The Oregon women’s golf team and the Florida men’s teams won their respective titles at the 2025 East Lake Cup on Wednesday.
Held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, this prestigious college golf event mirrors the final three days of the NCAA Championship format, with top teams squaring off in a match-play format.
The event started with four men’s teams and four women’s teams. The Oregon women knocked out Florida State, 3-2, and then Northwestern, 4-1. Northwestern is the reigning NCAA champion in Division I women’s golf. It’s Oregon’s first East Lake title.
The Florida Gators, meanwhile, first eliminated Ole Miss 3-2, and then knocked off Virginia by the same score. It’s the Gators’ first East Lake Cup title in their second appearance in the event.
In the women’s consolation match, USC defeated Florida State, 4-1, while on the men’s side, Ole Miss beat Arizona State 3 ½ to 1 ½.
The weather was chilly in Atlanta, and the golfers wore pants, jackets and beanies to battle the temperatures.
“This weather is so brutal and we needed to stay patient and take each shot at a time,” said Oregon sophomore Tong An. “With my coach on my side, he helped me to stay calm and focus on each and every shot.”
Kiara Romero, ranked No. 1 in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, secured the clinching point on the 16th hole with a birdie to take out Wildcats sophomore Megan Meng.
“It is going to be up and down throughout the whole round in match play,” said Romero. “Staying patient out there and taking advantage of the opportunities that I had at the right time really helped me today.”
For Florida, Parker Bell made a 10-foot birdie putt to beat WAGR No. 1 Ben James on the 18th hole. Bell actually led by four with five to play, but James birdied four of the final five holes. That forced Bell to birdie the 17th and 18th holes.
“I wasn’t expecting it to come down to the final hole like it did,” Bell said, “but it’s Ben James. He’s going to be a PGA Tour player. I had to fight to hold on, and that’s what I did.”
