Women’s Golf Holds First-Round Lead at Big 12 Championship

Thursday, April 23

Dallas Athletic Club – Dallas, Texas

University of Houston

Big 12 Championships

Moa Svedenskiöld tees off during Big 12 Championship First Round at Dallas Athletic Club

Women’s Golf Holds First-Round Lead at Big 12 Championship

4/23/2026 4:40:00 PM | Women's Golf

Live Scoring Tee Times Dallas Athletic Club

Senior Natalie Saint Germain stands atop individual leaderboard with 69 (-3) with four Coogs among Top-20 leaders; Second Round tees off Friday morning

DALLAS – Battling wind throughout the day, the University of Houston Women's Golf program posted a score of 3-under 285 to hold the team lead following the First Round of the Big 12 Conference Championship presented by Allstate at Dallas Athletic Club on Thursday afternoon.

Cool temperatures and overcast skies brought wind gusts up to 26 mph on the 6,270-yard, par-72 course on Thursday. However, those didn't slow the Cougars, who enjoyed their second-lowest opening round at a Conference Championships in program history.

It trailed only the 284 during the American Athletic Conference Championships at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla., on April 17, 2023.

The Cougars overcame a slow start which saw them post three bogeys in the first four holes as a team. However, Houston rebounded with a combined eight birdies over the last five holes of its first nine and added eight more birdies as a team on the back nine.

Starting off No. 1, Saint Germain was even par through the first four holes before draining two birdies in a three-stretch at Nos. 5-7. After three mores pars, the Prague native added two more birdies in a similar stretch at Nos. 11-13 and added her final birdie of the day at No. 16.

Saint Germain's round was the second-lowest in the opening round of a Conference Championships in program history. It trailed only Leonie Harm's 66 at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championships on the Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach Resort & Golf Club in Palm Coast, Fla., on April 16, 2017.

Natalie Saint Germain, Big 12 Championships First-Round scorecard

Natalie Saint Germain, Big 12 Championships First-Round scorecard

She equaled the second-best round by current teammate Maelynn Kim (The Clubs at Houston Oaks, Hockley, Texas, April 15, 2025) and Harm (Conservatory Course, Hammock Beach Resort & Golf Club, Palm Coast, Fla., April 16, 2019).

Competing in her fourth straight Conference Championships, senior Moa Svedenskiöld was tied for fourth at 71. Sv Svedenskiöld overcame a bogey early in her round to sink consecutive birdies at Nos. 7-8.

She rallied from her final bogey of the day at No. 14 to make a birdie on the par-4 18^th hole to join UCF teammates Nichakorn Pinprayoon and Molly Smith, Ava Schroeder (BYU) and Patience Rhodes (Arizona State) in a tie for fourth.

Junior Maelynn Kim overcame three bogeys on her first nine and battled to return to even-par 72 to tie for ninth while senior Alexa Saldaña was tied for 17^th at 73. Competing in her first Big 12 Championship with Houston after transferring from Mercer last summer, sophomore Emilia Väistö was tied for 45^th at 77.

#UCF joined Houston as the only schools to finish the First Round under par with a score of 1-under 287. #26 Iowa State and #21 Oklahoma State were tied for third at 293 with #22 Arizona State (294), #25 Baylor (295), #41 TCU (296), #41 BYU (296), Texas Tech (301) and Cincinnati (303) completing the Top 10.

Oklahoma State's Ellie Bushnell and TCU's Sofia Barroso Sá were tied for second at 70

The tournament continues with the Second Round on Friday and the Final Round teeing off Saturday morning.

LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at the Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate by clicking here.

TUNE IN
Fans can watch coverage from the Final Round from the Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate on ESPN+ beginning at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, with John Liddle (pxp) and Lauren Withrow (analyst).

TEE TIMES
For Friday's Second Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from UCF and Iowa State beginning at 8:40 a.m.

Väistö begins the day off No. 1 at 9:40 a.m. with Saldaña (9:50 a.m.), Kim (10 a.m.), Svedenskiöld (10:10 a.m.) and Saint Germain (10:10 a.m.) following.

Fans can find complete Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate tee times and pairings by clicking here.

UP NEXT
Following the Big 12 Championship, the Cougars will learn their postseason fate during the NCAA Selection Show at 4 p.m. (CDT), Wednesday, April 29, on Golf Channel.

Houston has been represented in NCAA Regional play every season except the first in program history in 2013-14 when NCAA regulations would not allow it. The Cougars have been selected as a team at NCAA Regionals in each of the last three years and nine of the last 10 seasons.

From there, the Cougars will enter the NCAA postseason on May 11-13 at one of six venues across the nation. Those sites include University of Michigan Golf Course (Ann Arbor, Mich.); UNC Finley Golf Course (Chapel Hill, N.C.); Robert Jones Golf Trail at Hampton Cove (Huntsville, Ala.); Stanford Golf Course (Stanford, Calif.,); Seminole Legacy Golf Club (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Ridgewood Country Club (Waco, Texas).

The Top-Five teams from each NCAA Regional advance to play at the NCAA Championships, set for May 22-27 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 providing NIL opportunities 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 X 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 –