YPSILANTI, MI – Due to inclement weather the opening round of the 2026 NAIA Women's Golf National Championship at Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ypsilanti, Mi was suspended Tuesday afternoon. The tournament's first round is set to resume Wednesday but due to the delay, the championship has been shortened to a 54-hole event with the second round scheduled to begin Thursday morning.
The defending champion UBC Thunderbirds opened the competition Tuesday morning in windy and wet conditions that eventually caused two-weather delays before suspension of play. The T-Birds entered the week as the No. 6 ranked team and a young but talented group featuring, Jessica Ng, Katherine Hao, Keira Hou, Sienna Harder and Grace Yao.
Three of the five UBC competitors where able to complete their opening round including Katherine Hao (E, 72) who led the way for the 'Birds with a score of even par. Hao currently sits three shots back of the individual leader, Yunyi Luo, from SCAD Savannah (Ga.) who is at 3-under par through 10 holes on the strength of three birdies thus far.
Hao enjoyed a steady start to the tournament staying even through her first six holes before recording a birdie on the seventh. It was also a fairly consistent back nine for the first-year science student-athlete that included two more birdies on holes 10 and 13. The lone blemishes on the day included a bogey on the ninth hole and a double bogey to finish things off on 18.
Fellow T-Birds, Sienna Harder and Grace Yao currently sit at (+7) and (+9) respectively through 18 holes. Keira Hou was enjoying an efficient opening round before play was halted, sitting at (2-under) through 17 holes while Jessica Ng is at (+4) also through 17 holes.
Following 36 holes of competition, the field will be reduced to the top 15 teams, plus ties, for the final round of play on Friday.
Leaderboard
You can catch the rest of the championship on live stream:
https://urbanedgenetwork.net/live?school=naia-championships