UCLA women’s golf is two tournaments into the season, making a strong showing that has allowed it to find itself in the national rankings. With impressive individual performances, the squad seems poised for a successful season and to make another postseason run in the spring. As the Bruins prepare for their third event, Daily Bruin assistant Sports editor Kate Bergfeld provides her takeaways on the team.
Fierce Freshman
UCLA has produced legends in a wide variety of sports.
And now there is a name to watch for women’s golf: Michelle Xing.
The freshman was named Golfer and Freshman of the Week for the Big Ten conference after becoming the first Bruin in program history to place first in her collegiate debut, which took place at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate – where she shot 9-under 207.
In the final round, she shot 65 to tie the UCLA freshman 18-hole record, which is currently held by Bronte Law, Mariajo Uribe and Jane Park.
Before coming to Westwood, the Ontario, Canada, local took the title at the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup at the 111th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. In 2024, she became the youngest champion of the ORORO PGA Women’s Championship of Canada at 15, posting a 9-under 204 and sinking a 25-foot birdie to seal the deal over 66 professionals and amateurs.
Xing entered her collegiate career as the 95th-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world and seventh-ranked Canadian. A two-time AJGA All-American, she captured back-to-back first place finishes at the Greenwood Junior Championship and Will Lowery Junior Championship in the spring of 2024.
Before the season began, she was one of three UCLA athletes named to the Big Ten Women’s Golfers to Watch list – and the only freshman.
And only two events into the season, she’s more than proving why she was selected.
Veteran Experience
A double threat.
Junior Jen Lee and sophomore Kacey Ly return to compete for the Bruins in the 2026-2027 season.
Ly made a splash in her collegiate debut, being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season. She also was listed on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times across the 2025-2026 campaign.
A recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, Ly participated in the Women’s Amateur Championships this past summer and reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
And Lee – a transfer from Baylor – completed her first season at UCLA with a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team.
She was ranked second on the team with a 72.6 scoring average after competing in all 12 events for the Bruins. Lee took first at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in September of 2025. And this summer, she competed in two of the world’s premier amateur championships while making her U.S. Women’s Amateur debut.
The pair led the team to a third place finish at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational, with Lee taking eighth and Ly placing ninth individually.
And if they continue to perform, the pair could be invaluable veterans for the Bruins on their quest to another national championship.
Recent Graduates
Four-time reigning national champion Stanford will have big shoes to fill in the upcoming season.
With graduates Megha Ganne and Kelly Xu moving on from the collegiate world to join the pro leagues, the Cardinal will need to find a way to fill the gap.
Ganne was a leading contributor for the team’s national championship success, placing second in the individual portion of the national championship. She was listed as a WGCA and Golfweek First Team All-American, Inkster Award recipient – given to the nation’s highest ranked collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility – and was a finalist for the Honda Sport Award.
Among other impressive accolades, Ganne was also the 125th U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion in 2025 and part of the 2024 Stanford National Championship winning squad.
Fellow graduate Xu also brought an impressive list of accomplishments to the Stanford Squad.
A two-time NCAA Team Champion, the Claremont local was a three-time WGCA Second Team All-American and a two-time Golfweek Second Team All-American.
With other athletes graduating from top programs, including two departures from the eight-time national champions Arizona State and one graduate of Duke – seven-time national champions – the fairway is starting to clear for a UCLA squad to take its fourth national championship.
Phenomenal coaching
While scores and rankings ultimately come down to what happens out on the fairway, the work that goes into it is just as, if not more, important.
And the leaders guiding the Bruins are some of the best.
Assistant coach Erynne Yoo – a former Bruin All-American – was listed on the 2025-2026 watch list for the WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year Award, making her one of 15 nationally to receive the honor. Entering her fourth season at her alma mater, Yoo has helped guide the team to NCAA postseason appearances, including a second-place finish in her first year coaching.
Yoo has plenty of professional playing experience to go alongside her time at UCLA. She competed in 26 LPGA Tour events, with her top finish being a tie for seventh in 2018.
While on the Symetra Tour, Yoo played in 73 events with 11 finishes in the top 10, highlighted with wins at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship and Donald Ross Centennial in 2017 and the IOA Championship in 2016.
And at the helm of the program is Alicia Um Holmes.
Um Holmes – who graduated from UCLA in 2002 – has spent 21 years coaching with the program and is beginning her fourth season as head coach. She was an assistant coach in 2011 when the Bruins won the national championship and was named the 2013-2014 WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year as well as the Golfweek Women’s Coach of the Year for the 2023-2024 season.
Um Holmes and Yoo have known each other for a long time, with Holmes serving as Yoo’s coach during her time in Westwood.
Now they are reunited on the coaching staff and hunting for the elusive national championship.
Chip on its shoulder
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
UCLA women’s golf has been in NCAA tournament conversations for years, but it has consistently fallen short.
Its best finish in recent years was runner-up in 2024, being barely edged out of the title by then-No. 1 Stanford. After placing fourth in the Las Vegas Regional that year, the Bruins tied for sixth entering match bracket play.
Upsetting Texas, UCLA easily took its game against Oregon to end up in the championship match, where it couldn’t finish the Cinderella story and lost to Stanford 3-2.
Making it out of the regionals again in 2025, the team finished 12th at the NCAA championships, falling just four strokes short of placing in the top eight.
And in 2026, the squad once again barely missed the mark, having been bested by Kentucky by just three strokes. While the Bruins’ season ended there at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, that may have been just the motivation needed in the off-season to prepare for this year’s campaign.
So far, the squad hasn’t let off the gas.
Ranked No. 14 in the nation, members of the squad have been collecting individual wins and Big Ten recognitions, proving once again that UCLA may be a threat down the road.
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