Sunday, February 2
Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
Therese Hession Regional Challenge
Spring Season Begins Sunday For Women's Golf
01/31/25 | Women's Golf
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. - The Oregon women's golf team will kick off its spring season this Sunday at the 2025 Therese Hession Regional Challenge, the first of five regular-season tournaments this spring for the No. 6 ranked Ducks.
Playing at Palos Verdes Golf Club, the stroke-play tournament will begin at 9:00 a.m. PT on Sunday with the first of three rounds. Action will once again begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, before concluding with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday for the final round.
Oregon is coming off a strong fall season that saw the Ducks put together a 26-10 competitive record, including a first-place finish in stroke play at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup and a second-place showing at the Annika Intercollegiate.
2025 Therese Hession Regional Challenge
Dates: Sunday, Feb. 2 - Tuesday, Feb. 4
Course: Palos Verdes Golf Club
Par/Yardage: Par 71/6,017 yards
The Field (16 Teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, Cal Poly, California, Clemson, Florida, Georgetown, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Jose State, South Carolina,Texas, UCLA, USC
How to Follow
Live scoring for the Therese Hession Regional Challenge will be available on Scoreboard Live. Golf Channel will have live coverage each day, beginning at 12 p.m. PT each day. Live updates will be provided on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.
Teeing Off for the Ducks
1. Kiara Romero
2. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham
3. Tong An
4. Karen Tsuru
5. Ting-Hsuan Huang
Elite Duo
The Ducks enter the spring season with a pair of elite underclassmen at the top of their lineup in sophomore Kiara Romero and freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham. Both Ducks are currently in the top 30 of the World Amateur Golf rankings, with Romero coming in at No. 12 and Vinijchaitham at No. 29. Both Romero and Vinijchaitham will compete in one of the most coveted events in the sport as a result of their high rankings, earning invitations to the 2025 Augusta National Women's Amateur later this spring. It will be Romero's second straight appearance at Augusta, with Vinijchaitham making her debut. The duo led the Ducks throughout the fall, with Romero posting a 72.20 scoring average and Vinijchaitham coming in right behind at 72.80. Romero posted her best finish of the fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in second place at even par across three rounds, while Vinijchaitham placed shot 1-under par through three rounds to place third at the Windy City Classic.
If You're Good Enough, You're Old Enough
Romero and Vinijchaitham are not the only talented underclassmen shining for the Ducks, who enter the first spring tournament with all freshmen and sophomores in the lineup. Romero is joined by fellow sophomores Ting-Hsuan Huang and Karen Tsuru, who both helped the Ducks reach the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships last spring as true freshmen. Huang is healthy and ready to roll this spring after being limited in the fall with an injury, while Tsuru impressed early in the fall with a 3-under par performance at the Annika Intercollegiate. Vinijchaitham is joined by fellow freshman Tong An, who placed fourth in stroke play at the Stephens Cup with a 2-under 68 in the final round.
Ducks Impress At Stephens Cup
Competing in a format very similar to the national championships, the Ducks showed they are once again a force to be reckoned with at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup during the fall. After holding a one-stroke lead through 36 holes, Oregon dominated the final round of stroke play with a stellar 1-over 281 to finish in first place by a whopping 14 strokes. Kiara Romero led the Ducks once again, shooting even par across three rounds to place second overall. Freshman Tong An was terrific in the final round with a 2-under 68 to move up and place fourth overall, and sophomore Darae Chung impressed in her Oregon debut with a trio of 3-over 73s to tie for sixth place. The Ducks earned the No. 1 seed in the match-play championships, where they would face off with top-ranked Arkansas. Oregon got a pair of wins from Chung and sophomore Karen Tsuru, and Arkansas answered with a pair of wins to bring the match down to Romero in the final pairing. Romero was in a battle all day long and had a 2 up lead late in the round, but the Razorbacks' Natalie Blonien made a comeback and was able to sink a long birdie putt on No. 18 to secure the match.
Romero Leads Ducks As True Sophomore
Kiara Romero put together one of the greatest seasons in program history in 2023-24 as a true freshman, becoming the first Duck ever to be named the WGCA Freshman of the Year while becoming just the second Duck to earn WGCA first-team all-America honors. Romero shattered the Oregon single-season record with a stellar 70.84 scoring average across 31 rounds of stroke play, and also broke the program record for birdies in a season with 118. She became the first Duck ever to shoot under par across a 72-hole tournament while leading Oregon into match play of the NCAA Championships, tying for sixth overall in stroke play at 4-under par. She captured two individual wins earlier in the season - including at the ANNIKA Intercollegaite in her collegiate debut - to become just the seventh Duck and third UO freshman to win multiple tournaments in a season. In 10 stroke play tournaments, Romero racked up nine top-20 finishes and six top-10 showings, and she shot par-or-better in 24 of 31 rounds. Romero was selected as a Golf Channel preseason first-team all-American entering her sophomore year while also landing on the preseason watch list for the Annika Award for the second year in a row, and she has catapulted up to No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. In 41 career rounds of stroke play as a Duck, Romero has produced 30 rounds of par-or-better with 10 sub-70 performances while recording eight top-10 finishes, and she has already reached 150 career birdies.
Playing at Palos Verdes Golf Club, the stroke-play tournament will begin at 9:00 a.m. PT on Sunday with the first of three rounds. Action will once again begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, before concluding with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday for the final round.
Oregon is coming off a strong fall season that saw the Ducks put together a 26-10 competitive record, including a first-place finish in stroke play at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup and a second-place showing at the Annika Intercollegiate.
2025 Therese Hession Regional Challenge
Dates: Sunday, Feb. 2 - Tuesday, Feb. 4
Course: Palos Verdes Golf Club
Par/Yardage: Par 71/6,017 yards
The Field (16 Teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, Cal Poly, California, Clemson, Florida, Georgetown, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Jose State, South Carolina,Texas, UCLA, USC
How to Follow
Live scoring for the Therese Hession Regional Challenge will be available on Scoreboard Live. Golf Channel will have live coverage each day, beginning at 12 p.m. PT each day. Live updates will be provided on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.
Teeing Off for the Ducks
1. Kiara Romero
2. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham
3. Tong An
4. Karen Tsuru
5. Ting-Hsuan Huang
Elite Duo
The Ducks enter the spring season with a pair of elite underclassmen at the top of their lineup in sophomore Kiara Romero and freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham. Both Ducks are currently in the top 30 of the World Amateur Golf rankings, with Romero coming in at No. 12 and Vinijchaitham at No. 29. Both Romero and Vinijchaitham will compete in one of the most coveted events in the sport as a result of their high rankings, earning invitations to the 2025 Augusta National Women's Amateur later this spring. It will be Romero's second straight appearance at Augusta, with Vinijchaitham making her debut. The duo led the Ducks throughout the fall, with Romero posting a 72.20 scoring average and Vinijchaitham coming in right behind at 72.80. Romero posted her best finish of the fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in second place at even par across three rounds, while Vinijchaitham placed shot 1-under par through three rounds to place third at the Windy City Classic.
If You're Good Enough, You're Old Enough
Romero and Vinijchaitham are not the only talented underclassmen shining for the Ducks, who enter the first spring tournament with all freshmen and sophomores in the lineup. Romero is joined by fellow sophomores Ting-Hsuan Huang and Karen Tsuru, who both helped the Ducks reach the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships last spring as true freshmen. Huang is healthy and ready to roll this spring after being limited in the fall with an injury, while Tsuru impressed early in the fall with a 3-under par performance at the Annika Intercollegiate. Vinijchaitham is joined by fellow freshman Tong An, who placed fourth in stroke play at the Stephens Cup with a 2-under 68 in the final round.
Ducks Impress At Stephens Cup
Competing in a format very similar to the national championships, the Ducks showed they are once again a force to be reckoned with at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup during the fall. After holding a one-stroke lead through 36 holes, Oregon dominated the final round of stroke play with a stellar 1-over 281 to finish in first place by a whopping 14 strokes. Kiara Romero led the Ducks once again, shooting even par across three rounds to place second overall. Freshman Tong An was terrific in the final round with a 2-under 68 to move up and place fourth overall, and sophomore Darae Chung impressed in her Oregon debut with a trio of 3-over 73s to tie for sixth place. The Ducks earned the No. 1 seed in the match-play championships, where they would face off with top-ranked Arkansas. Oregon got a pair of wins from Chung and sophomore Karen Tsuru, and Arkansas answered with a pair of wins to bring the match down to Romero in the final pairing. Romero was in a battle all day long and had a 2 up lead late in the round, but the Razorbacks' Natalie Blonien made a comeback and was able to sink a long birdie putt on No. 18 to secure the match.
Romero Leads Ducks As True Sophomore
Kiara Romero put together one of the greatest seasons in program history in 2023-24 as a true freshman, becoming the first Duck ever to be named the WGCA Freshman of the Year while becoming just the second Duck to earn WGCA first-team all-America honors. Romero shattered the Oregon single-season record with a stellar 70.84 scoring average across 31 rounds of stroke play, and also broke the program record for birdies in a season with 118. She became the first Duck ever to shoot under par across a 72-hole tournament while leading Oregon into match play of the NCAA Championships, tying for sixth overall in stroke play at 4-under par. She captured two individual wins earlier in the season - including at the ANNIKA Intercollegaite in her collegiate debut - to become just the seventh Duck and third UO freshman to win multiple tournaments in a season. In 10 stroke play tournaments, Romero racked up nine top-20 finishes and six top-10 showings, and she shot par-or-better in 24 of 31 rounds. Romero was selected as a Golf Channel preseason first-team all-American entering her sophomore year while also landing on the preseason watch list for the Annika Award for the second year in a row, and she has catapulted up to No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. In 41 career rounds of stroke play as a Duck, Romero has produced 30 rounds of par-or-better with 10 sub-70 performances while recording eight top-10 finishes, and she has already reached 150 career birdies.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
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