Historic Career Concludes As Romero Earns LPGA Tour Card
08/14/26 | Women's Golf
EUGENE, Ore. - The greatest career in Oregon women's golf history officially came to a close this week as Kiara Romero earned her LPGA Tour card after securing the required 20 points through the LPGA's Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) program.
Romero eclipsed the 20-point mark after earning the prestigious Mark H. McCormack Medal for the second year in a row. The McCormack Medal is given to the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world and is accompanied by four LEAP points.
Romero officially announced on Wednesday that she would be foregoing her senior season at Oregon to join the LPGA Tour, and on Friday she shared a heartfelt thank you to her Oregon coaches, teammates and community.
The most accomplished player in program history, Romero leaves Oregon as the only Duck ever to be a three-time, first-team WGCA all-American. She is also one of only two Ducks to be a three-time, first-team all-conference selection, and she was the 2025 Big Ten Golfer of the Year after winning the individual conference title and leading Oregon to the team championship.Â
Romero led the Ducks to back-to-back national semifinal appearances at the NCAA Championships as a freshman and sophomore, finishing in the individual top 10 both years. She also won the 2025 NCAA Gold Canyon Regional, becoming the first Duck ever to win both a conference and NCAA Regional individual title. She fired a 10-under 62 in the second round of that NCAA Regional, the lowest individual round in program history.Â
In 30 career tournaments, Romero racked up a UO record six individual wins, seven runner-up finishes, 22 top-10 showings and 28 top-20 performances. She shot par-or-better in 71 of 87 career rounds with 37 sub-70 rounds.
Romero set the UO single-season record for individual scoring average in each of her three seasons, led by a stellar 69.23 mark as a junior in 2025-26. She also set the single-season record for birdies in both 2023-24 (118) and 2024-25 (138), and she owns the single-season records for par-3 (2.95, 2023-24), par-4 (3.95, 2025-26) and par-5 (4.54, 2025-26) scoring.Â
Romero's 70.06 career scoring average is more than two full strokes better than the previous record of 72.82 held by Briana Chacon (2020-23).Â
A San Jose native, Romero also leaves Oregon at No. 3 in program history with 354 career birdies despite playing just three seasons, and she tied for second all-time with seven career eagles. Romero's 87 career rounds played are more than 20 fewer than any other player on the all-time top-10 birdies list.Â
Romero eclipsed the 20-point mark after earning the prestigious Mark H. McCormack Medal for the second year in a row. The McCormack Medal is given to the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world and is accompanied by four LEAP points.
Romero officially announced on Wednesday that she would be foregoing her senior season at Oregon to join the LPGA Tour, and on Friday she shared a heartfelt thank you to her Oregon coaches, teammates and community.
The most accomplished player in program history, Romero leaves Oregon as the only Duck ever to be a three-time, first-team WGCA all-American. She is also one of only two Ducks to be a three-time, first-team all-conference selection, and she was the 2025 Big Ten Golfer of the Year after winning the individual conference title and leading Oregon to the team championship.Â
Romero led the Ducks to back-to-back national semifinal appearances at the NCAA Championships as a freshman and sophomore, finishing in the individual top 10 both years. She also won the 2025 NCAA Gold Canyon Regional, becoming the first Duck ever to win both a conference and NCAA Regional individual title. She fired a 10-under 62 in the second round of that NCAA Regional, the lowest individual round in program history.Â
In 30 career tournaments, Romero racked up a UO record six individual wins, seven runner-up finishes, 22 top-10 showings and 28 top-20 performances. She shot par-or-better in 71 of 87 career rounds with 37 sub-70 rounds.
Romero set the UO single-season record for individual scoring average in each of her three seasons, led by a stellar 69.23 mark as a junior in 2025-26. She also set the single-season record for birdies in both 2023-24 (118) and 2024-25 (138), and she owns the single-season records for par-3 (2.95, 2023-24), par-4 (3.95, 2025-26) and par-5 (4.54, 2025-26) scoring.Â
Romero's 70.06 career scoring average is more than two full strokes better than the previous record of 72.82 held by Briana Chacon (2020-23).Â
A San Jose native, Romero also leaves Oregon at No. 3 in program history with 354 career birdies despite playing just three seasons, and she tied for second all-time with seven career eagles. Romero's 87 career rounds played are more than 20 fewer than any other player on the all-time top-10 birdies list.Â
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