Four Houston golfers sit in the top 20 as the Cougars took the 18-hole lead at the Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship presented by Allstate on Thursday. UH’s Natalie Saint Germain is the individual leader after a first-round 69 at Dallas Athletic Club.
The Cougars hold a two-stroke lead at -3, turning in three scorecards at par-or-better at the 6,270-yard / par 72 Gold Course. UCF is in second at -1, followed by a third-place tie at +5 between Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The Cougars built their lead based on the field’s top bogey avoidance and the second-most birdies during the opening round.
Saint Germain had five birdies to take a one-stroke lead over Ellie Bushnell (Oklahoma State) and Sofia Barroso Sá (TCU). Arizona State’s Patience Rhodes, BYU's Ava Schroder, UCF’s Molly Smith, Houston’s Moa Svedenskiold and Iowa State’s Nichakorn Pinprayoon are in a five-way tie for fourth at 1-under par. The individual winner of the event receives an automatic bid to NCAA Regionals if their team does not otherwise qualify.
Friday features the second of three rounds of the Championship, teeing off at 8 a.m. CT. The team winner of the event receives the Big 12’s automatic bid to NCAA Regionals. Live scoring is available on
Clippd.
Full Team Leaderboard
| Pos |
Team |
Round 1 |
| 1 |
Houston |
-3 |
| 2 |
UCF |
-1 |
| T3 |
Iowa State |
+5 |
| T3 |
Oklahoma State |
+5 |
| 5 |
Arizona State |
+6 |
| 6 |
Baylor |
+7 |
| T7 |
BYU |
+8 |
| T7 |
TCU |
+8 |
| 9 |
Texas Tech |
+13 |
| 10 |
Cincinnati |
+15 |
| T11 |
Kansas |
+16 |
| T11 |
Arizona |
+16 |
| 13 |
Kansas State |
+17 |
| 14 |
Colorado |
+20 |
Top Individuals
| Pos. |
Player |
Team |
Round 1 |
| 1 |
Natalie Saint Germain |
Houston |
69 |
| T2 |
Ellie Bushnell |
Oklahoma State |
70 |
| T2 |
Sofia Barroso Sá |
TCU |
70 |
| T4 |
Moa Svedenskiold |
Houston |
71 |
| T4 |
Nichakorn Pinprayoon |
Iowa State |
71 |
| T4 |
Molly Smith |
UCF |
71 |
| T4 |
Ava Schroeder |
BYU |
71 |
| T4 |
Patience Rhodes |
Arizona State |
71 |