What’s next for Megha Ganne? Her future is dazzlingly bright

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I am fortunate to have had some great moments on the golf course. Like the US Women’s Open when I was 17, playing with Lexi Thompson in the last set at The Olympic Club. Winning both of my games for Stanford when we won the NCAAs in 2024. Playing on our dominant USA Curtis Cup team. And, of course, winning the US women’s amateur this summer.

Those moments are what I play golf for. I love the opportunity to show what I can do.

Before I wanted to compete, I loved golf because it was a way to spend time with my dad. He took me to the driving range a lot when I was a kid. My mum wanted me out of the house – she was studying to be a doctor and having a 7 year old running around wasn’t ideal for that.

Where I grew up in New Jersey there were a lot of golf programs for young kids. My parents signed me up for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf and First Tee, which made me love golf even more. Whenever you’re around other kids playing golf, it’s a lot more fun than doing it alone. It can be pretty lonely if you don’t find friends to play it with, but as I managed to do it, golf never felt lonely.

As I got older, I started playing in tournaments. I was competitive in everything I did, but golf came more naturally to me, so I turned to that. I love the way golf forces you to push your limits. I love how it asks you to raise the bar for yourself. And I love the pursuit of trying to be the best you can be, when you know you can never perfect it.

In 2015, I qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. Going to Augusta National for the first time with my family will always stand out; that’s where I fell in love with competing on the national stage. To be exposed to this when I was only 11 years old was such a gift. It was also some of the most pressure I’ve ever felt. I feed on crowds now; it was a lot when I was 11 years old. But I liked the feeling of having to rise to the occasion.

I started working with Katie Rudolph when I was 12 and she is still my trainer today. Every summer, she ran a golf camp. It was pretty intense: Work out in the morning, run a few miles, then go play anywhere from 18 to 36 holes. I just loved it. There is nothing I would rather do than spend my entire day on the golf course. I started playing in US Junior Golf Association tournaments, and when I was 13 I qualified for the US Women’s Amateur for the first time.

US Women’s Amateur is so hard to win. I played it seven times. The nature of match play is that it is surprising. Every year, so many great players don’t necessarily advance the way you’d expect. To advance to the championship game, a lot has to go right. I’ve learned that going from stroke play to the round of 64 is sometimes the hardest. You’re completely changing your mind, and if you don’t hit reset, you’re in trouble. Playing great the first couple of days can be difficult because you go into the game thinking you have a leg up, but the truth of the matter is you don’t.

This year in Dunat BandonI tried to make that mental transition to match play before the stroke play started by completely detaching myself from the outcome of the stroke play. It’s easier said than done. But I went in with the mindset that the first two days don’t really matter as long as you’re within the cut line.

I was T10 after the brain game. After winning my first match, I settled in well. The links style course suited my game. I’m comfortable hitting a knockdown and working the ball both ways, downwind. This gave me an advantage. I thought about that trophy all day during the 36-hole final. To hold him at the end of the match was a dream come true.

This fall I played in the World Women’s Amateur Championship in Singapore. I like to travel and see new places, and I like team events. And we won! Playing for your country is one of the coolest things you can do as an athlete, like when I played on the Curtis Cup team in Merion in 2022. Being on a team with people you usually play with, you’re able to accept and respect each other. This dynamic is very special because it is so rare.

I partnered with Amari Avery for the Curtis Cup and Junior Solheim Cup. We were victorious every time. There is so much adrenaline and fun and getting excited for each other. She is a very close friend of mine and we will both cherish those matches for the rest of our lives.

And yet, the most important moments of my career are not the ones that are talked about. It’s the low points. There are the weeks when you feel like a failure from a bad tournament or you had a big goal and just didn’t achieve it. They test your confidence, like when I missed a few cuts at the Women’s Amateur National at Augusta. I have learned that I can bounce back. This consistency is what is important. I let myself feel how bad it is to not play well, I talk to my circle of people, my close friends, my parents, my coach. Once I get the moaning and groaning out of my system, I find what I’m missing and then I go and deal with it.

I’m in my last year at Stanford. My game has evolved during my time here. I was used to taking three or four months off every winter, so playing year-round was something new for me. The facilities are incredible. Everything you need is right here. I’ve grown a lot from the atmosphere at Stanford, too, because you’re surrounded by high achievers. The environment makes you fall in love with your craft even more. You feel pressure in a good way to dig harder in your lane because you’re so pumped up and inspired by what everyone else is doing.

I have also sharpened my greatest strength – my mindset. I am very emotionally detached from my results, good or bad. Like winning the US Women’s Amateur: It was the best thing ever, it was a dream come true, a goal accomplished, but if I hadn’t won it, my month after would have looked very similar. I really care about getting better and doing the things I need to do to put myself in a position to play well, but if I go out there and get a bad score, I don’t let it bother me because it doesn’t seem like my whole life. That mentality gives you the freedom to play really well and it gives you the freedom to play really bad. I’m not afraid to play badly. This is an asset.

I am emotionally attached to give it my all. If I go into a tournament feeling unprepared, if there’s a shot that I haven’t worked on enough to be able to hit easily in a tournament, that worries me more. Everything I do before I show up for a tournament, that’s what I’m emotionally attached to.

Going into my last season at Stanford, I am very happy. I was never tempted to go pro early. I got just about everything I could have asked for from golf at Stanford. We have a national championship; I would love to win another one, but I’ve lived every day to the fullest that I’ve been at Stanford, so if it was all over now, I’d be happy. I’m in a good place where I’m definitely going to enjoy this year, but I’m also looking forward to the next step.

Going pro is at the back of my mind. There are a lot of logistics, like what you’re going to play and where you’re going to play. But you have to be flexible in this process. I’m just doing everything I can to be as prepared as possible. I would put my best golf game against anyone. But I think the challenge of taking that next step isn’t entirely about where your peak is or your potential. It’s getting the floor up where you have enough stamina to play golf all year round, that’s solid and takes care of your body and manages your fatigue so you can be there week in and week out. I think the things that the casual observer doesn’t see becomes the hardest part.

I’m excited about where women’s golf is and where it’s going. Since I was 17, I have been recognized on golf courses and even in airports. The most interesting part is the variety of people who come to me. Little kids are my favorite fans, but the diversity of people and ages, gamers and non-gamers who have reached out to me or recognized me in public is truly amazing. This shows that women’s golf is reaching more people. Knowing that I’m a small part of that is pretty cool.

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