Kelsey Kim ’27 holds her finish after her tee shot on the second hole at the Stanford Regional 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship of the Stanford Golf Course on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Santa Clara women’s golfer Kelsey Kim ’27 tied for 12th place at the Stanford Regional of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship, which wrapped up on May 13.

Kim finished the tournament at 1-under par after three rounds, highlighted by a stellar 5-under 66 in the second round on Tuesday, May 12. The round tied the lowest 18-hole score relative to par in program history, matching her own mark set earlier this season during the third round of the 2026 San Diego State Classic.

“I do think that I can do better. This tournament has really been a great motivation for me to just work harder and score better the next opportunity I get,” said Kim, reflecting on her performance.

She recorded seven birdies during the round and climbed 15 spots in the individual standings. Entering the final round, Kim sat within five strokes of leader Emma Bunch of New Mexico State University at 9-under par. The two were paired together for the final round, adding more tension and excitement to the competition.

“No matter who I get paired up with, I do have that strength of just being focused in my own game and not caring how other players are playing,” said Kim. “Playing with such a great player was a good experience for me, but I don’t think it really impacted me that much.”

Kelsey Kim ’27 at the top of her swing before hitting her approach shot on the second hole at the Stanford Regional 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at the Stanford Golf Course on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)

Kim finished the season with 16 rounds under par and 25 in her collegiate career, both program records.

During Wednesday’s final round, Kim carded a pair of birdies on holes 7 and 16, but five bogeys prevented her from moving up the leaderboard. She shot a 3-over 74 at the par-71 Stanford Golf Course to finish the event at 72-66-74–212.

Kim’s teammates, Audrey Brust ’26, Rachael Wang ’26 and Proud Sriwongngam ’28, supported her during Wednesday’s round.

“It’s super inspirational. She works so hard and totally deserves to be here. It’s so fun to watch her play golf, because she’s just such a steady player, super consistent, and it’s just really awesome to be able to watch her,” said Brust.

Kelsey Kim ’27 fist bumps Santa Clara women’s golf head coach Krystal Kelly on the first hole at the Stanford Regional 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at the Stanford Golf Course on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Despite the challenging final round, Kim recorded the second-best performance by a Bronco in an NCAA Qualifier in program history. Her 10th top-20 finish of the season tied the program record.

Kim became just the third player in Santa Clara history to compete in an NCAA Regional. Among individuals in the 77-player field not competing with one of the five teams advancing to the 2026 NCAA Championship, she tied for the second-best finish.

Bunch finished at 6-under par and tied for sixth to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship.

“I definitely do need to work harder on strength-wise and cardio, because the last day, I really wanted to play even better than the second round, but it didn’t work out because I was really tired. When you’re physically tired, you also get mentally tired,” said Kim, when asked what this experience taught her.

Kim concluded her junior season with a scoring average of 71.64 strokes, the lowest single-season record in program history.