right at par with 72s in each of the first two rounds. Her first Juli Inkster Invitational got off to as good of a start as can be, with a birdie and eagle on her first two holes. From there, she put up just six birdies the rest of the day but is within two-strokes of the top 10, where she has finished in every tournament of her freshman season so far.
The top three teams in the field are Stanford, Oregon, and USC. Those three entered the tournament as the first, third, and fourth ranked teams in the country, respectively. They are the only teams under par as Monday concludes. Not surprisingly, these were three of the final four teams remaining at the 2024 NCAA Championship. Oregon went 17-under as a team in the first round, the second-lowest single round in program history.
The final round of the Juli Inkster Invitational will begin at 8:30 am on Tuesday with a shotgun start. Last year’s final round began with inclement weather and was postponed before the entire field could finish, making the tournament a 36-hole competition. Stanford is looking to win three-straight Juli Inkster Invitationals, which would be the longest team winning streak in tournament history.
Juli Inkster Invitational (Meadow Club, par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 282 (-6) | 277 (-11) | -- | 559 (-17) |
| T1. Kelly Xu | 68 (-4) | 66 (-6) | -- | 134 (-10) |
| 4. Paula Martin Sampedro | 67 (-5) | 70 (-2) | -- | 137 (-7) |
| T14. Meja Örtengren | 72 (E) | 72 (E) | -- | 144 (E) |
| T16. Megha Ganne | 75 (+3) | 70 (-2) | -- | 145 (+1) |
| T19. Nora Sundberg | 75 (+3) | 71 (-1) | -- | 146 (+2) |
| T29. Caroline Sturdza* | 74 (+2) | 74 (+2) | -- | 148 (+4) |
| T38. Leigh Chien* | 77 (+5) | 72 (E) | -- | 149 (+5) |
* - competing as an individual