Virginia’s Jaclyn LaHa leads individual competition;
Jodie Han and Karrisa Zhao co-lead Team Canada – NextGen Selection Camp
AURORA, Ont. – The Virginia Cavaliers hold a commanding lead heading into the final round of the 2026 Women’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational after 36 holes at Beacon Hall Golf Club in Aurora, Ont.
The Cavaliers were the lone program to record consecutive rounds under par on Monday to sit at 9-under and hold a 20-shot advantage over the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (11-over) heading into Tuesday’s final round.
Virginia’s coach Ria Scott was pleased with her team’s performance on Monday, citing disciplined iron shots into greens being a key difference for the Cavaliers on Monday.
“Yesterday our practice round was all about learning, learning the run outs, learning the spots that could hold versus not hold and they stayed aware, stayed really patient and executed some shots so it was fun to see.”
Virginia held a one-shot lead over the defending champion, Auburn Tigers following the opening 18 holes with a collective score of 2-under. Virginia followed up with a collective score of 7-under from the second 18 of the day to further distance themselves from the field but for Scott it will be business as usual tomorrow.
“I don’t think there is any lead in college golf that you can take for granted, lots can happen over three rounds and five players so it is going to be business as usual but we’ve had a motto on our team that is let’s sprint through the finish line so we’re certainly going to put that pedal down and do what we’ve been doing and continue to do what was successful today.”
All five of Virginia’s players contributed to the team score with Jaclyn LaHa leading the way with consecutive rounds of 3-under 69 to sit 6-under overall and hold the individual lead. Zoe Cusack sits 5-under following rounds of 2-under 70 and 3-under 69. Elsie MacCleery added two rounds of 1-under 71, Mira Berglund shot 76-72 and Lily Reitter shot 78-73 for Virginia. Scott credits the depth of the team both in Aurora and at home.
“It took even par to be the sixth person to get in the lineup this week so we’ve had some really competitive qualifying rounds but really pleased with the depth we know that everybody can contribute, everybody can shoot under par and it’s a fantastic place to be and an exciting year and tournament for us,” she said.
In the individual competition, LaHa finds herself leading by one over teammate Cusack and Anna Davis of Auburn. Davis fired rounds of 3-under 69 and 2-under 70 on Monday. LaHa said that while her driving is usually the strong point of her game another area stood out on Monday.
“My putting really helped me today, I missed a couple greens and when you miss greens out here it’s tricky to make up and downs, but I felt really confident over my putts and my reads, and I think my par-5 scoring helped me a lot today.”
LaHa finished T5 individually last year and while there is familiarity with Beacon Hall, she does approach each year a little differently, and the difference in weather with the rainfall of 2025 being replaced with dryer and cooler conditions this year.
“The greens are a little bit firmer. It gave me a little bit of confidence just knowing the course, it helps a lot being comfortable off the tee and with different shots.” She added.
The final round will tee off at 9 a.m. EDT on Tuesday in a shotgun format.
The 54-hole tournament features 10 NCAA Division I women’s golf teams led by the defending champions from Auburn University, along with the 2026 Canadian University/College Championship winners, University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds and five individuals in the field of 60 players competing in Aurora.
The individual champion will receive an exemption into the 2027 CPKC Women’s Open at The Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Que. (August 18-22) and the top five players will receive exemptions into the 2027 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, presented by BDO.
To view the team and player leaderboards following the first two rounds of the 2026 Women’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational click here.
Team Canada – NextGen member Jodie Han of Vancouver, B.C. and Karrisa Zhao of West Vancouver, B.C. are tied for the lead in the Team Canada – NextGen Selection Camp.
Han shot rounds of 5-over 77 and 2-over 74 to join Zhao who led following the opening 18 holes on Monday. Zhao, who earned Juvenile division honours in August at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, presented by BDO, shot rounds of even par 72 and 7-over 79 to sit at 7-over. Current Team Canada – NextGen member Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont. sits third and is one-shot behind the leaders.
There were a pair of aces recorded from the Team Canada – NextGen Selection Camp on Monday including current member Ruihan Kendria Wang of Markham, Ont. who recorded hers at the par-3 11th during her second round of the day. Evelyn Ma also of Markham, Ont. recorded hers at the par-3 14th during her second round.
The selection camp is running concurrently with the Women’s Canadian Collegiate Invitational with a field of 21 junior girls competing for one secured spot on the 2027 Team Canada – NextGen roster. To view the leaderboard following the opening two rounds click here.
