Grace Jin finished tied for fifth as SMU women’s golf opened its season with a fourth-place team finish at Chambers Bay in Washington.
SMU women’s golf opened the 2026-27 season with an encouraging result at one of the most recognizable courses in the country, finishing tied for fourth at the Leadership and Golf Invitational at Chambers Bay.
The Mustangs posted a 54-hole total of 875, 11-over par, tying Oregon State for fourth in the 17-team field. Eastern Michigan won the tournament at 1-under 863, followed by Colorado at 6-over and Tulsa at 7-over.
Senior Grace Jin delivered SMU’s top individual performance, finishing tied for fifth at 2-under 214 after rounds of 66, 75 and 73.
Her opening-round 66 was a career low and immediately put SMU in position to contend. Jin followed it with a steady final round Tuesday, making 13 pars, two birdies and three bogeys on the way to a 1-over 73.
The performance also marked Jin’s first top-five finish as a Mustang.
Sophomore Kirra St-Laurent gave SMU another strong showing. She tied for 11th at 1-over 217, highlighted by a second-round 68.
After a difficult front nine in the final round, St-Laurent responded with three birdies on the back nine and closed in 32 to salvage a 73.
The rest of the lineup provided enough support to keep SMU firmly inside the top five.
Celine Chen tied for 33rd at 8-over after rounds of 74, 75 and 75. Maelynn Kim and Yoonjeong Huh both tied for 45th at 10-over. Kim closed with a 78, while Huh posted a final-round 79.
The result comes after one of the strongest seasons in SMU program history. The Mustangs won the 2026 NCAA Waco Regional, reached the NCAA Championships and finished No. 18 nationally, the best final ranking in school history.
Head coach Lauren Mason has repeatedly emphasized resilience and patience with this group.
During last season’s ACC Championship run, Mason said her players had shown “great composure and resilience” when conditions became difficult.
That same quality was visible at Chambers Bay.
SMU led the field after an opening-round 281 and stayed in contention despite tougher scoring conditions over the final 36 holes.
The Mustangs return to competition Oct. 12-13 at the Haskins Intercollegiate in Columbus, Georgia, with Jin already giving SMU an early individual benchmark to build around.
