The NCAA Division I golf season is underway for both men and women, and though Spikemark’s rocky start as the NCAA’s official ranking and scoring provider has overshadowed the first few weeks of the fall, there has still been some great golf played so far.
That said, with scores not housed in one central location, it’s been difficult to follow. There also are questions about whether Spikemark can deliver on its first ranking, set to be released Oct. 15. Golfstat is no longer providing a ranking while the WGCA announced Thursday that it was suspending its coaches’ polls indefinitely while Spikemark sorts itself out. The Golfweek/Sagarins are the only college golf ranking that is available, its D-I men’s and women’s rankings coming out Thursday.
So, with all that considered, here are Golf Channel’s first-ever NCAA Division I golf power rankings, as determined by college golf insider Brentley Romine (preseason ranks are in parentheses):
D-I women’s top 25
1. Stanford (1): No Rose, no problem as sophomore Megha Ganne blitzed the field at Pebble Beach by four shots and the Cardinal won the Carmel Cup by eight over Arkansas.
2. USC (2): Trojans stay put after beating up on a weak field at the Leadership and Golf Invitational with four players in the top five, including medalist Amari Avery.
3. Oregon (6): Ducks were only three shots shy of champion South Carolina at the Annika Intercollegiate as Kiara Romero, in her first college event, tied for first with three others.
4. South Carolina (11): A ton went right for the Gamecocks in winning the Annika – Louise Rydqvist regained her form and shared the medal while freshmen Maylis Lamoure and Variana Heck also cracked the top 10.
5. Wake Forest (5): Deacons take third at Annika, and they do it with senior Rachel Kuehn finishing T-35.
6. Ole Miss (13): Transfers Caitlyn Macnab and Justine Fournand each notched T-5 finishes as Ole Miss won the Cougar Classic by five shots over LSU.
7. LSU (3): Runner-up at Cougar, though Ingrid Lindblad tied for first individually with Clemson’s Savannah Grewal.
8. Texas A&M (4): Zoe Slaughter already has a couple top-10s as the Aggies were third at Pebble and then fifth at the Annika.
9. Texas (7): Freshman Farah O’Keefe’s T-5 at Annika led Longhorns to fifth as a team, a shot behind rival Aggies.
10. Auburn (9): Tigers drop one spot prior to kicking off their season at the Mason Rudolph, which begins Friday with a stacked field that includes South Carolina, Ole Miss and LSU.
11. San Jose State (24): OK, we’re done underrating Dana Dormann’s squad, which placed fourth at the Annika behind its star duo of Kajsa Arwefjall and Lucia Lopez-Ortega, both T-9.
12. Florida State (10): Sophomore Lottie Woad shared the individual title at the Annika for the seventh-place Seminoles, who are still waiting for Augusta transfer Mirabel Ting is be eligible.
13. Arkansas (27): Freshman Maria Jose Marin paced the runner-up Razorbacks with a second of her own at the Carmel Cup.
14. Pepperdine (22): Waves build on Elite 8 appearance from last May by taking New Mexico’s home event by 10 shots over upstart Kansas.
15. Arizona (16): Yet to hit a shot this fall, but that will change starting Friday at the Mason Rudolph, hosted by Vanderbilt.
16. Virginia (20): Reigning ACC and NCAA regional champ Amanda Sambach’s T-9 paced eighth-place Virginia at Annika.
17. Vanderbilt (19): Commodores were fourth at Pebble, 17 shots back of Texas A&M in third.
18. Clemson (25): Solid third to open the season for the Tigers at the Cougar.
19. UCLA (18): Bruins get their season going on Friday at Mason Rudolph.
20. UCF (21): Impressive fourth at Cougar as freshman Molly Smith was T-5 in her college debut.
21. Duke (14): Ninth at Annika with only transfer Emma McMyler (T-25) in the top 25 individually.
22. Mississippi State (12): Player of the year contender Julia Lopez Ramirez followed her third at Pebble with a T-25 at the Annika. The Bulldogs, as a team, placed disappointing fifth and 10th, respectively.
23. Purdue (NR): One of the few teams to play twice already, and both wins, at its home Boilermaker (by six shots over Alabama) and the Mary Fossum (by 10 over host Michigan State).
24. Arizona State (8): The youthful Sun Devils ended up third at New Mexico, 17 shots off the winning pace of Pepperdine.
25. Kansas (NR): The Jayhawks are out of the gates strong after a runner-up at New Mexico, beating Arizona State by seven, Iowa State by 20 and Ohio State by 23.
Falling out: Baylor (15), Florida (17), Georgia (23)
Men
1. North Carolina (1): Tar Heels stay on top thanks to 36-hole win at Olympia Fields, where transfer Maxwell Ford leads the way with a runner-up.
2. Vanderbilt (2): Despite T-19 from Gordon Sargent, Commodores rally on final day to beat TCU by five shots at the Valero Texas Collegiate.
3. Arizona State (3): Runner-up to Illinois at Sahalee before finishing fourth at Olympia Fields without Preston Summerhays, who got into Fortinet with Sahalee individual triumph.
4. Auburn (5): Tigers roll in shootout at Mirabel, shooting 56 under and beating Fresno State by 11.
5. Texas (6): Longhorns second to UNC by six after T-6 at Sahalee, 20 shots back of winner Illinois. Jacobs Sosa with two early top-10s.
6. Georgia Tech (9): Reigning national runner-up rides individual winner Christo Lamprecht to solo third at Olympia Fields.
7. Alabama (7): Solid season debut for U.S. Am champ Nick Dunlap (T-8) as Tide place fifth at Olympia Fields, 11 back of UNC.
8. Tennessee (10): Vols lose star Caleb Surratt to flu bug after 18 holes, yet they still win home event by a shot over Ole Miss.
9. Oklahoma (9): Luke Kluver’s resurgence (two top-6s) has the Sooners staying inside top 10 with fifth at Valero and distant second at Husky Invitational.
10. Illinois (23): Never count out Mike Small as his Illini win by eight at Sahalee before a 10th at their home event at Olympia Fields, where they were fifth after Day 1 before falling five spots in the second – and thanks to weather, final – round.
11. Washington (NR): Huskies take major leap after proving third at Sahalee no fluke with 26-shot win over Oklahoma at home event.
12. Virginia (11): Cavs were fourth and 12 shots behind Vandy at Valero before sputtering down stretch at Highlands Invitational to end up a shot behind co-team winners Wake Forest and Missouri.
13. Florida State (4): Sure, Seminoles have been without Frederik Kjettrup for two events and Jack Bigham for one, but they slide after eighth at Folds of Honor Collegiate and solid sixth at Olympia Fields.
14. Texas Tech (13): Decent start to first season of the post-Aberg era, a T-6 at Sahalee.
15. Arizona (21): One of few teams to have already played three times. Recovered from a fifth at Folds event to place fourth at Sahalee and T-7 at Olympia Fields.
16. Baylor (28): Johnny Keefer has gone T-1, T-8 to lead the Bears to a third at Valero and T-7 at Olympia Fields.
17. Florida (19): Defending national champs lost a ton of talent, but a ninth at Olympia Fields is respectable. Transfer Ian Gilligan was T-8 in his Gator debut.
18. Ole Miss (25): Rallied on last day to end up a shot behind Tennessee at the Visit Knoxville. Transfers Michael La Sasso (T-2) and Tim Tillmans (T-10) with top-10s.
19. Chattanooga (NR): The Cinderella story continues for the Mocs. After making the NCAA Championship last season, they are now 2-0 with wins at Erin Hills (by three shots over Cal) and the Bearkat (by eight shots over Louisville).
20. Cal (24): Freshman Eric Lee was T-1 at Erin Hills … as an individual. Bears then tied for third at the Husky as Lee pace them with a T-11.
21. TCU (NR): Gustav Frimodt (T-1 at Valero) is a stud, and Frogs (runner-up at Valero) may be a lot better in Year 1 under Bill Alcorn than initially thought.
22. Texas A&M (12): Aggies were T-3 at Erin Hills and are anxiously waiting for blue-chip freshman Aaron Pounds to get into the lineup.
23. Ohio State (15): Maxwell Moldovan (T-11) and Neal Shipley (T-8) did their parts at Mirabel, but Buckeyes were fourth behind Auburn, Fresno State and San Diego State.
24. Duke (17): Fourth at Highlands hurts, but the Blue Devils’ fifth at Sahalee keeps them in the top 25.
25. East Tennessee State (18): LSU, Wake Forest and Mississippi State are among those knocking on the door, but Bucs (fourth at Visit Knoxville) stave them off for now
Falling out: Stanford (14), Oregon (16), Oklahoma State (20), Georgia (22)