Colorado women’s golf is heading back to a stage it knows well this weekend, and the Buffaloes will do it while taking part in a cause that has become central to the Stanford Intercollegiate.
The 2026 Stanford Intercollegiate, hosted by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, runs Oct. 16-18 at Stanford Golf Course, where Colorado is one of 17 teams in the field. The event will be played over three rounds of 18 holes on the 6,267-yard, par-71 layout, and it marks the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Buffaloes have returned to Stanford’s fall tournament.
The competition is loaded, just as Stanford’s event usually is. Every team in the field sits inside the top 100 of the first NCAA Scoreboard by Clippd rankings, released Oct.
- Ten teams are ranked in the top 50, six are in the top 25, and the headliners include No.
2 USC, No. 4 Virginia and No.
8 UCLA. Colorado checked in at No.
Beyond the golf, the tournament continues to carry the PlayforHer message. Since 2023, the Stanford Intercollegiate has backed the campaign, which brings the collegiate golf community together in the fight against breast cancer and honors those who have fought, are fighting, or may one day fight the disease.
The effort has already made a significant impact. Over the past three years, women’s college golf has raised more than $620,000 for breast cancer research. This year’s field is playing for Christine Romer, a former California golfer, LPGA teaching professional, and 15-year breast cancer survivor.
“It’s a real privilege to be a part of this tournament,” Colorado Head Coach Madeleine Sheils said. “The amount of money raised is pretty staggering to go towards research, and with one in eight women being affected by breast cancer in their lifetime, I think the opportunity to educate and make the young women in the tournament aware of those statistics and what they can do to stay healthy and look after themselves is incredibly important. And so we're really happy to be a part of here and be to be here and be a part of this effort.”
Colorado will go with the same five golfers who have represented the Buffaloes in each of their three previous tournaments this fall. Sophomore Brenna Higgins has been the team’s low scorer in the last two events, posting a combined 1-under-par over her past six rounds.
Senior Maya McVey leads Colorado with a 71.44 scoring average and has gone 5-under across nine rounds. Senior Carolyn Fuller carries a 73.78 average this season, while junior Ellen O'Shaughnessy and sophomore Teemapat Pateetin complete the lineup.
The Buffaloes handled Stanford well a year ago, finishing eighth at 9-over and beating eight top-40 teams along the way.
“We love coming back here, and it's so great to be able to test ourselves against some top teams in the country and to play on a championship golf course that we could potentially see in the postseason as well,” Sheils said. “I think the Stanford Golf Course challenges every part of your game, and so it's really important to remain level-headed and compete according to your plan all the way through till the final hole because there are some difficult holes out there, but there are also a lot of opportunities to score.”
Colorado is paired with individuals from Stanford and Virginia for Friday’s opening round, with those groups set to tee off from No. 10 beginning at 12:45 p.m.
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