Sofia Barroso Sá Surges at Big 12 Championship

DALLAS - Sofia Barroso Sá gave TCU women’s golf the strong postseason start it needed Thursday at the Big 12 Championship.

The TCU senior fired a two-under 70 in the opening round at Dallas Athletic Club, putting herself in a tie for second and just one shot behind Houston’s Natalie Saint Germain.

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Barroso Sá was one of only eight players in the 70-golfer field to finish under par, continuing her history of playing well when the stage gets bigger.

The Portugal native made her final regular-season start as a Horned Frog count. She played par or better on 17 of 18 holes and stayed bogey-free through her first 16.

Starting on the back nine, Barroso Sá birdied Nos. 11 and 15 to make the turn at two-under 35, then held steady long enough to remain firmly in contention entering Friday.

It was also her fourth sub-par round in 10 career Big 12 Championship rounds, another sign that this tournament has brought out some of her best golf.

As a team, No. 42 TCU finished the day at eight-over 296 and sits tied for seventh with BYU. That position doesn’t fully show how tight the leaderboard is.

The Horned Frogs are only three shots behind Oklahoma State and Iowa State, who are tied for third, and just nine shots separate second place from eighth.

TCU looked sharp early, briefly moving into the lead after a strong back-nine start that included eight birdies.

The Frogs were still even par through 13 holes before giving strokes back late across holes six through nine.

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Kirstin Angosta and Gracie McGovern each posted three-over 75s and are tied for 31st. Camille Min-Gaultier finished at four-over 76, while Sofie Dimitrova shot six-over 78.

TCU returns to the course Friday morning alongside BYU and Texas Tech, beginning tee times at 8:50 a.m. CT.

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