SMU Women's Golf Sits Fifth At Stanford Intercollegiate Entering Final

SMU women's golf remains in position for another impressive tournament finish after navigating an up-and-down second round Saturday at the Stanford Intercollegiate, hosted by Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

The Mustangs combined for 15 birdies at Stanford Golf Course and finished the afternoon in fifth place at 6-over par, trailing fourth-place Northwestern by just one stroke with 18 holes remaining.

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Senior Grace Jin helped steady the Mustangs with an even-par 71, overcoming a difficult opening nine to keep SMU within striking distance of another top-five finish.

Jin opened her round with a birdie but encountered trouble with three bogeys before making the turn. She recovered with two birdies on the back nine, including a near hole-in-one at the par-3 17th.

Her performance left her tied for 21st individually at 1-over through two rounds.

Maelynn Kim joined Jin in 21st place after following Friday's 2-under 69 with a 3-over 74 on Saturday.

Kim managed just one birdie during her second round, taking advantage of the par-5 12th hole, but avoided the costly double bogeys that damaged several other competitors' scorecards.

Yoonjeong Huh provided another encouraging performance, matching Jin with an even-par 71.

Huh overcame three early bogeys by making birdies on the 10th and 15th holes, finishing the day tied for 28th at 3-over.

Australian senior Celine Chen also sits at 3-over after recording a 2-over 73.

Chen began Saturday with consecutive birdies and added two more at the 12th and 13th holes, but a double bogey and four additional bogeys prevented her from moving higher on the leaderboard.

Sophomore Kirra St-Laurent rounded out the SMU lineup with a 4-over 75, leaving her tied for 44th at 5-over.

While SMU maintained its position among the tournament's leading teams, catching host Stanford appears unlikely.

The 12th-ranked Cardinal followed Friday's 13-under 271 with an 11-under 273 Saturday, extending its advantage to 12 strokes over second-place Virginia.

Stanford enters Sunday's final round at 24-under, with fourth-ranked Virginia sitting at 12-under.

Second-ranked USC holds third place at even par, followed by Northwestern at 5-over and SMU at 6-over.

The Mustangs will also need to watch the teams immediately behind them.

Eighth-ranked UCLA and 24th-ranked Kansas are tied for sixth at 7-over, just one stroke behind SMU. Seventeenth-ranked Iowa State and Pepperdine are tied for eighth at 9-over.

For head coach Lauren Mason, Sunday's objective is clear: finish strong and secure another quality result against a nationally competitive field.

SMU has already demonstrated its ability to compete with some of the nation's best programs this fall, and another top-five finish would provide valuable momentum heading into the remainder of the season.

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The tournament concludes Sunday with an 8:30 a.m. Pacific shotgun start.

The Mustangs aren't realistically chasing Stanford's commanding lead, but they're firmly in the battle for a top-five finish.