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Oregon Ducks Women's Golf Team Wins Big 10 Conference Championship

Kiara Romero, the sophomore phenom won the individual Big 10 Conference title

Picture of Kiara Romero. Photo Courtesy: Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

HAVRE DE GRACE, Maryland - New conference, no problem for the Oregon Ducks women’s golf team.

The program that has climbed the national ladder in recent years, thanks to the leadership of head coach Derek Radley, has stamped its name as Big-10 Conference Champions on Sunday.

The Ducks trailed by three strokes entering the final round on Sunday, but ended up running away with the 2025 Big Ten Championship at Bulle Rock Golf Course.

The No. 5 Ducks fired a stellar 12-under 276 to win the team title by a whopping 14 strokes, matching the tournament 54-hole scoring record in the process with a 12-under 852 for the weekend.

Sophomore Kiara Romero gave Oregon a championship sweep by claiming the individual conference title at 7-under par, winning by three strokes after a 4-under 68 in the final round. Romero is the fifth-ranked women's amateur in the world according to the Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings. She also took 7th recently at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Oregon won the Big Ten title in its first year in the league while claiming the second conference championship in program history, joining the 2021-22 team that won the Pac-12 Championship.

It is the second tournament win of the season for the Ducks and the ninth under head coach Derek Radley.

"Just really proud of the way our ladies performed this week," Radley told Big Ten Network after the round. "I was really proud of us because the wind switched today; it was out of the south for rounds one and two, and we came in with a strict game plan today and really stuck to it. When those putts start falling, I just stay out of the way and keep cheering. I couldn't be more proud of this group."

Romero becomes the third Duck to win an individual conference title, joining Hsin-Yu Lu (2022) and Caroline Inglis (2015). She earned her first individual tournament win of the season and third of her career, moving into a tie for second all-time at Oregon.

"I think we all inspire each other and look up to each other a lot," Romero said while with her teammates at the trophy presentation. "It feels good to finally get this dub for all of us."

With the conference title, the Ducks earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Regional round and will find out where they will be heading on Wednesday during the NCAA selection show.

The Ducks will be searching for that elusive NCAA Championship, with a high quality team that has competed at a high level all season. Oregon made it to the 2022 NCAA Championship match against Stanford, but lost 3-2 in the final to take runner-up.

Oregon started the day three strokes back of No. 24 Michigan State, which fired a 7-under 281 on Saturday to surge into the lead. The Ducks didn't take long to erase that deficit, as their four counting scorers combined to shoot 3-under par on the front nine compared to a 4-over par showing for the Spartans.

The Ducks were even better on the back nine to run away with the title, combining for 11 birdies against just one double bogey from the four counting scores. Oregon's 12-under 852 ties the 2016 Ohio State and Northwestern teams for the lowest 54-hole team total in Big Ten Championship history.

Freshman Tong An, provided the low score of the day for the Ducks. An made six birdies en route to a bogey-free 6-under 66, her lowest round as a Duck and the lowest individual round of the weekend.

"Just an unbelievable day from AT," Radley said. "For a true freshman to come out and play like that in the final round with a championship on the line is truly amazing. I'm so proud of her and was so impressed with her poise and composure out there today."

The Oregon women's golf team will make its 17th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance after earning the No. 1 seed in the 2025 Gold Canyon Regional.

Hosted by Arizona State, the Gold Canyon Regional will be played at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club beginning on Monday, May 5, and finishing on Wednesday, May 7. Oregon is the top team in the field with No. 8 Arizona State, No. 17 Auburn, No. 20 Mississippi State and Oklahoma State rounding out the top five seeds.

The top five teams from each regional will advance the NCAA Championships.

The NCAA Regional round is scheduled for May 5-7 at six different sites with 12 teams at each site. The 2025 NCAA Championships on May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

After reaching the national semifinals at the NCAA Championships a year ago, Oregon is hunting for that National Championship once again.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to head to Gold Canyon for the NCAA Regional round,” head coach Derek Radley said. “It’s been a really fun season for our team and earning the top seed at a regional is a testament to all of the hard work our ladies have put in and everything they have accomplished. We’re looking forward to getting out to Arizona with an opportunity to punch our ticket to the NCAA Championships.”

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