BANDON, Ore. — The spectacular summer for Stanford women’s golf continued Sunday afternoon, as Megha Ganne won the 125th U.S. Women’s Amateur championship at Bandon Dunes.
After a grueling week of golf at Bandon Dunes, Ganne defeated Brooke Biermann of Michigan State 4&3 in the match play finals to cap off a historic championship. Ganne never trailed, pushing her lead by as many as four holes as early as the 19th hole, the first of the afternoon portion of the finals.
The first 18 holes of the championship match went according to plan for Ganne. She won two of the first three holes to go 2up, but Biermann tied it through six. It remained even until the 12th hole, when Ganne rattled off three straight hole wins to move 3up, a margin she would hold onto at the halfway point.
After making the cut into match play as the No. 11 seed, Ganne took down some of the best amateur golfers in the country. The average WAGR ranking of the six golfers she defeated in match play is 88.2.
Her comeback in the semifinals against Ella Scaysbrook is what put her position to play for a title. Scaysbrook was 4up on Ganne through 11 holes before the Stanford star came roaring back to tie it on 17, eventually winning in 19 holes.
By virtue of her win, Ganne receives the following:
- Custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year
- Exemption from qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open at The Riviera Country Club, in Pacific Palisades, California
- An automatic selection to the 2026 USA Curtis Cup Team for the Match at Bel-Air Country Club
- Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Amateurs, if eligible
- Invitation to the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
- Likely exemptions into the Chevron Championship, AIG Women’s Open, and Amundi Evian Championship
- Name engraved on the 2025 USGA Champions’ plaque that will reside in the USGA Museum’s Hall of Champions in Liberty Corner, New Jersey
Ganne’s win is the third amateur championship won by a Stanford women’s golfer this summer. Paula Martín Sampedro took home both The 122nd Women’s Amateur and European Ladies’ Amateur championships.
This marks the second time in Stanford history that Cardinal women’s golfers won both The Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same summer. Aline Krauter (The Women’s Amateur) and Rose Zhang (U.S. Women’s Amateur) both were crowned champions in the summer of 2020.
Ganne brings home the sixth U.S. Women’s Amateur championship in Stanford women’s golf history. Zhang was the most recent in 2020, while Joanne Pacillo took home the title in 1983. Anne Quast Sander thrice was a champion in 1958, 1961, and 1963.