LAKE ELMO, Minn. — Megan Meng played in only five events for Northwestern last year, and every appearance was as an individual.
She had a scoring average of 76 and was on the sideline when the Wildcats claimed their first national championship in school history. But as Northwestern coach Emily Fletcher said, when she was recruiting Meng, Fletcher knew she had a competitor. Someone who was willing to grind and earn what they wanted.
That makes Monday’s opening round special.
On a sunny but breezy day at Royal Golf Club, where gusts were in excess of 30 miles per hour, Meng was the best player in the field at the 2025 Annika Intercollegiate. She carded a bogey-free 4-under 68 – the lowest round of her college career – and the only bogey-free performance of the 60 golfers in the field. Meng sits solo second heading into the second round.
“I just took advantage of my opportunities for birdie,” Meng said. “And if I was out of position, I just tried to put myself on the green or back in the fairway. I wasn’t trying to be too aggressive.”
Meng trails only South Carolina sophomore Eila Gaitsky, who made eagle on the last hole to take the solo lead at 5-under 67. She’s looking to become the third straight Gamecock to win medalist honors at the Annika Intercollegiate.
As a team, Northwestern was the only school to shoot under par in the opening round, finishing at 1-under 287. The Wildcats have a four-shot lead over two-time defending champion South Carolina.
And in addition to Meng, Northwestern freshman Arianna Lau shot 1-under 71 in her collegiate debut, which is in a tie for sixth. Northwestern returned three members from its championship-winning squad in May, but the two newcomers to the lineup led the team in the opening round.
“It’s encouraging,” Fletcher said. “That’s sort of the trademark of our program is 1-5, you can shake them up and any given day, someone can lead your team in scoring.”
USC, Wake Forest and Pepperdine round out the top-five teams after Monday. Only eight players shot under par in the individual competition.
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