Romero Tied For Lead, Ducks T-2 After 18 Holes

Monday, May 11

Waco, Texas

All Day

University of Oregon

NCAA Waco Regional

05/11/26 | Women's Golf

Live Scoring

WACO, Texas – Junior Kiara Romero is tied for the individual lead and No. 8 Oregon is tied for second place as a team following the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Waco Regional on Monday at Ridgewood Country Club.

With Romero — the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world — back in the lineup for the first time since late March, the Ducks fired an even-par 280 in the opening round to finish the day tied for second with No. 4 Texas A&M. No. 21 SMU leads the field at 3-under par, and No. 16 Tennessee (+2) and Tulsa (+6) round out the top five with LSU (+7) in sixth.

The top five teams following three rounds of stroke play will advance to the 2026 NCAA Championships, set for May 22-27 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

Romero is tied for the individual lead after making five birdies for a 4-under 66. She was matched at 4 under by Texas A&M's Vanessa Borovilos and Tennessee's Kyra Van Kan, with two players tied for fourth at 3 under.

How it Happened: Romero returned to the lineup for the first time since winning the Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational, her second win of the season and UO record sixth of her career. She missed the regular-season finale after competing at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, and did not compete at the Big Ten Championships after earning an invite to play in the LPGA Chevron Championship.

Romero picked up right where she left off, as the two-time, first-team all-American carded her 19th par-or-better round and 12th sub-70 performance in 22 rounds this season. It was her 36th career showing in the 60s in 85 rounds as a Duck.

The last Duck to tee off in round one, Romero made birdie at No. 2 but was even after a bogey at No. 6. She caught fire from there, making four birdies in a five-hole span and three in a row on holes 9-11 to get to 4 under through 11. She finished out with seven straight pars to end the day tied for the lead at 4 under.

Freshman Sophie Han put together a strong opening round as well, as she sits tied for seventh place overall after a 1-under 69. Han was 3 under and bogey-free through 11 holes before making two bogeys in three holes, but she bounced back with four straight pars to finish. It was the 12th round of par-or-better and sixth in the 60s this season for Han.

Tong An came in with a 2-over 72, and Darae Chung rounded out Oregon's counting scores with a 3-over 73.

Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T-2. Oregon — 280 (E)
T-1. Kiara Romero — 66 (-4)
T-7. Sophie Han — 69 (-1)
T-21. Tong An — 72 (+2)
T-29. Darae Chung — 73 (+3)
T-54. Karen Tsuru — 77 (+7)

Notable: Oregon is making its 18th straight NCAA Regional appearance and is looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the fifth year in a row and 15th time in program history ... Oregon was 1 under on par-5 holes on Monday, and Romero was 2 under to tie for the top score among all players.

Up Next: The Ducks will tee off from hole No. 1 beginning at 6:00 a.m. PT on Tuesday in the second round.