PREVIEW: Women’s Golf Begins Big 12 Championship on Thursday

HOCKLEY, Texas – The University of Houston Women's Golf program will make its inaugural Big 12 Conference Championships appearance when it tees off at the league's annual postseason event at The Clubs at Houston Oaks on Thursday morning.

Thursday's First Round begins with a split-tee start at 8 a.m., with Houston starting off No. 1. Schools tee off No. 10 beginning at 8:35 a.m.

Based on the latest Clippd national rankings, Houston will compete as the No. 3 seed at the Big 12 Championships.

In their most recent action, the Cougars finished fifth at The Match Play at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club on April 8-9. Seeding seventh after one round of stroke play, the Cougars dropped their First-Round match against (2) Tulsa before rebounding with back-to-back wins against (6) Tulane and (5) Kansas State.

LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at the Big 12 Championships on GolfStat by clicking here.

MEET the COUGARS
Under the direction of Carolyn Macow Leatherwood Head Coach Lydia Gumm, the Cougars will be represented by sophomore Moa Svedenskiold, freshman Maelynn Kim, junior Hyeonji Kang, sophomore Alexa Saldana and senior Nicole Abelar.

This season, Svedenskiold leads the Cougars with a 71.54 scoring average and 16 rounds of par or better. The Halmstad, Sweden, native posted Top-20 finishes in each of the first four tournaments of the season with an 11^th-place finish at the MountainView Collegiate on March 15-17.

In her first collegiate season, Kim stands second on the team with a 71.90 average. The Katy, Texas, native has earned four Top-20 finishes with a ninth-place showing at the Jim West Challenge on Oct. 22-23, 2023.

Kang is in her first season with the Cougars after transferring from Hawai'i last summer. She has enjoyed Top-25 showings in each of her last six tournaments with a 14^th-place finish at The Show at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas on March 4-5.

The Jeju, South Korea, native set a school record with a bogey-free 64 in the First Round of The Chevron Collegiate at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas, on Feb. 26-27.

TEAM FIELD
Houston will compete in a 13-team field featuring Texas, UCF, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, TCU, BYU and Cincinnati

TEE TIMES
For each of the first two rounds, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Texas and UCF.

The Cougars will tee off No. 1 at 8 a.m., Thursday, with an 8:35 a.m. start off No. 10 for Friday's Second Round.

Fans can find complete tee times and pairings on GolfStat by clicking here.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
This will be the 10^th conference championships appearances in Houston history.

The Cougars captured American Athletic Conference Championships titles in 2019, 2018 and 2017 and have never finished below fourth in their history with Top-Three showings in all but one season.

In their most recent appearance, Houston finished fourth at the 2024 American Championships with a score of 2-under 862 at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla.

Svedenskiold fired three straight sub-par round and finished second at 8-under 208. Abelar and Annie Kim joined her among the Top-20 leaders.

Abelar will make her first conference championships appearance in her third different league. She finished second at the 2021 Sun Belt Championships with Coastal Carolina and earned Top-15 finishes in back-to-back years at The American Championships in 2023 and 2022.

Kang will make her third appearance with her second league. She tied for fourth as a freshman at Hawai'i at the 2022 Big West Championships.

Saldana and Svedenskiold will make their second straight appearance at a conference championships while Kim will make her collegiate postseason debut.

UP NEXT
Following the Big 12 Championships, the Cougars learn their postseason fate during the NCAA Selection Show. That show will air at 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 24, on Golf Channel.

Eighty-one (81) teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will be selected to compete at the NCAA Regionals to be held at one of six sites across the country on May 6-8.

Those NCAA Regional sites include Auburn University Club (Auburn, Ala., hosted by Auburn); Tumble Creek Club (Cle Elum, Wash., hosted by Washington); Traditions Club (Bryan-College Station, Texas., hosted by Texas A&M); Forest Akers Golf Course (East Lansing, Mich., hosted by Michigan State); Spanish Trail Country Club (Las Vegas, Nev., hosted by UNLV) and East Course – Bermuda Run Country Club (Winston-Salem, N.C., hosted by Wake Forest).

The top five teams and top individual not on an advancing team at each NCAA Regional site advance to the NCAA Championships set for May 17-22 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Women's Golf by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's NIL collective – and by joining the P.A.R. 4 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Women's Golf for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarWGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarWGolf or on the team's Instagram page at UHCougarWGolf.

– UHCougars.com –

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