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The final round of the boys championship never arrived at Pinehurst. Severe weather had interrupted play Sunday, sent players back out Monday morning and then returned before officials could complete the planned 54 holes.
Terry Sanford High School had already done enough. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, team opened with a 14-under 274, followed it with an 8-under 280 and won the PGA High School Boys Golf National Invitational by 12 shots at 22-under 554. Florida’s Kenny Klein claimed the individual title by one at 10-under 134 after consecutive rounds of 67.
A week earlier, Santa Margarita Catholic had taken a different route to the same stage. The California program won the girls title by 26 shots at 20-under 836, becoming the only team in the field to finish under par. Jenks High School senior Lisa Herman led after every round and won medalist honors by three at 14-under 200.
Four champions emerged from two very different championship weeks. What tied them together was an event that is beginning to give high school golf something it has long needed: a true national gathering that still understands the importance of the team.
Champions at a Glance
Four Titles Crowned at Pinehurst
The girls completed 54 holes, while severe weather reduced the boys championship to 36 holes.
Girls Team Champion
Santa Margarita Catholic
20-under 836
Won by 26 strokes
Girls Medalist
Lisa Herman
14-under 200
Won by 3 strokes
Boys Team Champion
Terry Sanford High School
22-under 554
Won by 12 strokes
Boys Medalist
Kenny Klein
10-under 134
Won by 1 stroke
High School Golf Is Different for a Reason
After more than three decades around junior players and high school teams, I have never viewed high school golf as junior golf with matching shirts.
Junior tournament golf is largely an individual exercise. The player travels with personal goals, rankings, recruiting concerns and a score that belongs entirely to that player. High school golf asks something else. A young golfer must manage an individual round while understanding that every careless decision, poor reaction and saved par may affect four or five teammates.
The PGA High School Golf National Invitational presented by Titleist & FootJoy brought more than 500 golfers to Pinehurst after they qualified through state championships as individuals or members of teams from public and private schools. They competed for individual recognition, but the team championship remained central to the event’s identity.
Angelina Tao captured that distinction after Santa Margarita’s victory.
“We never wanted to focus on the leaderboard,” Tao said. “Our goal was to play the best golf we could and post the lowest score possible.”
Charlie Horne described Terry Sanford’s approach in equally direct terms.
“Our chemistry was great, we hit the ball well, and we did what we came to do,” Horne said.
Those were not interchangeable championship quotes. Santa Margarita refused to chase the leaderboard despite building a commanding advantage. Terry Sanford trusted the preparation and chemistry that had carried the team through an entire season, then maintained its standard through repeated weather interruptions.
The scores belonged to individual players. The trophies were earned collectively.
Why It Matters
A National Championship Built Around School Golf
500+
State champion golfers competed across the two championship weeks.
4
National titles were awarded in girls and boys team and individual competition.
8th
The 2026 championship was the eighth edition of the National Invitational.
The invitation-only field included state champions from public and private school divisions, preserving the team identity that makes high school golf distinct from the wider junior circuit.
California and North Carolina Found Different Ways to Win
Santa Margarita’s (California) victory was built on the kind of depth that makes team golf difficult to disrupt.
Tao tied for third individually at 7-under 207. Emily Song tied for fifth at 6-under 208, and Nora Qu closed with a 67 to tie for seventh at 5-under 209. Tao, Song and Donina Zhou also had been part of Santa Margarita’s 2024 PGA National Invitational championship team.
The performance fit the program’s recent history. Santa Margarita entered the national event after winning the 2025 California state championship and its fourth consecutive CIF-SCGA regional team title. This was an established program arriving at Pinehurst with players who understood how to produce scores inside a championship lineup.
Terry Sanford’s (North Carolina) route was shorter because of the weather, but it was hardly less convincing.
The North Carolina 6A champion had won its state tournament by 31 strokes in May. At Pinehurst, Terry Sanford immediately posted a 14-under opening round and led by eight. The team followed with another round under par and finished 12 ahead of Georgia, with Nate Horne placing fifth individually at 7-under 137.
A weather-shortened championship will always leave room for someone to wonder what another round might have produced. Terry Sanford had created considerable separation on both days that were completed, however, and every team in the field played under the same uncertain schedule.
The final round was lost. The standard Terry Sanford established over the first 36 holes was not.
Two Winning Blueprints
Depth in the Girls Event, Control Through Chaos in the Boys
Santa Margarita Catholic
- Only team to finish under par
- Three players placed in the individual top 10
- Won by 26 strokes over Pinecrest
- Second national title in three years
Terry Sanford High School
- Opened with a 14-under 274
- Built an eight-shot first-round lead
- Posted another under-par round after weather delays
- Won North Carolina's first boys team title
Herman and Klein Had to Own the Moment
The team competition gave the Invitational much of its character, but the two medalists delivered championship performances that would stand in any individual junior event.
Herman’s week began with a 65 and never loosened its grip. She followed with rounds of 66 and 69 to finish at 14-under 200, three ahead of Texas’ Dresden Bounds. Herman and Bounds were the only players to record three rounds in the 60s.
The victory continued an extraordinary closing stretch to Herman’s high school career. She won the Oklahoma Class 6A individual championship by 15 shots in May while helping Jenks win the team title by 14. At Pinehurst, the margin was tighter and the national field deeper, but the control remained.
Herman acknowledged feeling nervous late in the final round, yet she also identified what helped her manage it.
“Knowing my teammates were behind me helped me stay focused and keep pushing until the end,” Herman said.
Klein’s challenge involved a different kind of patience. Two weather evacuations interrupted his second round Sunday, leaving him to return Monday morning and complete his final nine. He finished with a second straight 67, then waited as another round of storms brought the championship to an early conclusion.
Klein credited his driving, wedge play and performance on the par 5s. The most revealing detail was simpler: He played 36 holes without a penalty shot.
That matters at Pinehurst. Young players often believe winning requires finding another birdie or forcing one more aggressive play. Klein won by keeping the golf ball in front of him, avoiding the mistake that changes an entire championship and allowing his good shots to accumulate.
Herman carried a lead for three days. Klein repeatedly had his rhythm interrupted and did not know when the championship would end. Their assignments were different, but both required the ability to stay with the round that was actually being played.
Pinehurst Makes the Work Feel Bigger
The PGA High School Golf National Invitational is still young. The 2026 edition was the eighth, and it marked the second year of a three-year return to Pinehurst after the resort also hosted the event from 2020 through 2022. The girls competed on Pinehurst Nos. 1 and 5, while the boys played Nos. 5 and 6.
Organizers also introduced a 36-hole cut and the Sandhills Shootout, which was designed to give players who did not advance another opportunity to compete. Those additions reflect an event still learning how to balance a national championship’s competitive demands with the experience being provided to hundreds of golfers and their families.
Pinehurst is not required to make high school golf meaningful. The season becomes meaningful on weekday afternoons, long bus rides, crowded practice ranges and nine-hole matches played before darkness arrives.
Pinehurst does make the achievement harder to dismiss.
State champions from different classifications, regions and school systems can finally see how their games travel. Players accustomed to pursuing individual rankings must contribute to a lineup. Coaches who spend a season building culture are given a national result that measures something beyond the talent of their best player.
Most of the golfers left Pinehurst without a trophy. They still carried their school colors onto a national stage alongside the teammates who helped them get there.
Junior golf produces plenty of individual memories. High school golf, at its best, produces shared ones. The PGA National Invitational is making sure those shared memories now have a championship worthy of them.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
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