It all came down to one final putt.
No. 11-ranked Northwestern and No. 1-ranked Stanford fell deadlocked 2-2 in the national championship. With one hole remaining and the Wildcats one up, a short distance to the 18th hole of Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s golf course in Carlsbad, California was all that separated NU from winning the program’s first national championship.
It was up to junior Dianna Lee. The San Diego native, who went to high school fewer than 20 miles away from the course, had friends and family watching behind the ropes, awaiting her attempt.
“I knew that making this putt would mean literally everything and would be the biggest accomplishment for our program,” Lee said. “When I was making that putt, all I could think was to not have regrets and hit it like I always do.”
With a smooth swing and slow roll, the ball clinked in.
Immediately, Lee fist pumped. She and her teammates ran toward each other to embrace on the green, celebrating their historic triumph. Women’s golf is now the third program in school history to win a national championship.
“It’s just such a blur,” senior Lauryn Nguyen said. “It’s something that you can kind of only dream about experiencing. We were so nervous, but we knew that her putting was amazing, and we knew that she could make it.”
One year earlier, Lee stood in a completely different spot in Carlsbad. She never stepped foot on the green, let alone just a few feet away from the hole, as she spectated her teammates from behind the ropes.
After winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023, Lee fell out of the lineup by the end of her sophomore year. She became the ’Cats’ substitute and sixth player in the lineup, but didn’t play a competitive round as her team finished 11th at the NCAA Championships.
“I think that really motivated her,” coach Emily Fletcher said.
Lee started the 2024-25 campaign blazing, registering three top-25 finishes in the opening month of the season — including a third-place finish with an even-144 at the St. Andrews Links Collegiate.
At the PING/ASU Invitational in March, Lee earned the first individual victory of her collegiate career with a 10-under 206. She shot a 4-under 68 in the latter two rounds.
“She’s an incredible ball-striker,” Fletcher said. “What we’ve seen for her in relation to her golf game is how much her short game and putting have continued to improve, and that’s probably the biggest difference.”
Lee was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team for her play during the 2024-25 campaign.
Her improved game was on full display in her Southern Californian stomping grounds. In stroke play, the junior finished in 20th place with a 1-over 289. In the second and third rounds, she shot one under par.
Her efforts helped NU finish third heading into match play, but Lee began feeling under the weather heading into the championship’s next stage.
“Sickness is the last thing you want to deal with in the national championship, but I kind of just really set that aside, kept my head down and told myself that if there’s anything that I need to do, it’s just play as hard as I can,” Lee said.
In the match play quarterfinals against No. 2-ranked Arkansas, Lee dropped her match after bogeying on three of the first four holes. After Nguyen’s heroic win in a 19th-hole play-off, however, the ’Cats advanced to face No. 5-ranked Oregon.
Against the Ducks, Lee moved to NU’s anchor, and ultimately, the contest came down to her. With the match at 2-2, Lee converted a putt on the 18th hole for par, sending the ’Cats to the national championship for the first time since 2017.
“Coming out today and finishing the last point is so special for everyone that’s in the Northwestern community,” an emotional Lee told Golf Channel after the match.
Next up for NU — Stanford, winners of two of the previous three national championships. The Crimson’s five golfers all finished within the top 25 in stroke play, with four placing in the top 10.
As Lee walked toward the 16th hole, she was just one up on her opponent Andrea Revuelta, having lost each of the last two holes. In that moment, she said, she realized the match would fall into her hands for the second consecutive day.
“By the time I finished up on the 15th green, I could hear all my teammates cheering for me,” Lee said. “And I knew that then, cheering for me meant my match would be the final deciding point. Having their presence for me and rooting for me no matter how my shot went was really encouraging.”
Fletcher stuck by her side for the remainder of the match, and her lead stabilized. Lee and Revuelta both bogeyed on the 16th hole and shot par on the 17th. Lee just needed to tie her opponent one more time on hole 18 to clinch the national championship.
As Fletcher looked at her All-Big Ten golfer, she felt confident.
“She’s really level on the golf course,” Fletcher said. “She doesn’t get too high. She doesn’t get too low. She has great energy, great self-discipline, all of that stuff. Those pieces were already there.”
A year after Lee stood back and watched her teammates in the national championship, her friends told her that she had become “the hometown hero.”
“I don’t think there’s anything more special, more extraordinary than having a national title in your own hometown,” Lee said.
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