Houston women’s golf finishes third, Natalie Saint Germain wins Jim West Challenge individual title

Houston women’s golf concluded its second weekend of its fall campaign with a third-place team finish in the Jim West Challenge, headlined by senior Natalie Saint Germain’s individual championship at Kissing Tree Golf Club in San Marcos, Texas on Monday.

Saint Germain clinched her first career individual title with a new career-low mark of 10-under 206, in part from three eagles, two of them in the final round at holes No. 5 and No. 17, while overcoming a total of eight bogies over the event.

Her score topped her mark of 207 she set in her freshman campaign at the Schooner Fall Classic in 2022 and helped her become the third Cougar to win the fifth individual title under coach Lydia Lasprilla. 

Thanks to their final round score of 283 for the third-lowest score of the day, the Cougars finished tied for third place with Oklahoma at 3-under 861, nearly 10 shots back of champions Texas A&M at 849. 

Senior Alexa Saldana posted an identical score to Saint Germain of 68 in the final round, finishing 4-under 212 and tied for 11th in the individual standings with UNLV’s junior Zi Yu Foong. 

Junior Ellen Yates tied for 30th at 221, while senior Moa Svedenskiöld tied for 38th at 223, each with four other contestants. 

Junior Maelynn Kim, in her campaign debut, tied for 51st at 226, and sophomore Emilia Väistö rounded out the individual Cougar standings tied for 60th at 229. 

Up next, the Cougars, nearing the end of their fall campaign, will participate in the Landfall Tradition, hosted by UNCW, at Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C., from Oct. 24-26.

To conclude, they will compete in the one-day Bear Brawl, hosted by Baylor, at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Texas, on Oct. 28.

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