Bunch became the first Aggie women’s golfer since 2002 to qualify for the national championship after finishing as the top individual from a non-advancing team at the Stanford Regional.

Organ Mountain News report

STANFORD, Calif. - NM State golfer Emma Bunch has qualified for the 2026 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship after a standout performance at the NCAA Stanford Regional in California.

Bunch finished six-under across three rounds at Stanford Golf Course to earn the top individual qualifying spot among players whose teams did not advance to the national championship.

The NCAA Women’s Golf Championship begins May 22 in Carlsbad, California.

With the qualification, Bunch became the first Aggie women’s golfer to reach the national championship since Alena Sharp in 2002.

Bunch opened the regional Monday with a career-best 64 (-7), the lowest 18-hole score of her career, before following with a bogey-free 69 (-2) in the second round.

She closed the tournament with a 74 (+2) to finish tied for sixth overall and secure the automatic individual qualifying spot.

According to NM State Athletics, Bunch finished five strokes ahead of the next closest individual competitor from a non-qualifying team.

Bunch is just the third player in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championship as an individual, joining Sharp and Jane Egan, who qualified in 1990.

The championship field will include 30 teams and six individual qualifiers.