LAHAINA, Maui — Senior Maline Kraus carded a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday to lead the University of Hawai'i women's golf team into fourth place after the opening round of the 2026 Big West Women's Golf Championship. Hosting the tournament at the Royal Kā'anapali Course for the first time since 2016, the Rainbow Wahine posted a team total of 293 (+5).
 
Kraus, a native of Düsseldorf, Germany, sits in a tie for second place individually, six strokes behind leader Madison Le of Long Beach State. Kraus' bogey-free round of 69 featured a consistent performance on the par-72 layout, continuing her trend as the team's top finisher in recent events. Her three birdies were bunched up during a four-hole stretch in the middle of the round to vault her up the leaderboard heading into Monday's second round.
 
The Rainbow Wahine, entering the week as the No. 7 seed, outperformed their ranking on day one to sit just eight strokes back of leader UC Davis (285). Long Beach State and Cal Poly are currently tied for second place at 287 (-1).
 
Junior Jasmine Wong also turned in a strong performance for UH, carding an even-par 72 to sit in a tie for 10^th place. Junior Sofina Firouzi, the team's top finisher at last year's conference championship, opened with a 74 (+2) and is tied for 15^th.
 
Rounding out the scoring for Hawai'i were freshman Chloe Ku, who is tied for 37th after a 78 (+6), and senior Emiko Sverduk, who carded an 80 (+8) to sit in a tie for 40th.
 
The second round of the 54-hole championship continues Monday, with tee times beginning at 10:30 a.m. UH's tee times are from 11:20 a.m. through 12:00 p.m.
 
4. Hawai'i — 293 (+5)
T2. Maline Kraus — 69 (-3)
T10. Jasmine Wong — 72 (E)
T15. Sofina Firouzi — 74 (+2)
T37. Chloe Ku — 78 (+6)
T40. Emiko Sverduk — 80 (+8)