DALLAS – Long before she ever put on a red and blue polo shirt of her own, Yoonjeong Huh knew there was something special about SMU and the greater Dallas area.
During her two years playing golf in Waco, Huh got the opportunity to compete and practice at the Trinity Forest Golf Club while she was a member of the Golf Team at Baylor, a facility which left a big impression on her. And, when she got homesick for South Korea, she would make the trek up I-35 to find a Korean restaurant.
When she made the decision to transfer from Baylor, she found a roster loaded with international talent that was enjoying life in a metropolitan city and eager to compete on golf's biggest stage. It's a situation that suits her just fine.
"Most of us are from different countries and we get along pretty well. We got to learn their cultures and their languages. We're getting along pretty well," Huh said. "It's definitely a good opportunity and I'm loving it."
Of the seven competitors on the SMU women's golf roster, five hail from outside the United States and three golfers – Huh, Grace Jin and Uma Bergner – are new to the program this year.
While their journeys to being a Mustang are vastly different, they all have one thing in common – a passion for competing on the links.
"Golf and our workouts are the main part of why we're here and we've been competing better since we started practicing together. And I feel like having different points of views and maybe different ways of practicing have just connected us," said Bergner, a freshman originally from Germany. "I just love how everyone is really focused when they do their work. I think that's what makes us great as a team."
Ironically, the Mustangs opened the 2025-26 season with international competition, flying all the way to Japan in early September for the Pan Pacific Super League event which featured a mix of collegiate programs from across the globe.
Now, the team is back stateside for the Windy City Classic in Evanston, Ill., starting Monday. The event will feature 13 programs, including ACC foes Virginia, Stanford and Duke.
The blend of veteran faces like Mackenzie Lee, Emily Odwin, Celine Chen with the new talent has been a positive team-building process so far.
Individually, each player is aiming for their own success. But collectively, they know they can accomplish just about anything together.
"It's very competitive, but I think we also know how to support each other through that competitiveness. We obviously want to beat each other, but we want to wish each other the best," said Jin, a junior transfer from Sam Houston State. "If anybody makes a birdie, we're all cheering. And if something doesn't happen well on one of the holes, we're always there saying, 'You can come back on the next hole.' I think it's just a really great environment
