Ducks Fourth Entering Final Round At Waco Regional

Tuesday, May 12

Waco, Texas

All Day

University of Oregon

NCAA Waco Regional

Ducks Fourth Entering Final Round At Waco Regional

05/12/26 | Women's Golf

Live Scoring

By: Nate Krueger

WACO, Texas – The Oregon women's golf team is in fourth place at the NCAA Waco Regional after shooting an even-par 283 in Tuesday's second round at Ridgewood Country Club, needing a top-five finish to secure a spot at the 2026 NCAA Championships.

The No. 8 Ducks used a strong finish to maintain their position in the top five, going 4-under par over the final five holes to end the day in fourth place at 3 over. No. 21 SMU leads the field at 21-under par and is followed by No. 4 Texas A&M (-6) and LSU (-1). Oregon is three strokes ahead of host Baylor and Tulsa, which are tied at 6-over for the fifth and final qualifying spot, and five strokes ahead of No. 16 Tennessee (+8).

Playing in its 18th straight NCAA Regional, Oregon is looking to punch its ticket to the NCAA Championships for the fifth year in a row and 15th time in program history. The 2026 NCAA Championships are set for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The Ducks are led by star junior Kiara Romero, who is in fourth place individually and just one stroke off the lead at 4-under par following an even-par 70 on Tuesday.

Romero_NCAA Regional R1

How it Happened: The Ducks got off to a slower start in the second round, with the four counting scorers combining to shoot 5 over on the front nine. That number grew to 7 over through 13 holes before a sterling finish that included four birdies and 16 pars from Romero, Darae Chung, Karen Tsuru and Sophie Han over the final five holes to keep the Ducks inside the top five.

It was an uncharacteristic start for Romero, who made a pair of long putts to save par on the first two holes but then made double bogey at No. 3. A bogey at No. 6 brought her to 3 over, but two birdies in three holes got her back to 1 over through 11. She made another bogey at No. 13, but bounced back with a birdie at No. 14 and then ended Oregon's day with a birdie at No. 18 close at even par.

Romero shot par-or-better for the 20th time in 23 rounds this season and the 70th time in 86 career rounds. She is just one stroke behind Vanessa Borovilos (Texas A&M), Francesca Fiorellini (LSU) and Kirra St. Lauren (SMU) for the individual lead going into Wednesday's final round as she aims to win an individual NCAA Regional title for the second year in a row.

Chung matched Romero with an even-par 70, shooting 2 under across her final 12 holes after back-to-back bogeys at No. 5 and No. 6. It was the 10th par-or-better round of the season for Chung, who is tied for 26th overall at 3 over.

Han is tied for 18th overall through two rounds at 1 over, following her 1-under 69 on Monday with a 2-over 72 in the second round. Tsuru added a 1-over 71, six-stroke improvement from her opening round.

Ducks on the Leaderboard:
4. Oregon — 280-283 — 563 (+3)
4. Kiara Romero — 66-70 — 136 (-4)
T-18. Sophie Han — 69-72 — 141 (+1)
T-26. Darae Chung — 73-70 — 143 (+3)
T-39. Tong An — 72-73 — 145 (+5)
T-45. Karen Tsuru — 77-71 — 148 (+8)

Notable: Romero has made nine birdies through two rounds, tied for the most among all players ... Romero now owns 350 career birdies, just four shy of matching Caroline Inglis (354, 2013-16) for No. 3 in program history ... Romero is also tied for the top score in the field on par-5 holes at 3-under par ...

Up Next: The Ducks will tee off from hole No. 10 beginning at 6:00 a.m. PT in Wednesday's third and final round, with the top five teams following the round advancing to the NCAA Championships.