Iowa State women’s golf looks to bounce back from a rocky performance in Puerto Rico for the second tournament of the spring season. The Cyclones head down south for the Texas Golf Throwdown for the first of two events in the Houston metro area.
The event is being held at the Woodlands Country Club, which lies 40 minutes away from downtown Houston.
This is the Cyclones’ first time at the Woodlands since the 2021 Big 12 Championship, meaning this is a new challenge for the current roster.
The course spans 6,296 yards and has a par of 72. The event spans three rounds across two days. The first and second rounds will both be on Monday, starting at 9 a.m, and the final round will be on Tuesday, also starting at 9 a.m.
Iowa State will be competing alongside Big 12 foes Cincinnati, as well as Texas State, University of Texas at Arlington, St. Thomas, Minnesota, Oral Roberts, Murray State, Middle Tennessee, Texas A&M*, Montana State, Eastern Kentucky, Nebraska, Tarleton State, Austin Peay and the hosts, Sam Houston State.
The Cyclones struggled last time out in Rio Grande, finishing 15th out of 18 teams and their second-worst score of the season, +14 overall.
Iowa State dropped 11 positions in its national ranking after the event, falling from 29th to 40th, per Clippd.
In Iowa State’s previous event, the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic, Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn led the Cyclones in individual scoring. The senior shot 68-69-76, only going over par on the final day and she ended the event -3 and tied for 15th on the individual scoreboard.
Sophomore Isabella Yan had the second-best individual score for the Cyclones, going +4 overall, on a three-round total of 71-75-74, which tied her for 55th. Unfortunately, the impressive performance from the golfer wasn’t able to contribute to the team score, as Yan was golfing as an individual for the event.
As for the rest of the squad, Alexandra Vidal, shot 76-72-73 (+5) and was the third best individual golfer for the Cyclones, finishing in 59th.
Nichakorn Pinprayoon took 73rd, with rounds of 70-77-76 (+7), Pammy Chookaew claimed 78th, shooting 73-75-76 (+8) and Keeley Marx rounded out individual scoring, finishing 83rd on a total of 76-76-74 (+10)
Iowa State enters the Texas Golf Throwdown as the heavy favorites, being the highest-ranked first team in the field.
The Cyclones, ranked 40th, sit 11 positions ahead of the next highest-ranked team in the tournament, Texas State. The Bobcats hosted their previous event, the Texas State Invitational, where they dominated, shooting -18, 27 shots better than the second-best finishers, Tarleton State, who shot +9.
The highest-ranked team behind TSU is the Nebraska Cornhuskers, ranked at 94th, alongside Montana State, which is ranked at 96th.
The next 10 teams are all ranked No. 106+, meaning the Cyclones have a fair shot at their first team victory since the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic at the end of the 2025 spring season.
Texas A&M, which is sixth in the nation, will be at the event, but the team competing will not be the Aggies’ first team, as they are sending their first team to the Moon Golf Classic in Melbourne, Florida.
On Monday, the first day of the event, the high will be 81. Tuesday, the day of the final round, will have a high of 83. Both days are projected to be partly sunny.
Fifty-four total holes will be played at the Woodlands. The final results will be on Clippd and posted after the final round Tuesday afternoon.
*Second team will be competing
