And just like that, the first two months of the 2026-27 college golf season are in the books.
It seems like yesterday it was September and college golf teams were kicking off their seasons across the country. Now, outside of just a couple of tournaments, the sport is going dormant for the next three months until the spring season arrives and teams begin a four-month sprint toward the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
There was no shortage of action from the fall, whether it was school records going down or teams asserting their dominance heading into the holiday break.
Here are some of the biggest stories from women’s college golf
this fall, including the biggest winners from the first two months of the season and more.
Who are the contenders?
Hard to start this list without mentioning Stanford, which has won the stroke-play portion at NCAAs six straight years on the way to three national titles, including two in three years at Omni La Costa. The Cardinal finished last out of six teams at the Stephens Cup, which caused a lot of folks to scratch their heads, but since then, two wins and a third-place finish at the Nanea. Virginia is ranked first in the NCAA golf rankings after a two-win fall (more on the Cavaliers in a bit), while USC, Duke, Wake Forest, Oregon and Auburn have all racked up wins early in the season, too. This Stanford team is still developing depth. Can anyone take the throne? The top is deep after the fall season.
Annika award favorites?
It's almost impossible to give out the award after just the fall because of how many great performances there have been from so many players. Reigning Annika winner Farah O'Keefe of Texas has a pair of wins to begin the season, but so do Stanford's Meja Ortengren, Arkansas' Maria Jose Marin, Auburn's Anna Davis, Virginia's Jaclyn LaHa and Virginia Tech's Valentine Delon. That list doesn't even include numerous other stars this fall. Ortengren's worst finish is T-4, and she finished the fall with a pair of wins. If I had to vote for the Annika right now, she would get my vote. Thank goodness we have the spring season left, which should be thrilling to watch this many players and see who can pull away.
Biggest surprise thus far?
Virginia. As mentioned, the Cavaliers sit first in the NCAA golf rankings after the fall season, up from 19th in the Golfweek preseason team rankings. They opened the season with a sixth-place finish at the Annika and haven't finished worse than second since, with a pair of wins in the process. LaHa leads the way, but Zoe Cusack has played well and Miranda Lu also has a win. On the flip side of the surprise coin, Arkansas comes out of the fall without a win in five stroke-play events and is looking for players to step up behind Marin and Sara Brentcheneff, who have been stellar.
Impact transfer
Scarlett Schremmer has had the biggest impact of any transfer in the country this season. The sophomore at Miami has a pair of wins, including the second-lowest 54-hole score in Miami history at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, and has helped the Hurricanes to a win and No. 15 ranking after the fall, too. She's set to make her LPGA debut this week at The Annika in Florida.
A mystery illness
This one is still hard to comprehend because of how unusual it was, but it was one of the biggest stories this fall. Last month, the final round of The Ally was canceled due to a scary situation involving an unknown illness affecting most of the teams in the field. At least 13 of the 17 teams were experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and other issues. Players and coaches were affected, and the worry amongst coaches and officials was that, whatever the mystery illness was, it could be contagious. Coaches were worried about sick players trying to push through the final round and getting sicker or risking those still healthy also catching symptoms. Because the final round was canceled, the tournament was made official after 36 holes. Oklahoma State won the team title at 5 under, with Ole Miss finishing five shots behind.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 5 biggest stories from women's college golf this fall. Who are the championship contenders?
