The road to the postseason begins in paradise as the 2026 Big West Women’s Golf Championship heads to Maui, where nine teams will converge at Ka'anapali Golf Course from April 19–21 with a conference title and NCAA Regional berth on the line.
Nine of 10 golfers who finished in the top 10 of last season’s individual leaderboard, representing five programs return to compete again with 13 members listed on a 2025 All-Big West team bring postseason familiarity to a new locale and exciting opportunity for postseason glory for the full field of competitors.
Played across 54 holes of stroke play, the championship features nine teams competing in a picturesque setting, athletes will go out beginning on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT/10:30 a.m. HT from the Royal Ka'anapali Course, one of only two layouts in Hawai‘i designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
Taking advantage of the rolling landscape to create gently sloping fairways and large contoured greens, a challenging approach is seen on each hole. With a Big West Championship layout stretching just over 6,000 yards, this par 72 course will challenge all 45 players' club selection and putting skills while providing breathtaking views from sloping vistas that reveal the islands of Lana'i and Moloka'i in the distance with tropical trade winds and a blend of oceanfront holes to a setting in the West Maui foothills testing each player.
All eyes will be on defending team champion Cal State Fullerton, which enters the week ranked 41st nationally and the top seed in the 2026 field. The Titans return a loaded lineup, including reigning individual medalist Kaitlyn Zermeno Smith and runner-up Davina Xanh. Cal State Fullerton brings one of the deepest groups in the Championship with all five players from the 2025 squad back to defend the title. Four of the five in the lineup finished in the top 10 of last year’s leaderboard to propel the team to the title, a 14-stroke advantage over their nearest competitors at Spanish Trail in Las Vegas, Nev.
Second seed in the field and paired with the Titans in the first round is UC Davis, last season’s runners-up rated No. 63 heading into the postseason. The Aggies are paced by senior Lauren Calderon, who has finished in the top 10 in four events this season. The UC Davis lineup also sees two from last season’s top 10 in Vani Karimanal and Yu Bai. Joining the first threesome off the tees is UC Irvine with No. 1 player Katelyn Kong leading the charge for the 83rd ranked Anteaters.
The second grouping of teams features Long Beach State, Cal Poly and CSUN, with the trio taking to the course beginning at 2:20 p.m. PT/11:20 a.m. HT.
The retooled Beach squad has two returners from the 2025 field in Erin Lee and Madison Le. Leading the LBSU team in the top spot in the lineup is junior Alyson Sor, playing a first season for the hometown team after transferring from Black-Blue rival UCI, also a participant in the 2025 edition of The Big West Championship.
For Cal Poly, sophomore Nicole Koong leads a trio of returners out on the course and CSUN sees a Championship-seasoned lineup with four veterans led by senior Gracie Piar. Two Matadors in the lineup hail from Hawai’i, with Nicole Tanoue calling Honolulu her hometown and Ariya Soldwisch returning to Maui to play on her native island.
The final three teams teeing off in Sunday’s opening round are hosts Hawai’i, UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield, opening the Championship at 3:10 p.m. PT/12:10 p.m. HT. Three UH golfers are back in the postseason field from a year ago with senior Maline Kraus holding the top position in the lineup. The Highlanders also see three returners occupying their top three places on the squad, with junior Mitzi Duarte leading the way. For Cal State Bakersfield, four familiar faces dot the field with the senior duo of Sarah Mutai and Iris Han pacing the Roadrunners.
Teams will be repaired based on Sunday scores, going off in reverse order for Monday’s second round that also begins at 1:30 p.m. PT/10:30 a.m. HT. With tee times again determined by standings, Tuesday’s final round sees a split tee start at 11 a.m. PT/8 a.m. HT, with a championship on the line.
Walking spectators are welcome and encouraged, with limited on-site parking available. Overflow parking can be utilized at nearby Whalers Village for a small fee. For those not on Maui, live scoring can be accessed
here, and additional Championship coverage and information can be found
here. Follow The Big West and Ka’anapali Golf social channels all week for more live looks at the action.
About Ka’anapali Golf Courses
Built on 300 acres of land once home to Hawaiian royalty (Royal Chiefs of Maui), Ka‘anapali Golf Courses offers pristine conditions and panoramic views of Lana‘i, Molokai, the Pacific Ocean and West Maui Mountains.
Opened in 1962 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the par-71, 6,700-yard Royal Ka‘anapali Course features wide fairways and undulating greens which make it distinctive and demanding. The tournament-tested layout has welcomed Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Jan Stephenson, Betsy King and other legends.
High-profile events have included Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf (1964), Canada Cup (1964), LPGA’s Kemper Open (1982-85), PGA TOUR Champions’ Ka‘anapali Classic (1987-2000) and SKINS Game (2008-11), and Hawaii High School Athletic Association Golf State Championships (1998, 2009, ’13, ’17, ’22).
Complementing Royal Ka‘anapali is the modernized Kai Course, which hosted Golf Channel’s “Big Break Ka‘anapali” in 2008. The 6,400-yard, par-70 layout boasts an array of strategically placed bunkers, contoured fairways and resurfaced greens.
About Troon
Ka‘anapali Golf Courses are managed by Indigo Sports, a Troon company. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Troon is the world’s largest golf and golf-related hospitality management company providing services at 950-plus locations in 45-plus states and 40-plus countries, including operational responsibility for 575-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses. In addition to golf, Troon specializes in homeowner association management, private residence clubs, estate management and associated hospitality venues. Troon’s award-winning food and beverage division operates and manages 600-plus food and beverage operations located at golf resorts, private clubs, daily fee golf courses and recreational facilities. Troon’s family of brands includes Troon Golf, Troon Privé, Troon International, Indigo Sports, CADDIEMASTER, ClubUp, Cliff Drysdale Tennis, True Club Solutions, RealFood Hospitality, Strategy & Design and RF DesignStudio, ICON Management and Eventive Sports. For additional news and information, visit
www.Troon.com, TroonMagazine.com or connect with Troon on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
About The Big West
The Big West is an NCAA Division I member with 11 members with the shared goal of empowering every student-athlete in competition and in life and uniting its university communities through championship experiences. Formed in 1969, The current Big West membership consists of Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Hawai‘i, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. Future full member Sacramento State is an associate member in men’s soccer and beach volleyball and are set to enter the league with California Baptist and Utah Valley in July 2026.
The Big West is united in the pursuit of boundless opportunities, enduring integrity, bold activism, fearless innovation and the pacific spirit of freedom, exploration and progress.
The Big West sponsors 21 sports at the NCAA Division I level: baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s water polo and men’s and women’s swimming and diving which made its return last season.
Historically, Big West women's golf teams have won three NCAA team championships and one individual title with three runner-up team finishes in the stroke-play era, with 32 All-American selections and four Academic All-Americans.