photo by: Ohio State Athletics

The Kansas women's golf team qualified for the NCAA Championship with its first-place finish in the Columbus Regional on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio.

The Kansas women’s golf team is headed back to the NCAA Championship for the first time in 11 years after concluding one of the best days in program history at the Columbus Regional on Wednesday.

Not only did KU finish in first place among the 12 participating teams after entering the event as the No. 4 seed, sophomore Lyla Louderbaugh claimed the individual title by an eight-stroke margin as she shot a 12-under 204.

No KU golfer had ever finished higher than tied for ninth in an NCAA regional, and KU as a team, even when it moved on to championship action, never did better than a tie for fifth in 2014.

As for Louderbaugh, she entered the competition unranked and had not done better than a tie for fourth in an event during her two seasons at KU. The native of Buffalo, Missouri, recorded that previous result when she led the Jayhawks by shooting 7-under at the ASU/Ping Invitational in late March.

In regional play on Wednesday, she birdied eight times in the span of 13 holes on the final day and shot a career-low 65 to seal her individual title.

Between Monday and Wednesday at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, KU as a team shot 6-under, three strokes better than the national No. 2 program, Arkansas.

Louderbaugh’s standout performance was backed up by a strong final day from senior Johanna Ebner, who shot 5-under on Wednesday to finish at 1-over overall in a tie for 12th place. Fellow senior Lauren Clark was not far behind at 5-over in 21st, where she tied with freshman Ebba Nordstedt. Amy DeKock shot 10-over and Lily Hirst served as a substitute.

KU’s surge into first place was all the more impressive because the Jayhawks were only tied for sixth at 1-over following the first day of action, then tied for third at 6-over after the second day. It went down as the Jayhawks’ sixth team title of the season.

“What a day,” head coach Lindsay Kuhle said in a press release. “I am so incredibly proud of the way we showed up the last two days. We have been visualizing this all year and I think a lot of it is us believing we could do this. We have depth on this team where any player can win. To have six team wins and five individual wins on the year is incredible.”

The NCAA Championship begins on May 16 in Carlsbad, California, at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa Champions Course. Also qualifying along with KU out of Columbus were Arkansas, host Ohio State, UNLV and LSU, as well as Houston’s Moa Svedenskiold, the top individual from a non-advancing team.

KU’s best performance in the NCAA Championship was when it came in 14th in 1990. This will be the Jayhawks’ first trip to the event under Kuhle.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this group,” Kuhle said. “Everyone contributed and made a difference this week. Our finish at the Big 12 Championship was a huge motivator for us. We had a competitive week of practice that prepared our ladies for this moment. I’m so grateful for this group and how much they care about each other. We’re so fortunate to have this opportunity to compete for KU at the highest level.”