By Julliana Bravo
Megha Ganne has had a way of rising to the occasion at the highest levels of golf. The Holmdel, N.J., native was a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist, was Low Amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021, and has won a NCAA title with her Stanford University squad. Now, Ganne added another crowning achievement to her resume, capturing the 125th U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Bandon, Ore.
On August 10, the rising Stanford University senior lifted the Robert Cox Trophy, defeating Brooke Biermann of Wildwood, Mo., 4 and 3 in the 36-hole championship match. Ganne – who was making her seventh U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship appearance – never trailed. The match stood tied through 11 holes, but Ganne then reeled off three consecutive wins to go 3-up through 14 holes and never looked back. She finished the morning round with a comfortable lead but didn’t lose focus on what was on the line. For Ganne, the pressure of high intensity matches doesn’t seem to faze her.
“Once you get to a certain stage – the quarterfinals – adrenaline gets really high and you can feel it in your body,” Ganne says. “I’m just feeling the fatigue now, three days later,” she reported on a phone call.
Bandon Dunes notably overlooks the Pacific Ocean. While this means stunning views, it also means harsh winds that impact ball flight and even putts. Although the wind was intense for much of the championship, the weather seemed to suit Ganne.
“Usually in these tournaments, temperatures can soar making endurance key to push through, but the wind made for comfortable temperatures,” said Ganne.
Ganne extended her lead to four with birdie on the first hole of the second 18. While Biermann won four holes in the afternoon, Ganne answered with a win of her own on the very next hole three times and two holes later on the other occasion. She made birdies on the 22nd, 25th, and 29th holes of the match. Ganne then sealed her win on the 33rd (No. 15), a par-3 where the green sits exposed to the elements above the shoreline. Ganne considered it the course’s most difficult hole.
“Knowing that I was able to capitalize on that hardest hole and to step up and hit the shot that it called for day after day under pressure, in high winds, is something I'm going to remember for a while,” Ganne says.
While Ganne enters these pressure-packed tournaments attempting to come out on top, she also acknowledges that whatever happens, happens, doing her best to learn from each moment.
“It’s a difficult format to put expectations on yourself, so you have to go into it with little expectations,” says Ganne. “But the goal is always to come out on top.”
Ganne had earned the No. 11 seed after two days of stroke play but faced a gauntlet of outstanding players to capture the title. She edged Kaleiya Romero of San Jose, Calif., 2 and 1, in the Round of 64. She then defeated good friend and No. 15 ranked player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) Anna Davis of Spring Valley, Calif., 3 and 2; No. 20 Kary Hollenbaugh of New Albany, Ohio, 2 and 1; No. 6 Eila Galitsky of Thailand, 2 and 1; then Ella Scaysbrook of Australia in 19 holes after facing a four-hole deficit part way through the semifinal match.
Ganne was perhaps spurred on by her other semifinal appearance in the championship, which came in 2019 at the age of 15. She’s had plenty of successes between then and now, allowing her to call upon those big moments, rise to the occasion again and capture a national title.
Photos courtesy of the USGA