Preseason Top-5 Arkansas Opens Season at Cougar Classic
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Preseason top-5 Arkansas women’s will open its season at the Cougar Classic, hosted by the College of Charleston at Yeamans Hall Club (Par 70), from September 7-8.
The Razorbacks opened their last five seasons at the Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, California, but return to Charleston for the first time since 2021.
The last time the Hogs played at Yeamans Hall, Brooke Matthews shot a 25-under 191 (63-64-64) to win the event and set an NCAA record for lowest 54-hole score. Arkansas shot a 23-under and won the event with a field of 17 teams.
The Hogs’ first lineup of the season includes Maria Jose Marin, Sara Brentcheneff, Natalie Blonien, Swetha Sathish and Ebba Liljeberg.
The shotgun start begins at 7:50 a.m. CT on Monday morning.
Format
All 18 teams will play 36 holes on Monday, followed by 18 holes on Tuesday. Live scoring is available on scoreboard.clippd.com.
Field (Golf Channel Preseason Rankings)
5. Arkansas
12. Florida
14. LSU
17. Vanderbilt
19. Ole Miss
20. Tennessee
21. Miami
24. UCF
26. Baylor
Rutgers
Clemson
Boston College
College of Charleston
Wisconsin
NC State
Georgia
Furman
Charlotte
Historic Season
Arkansas is coming off its deepest postseason run in program history, an NCAA Championship semifinal appearance.
High on the Hogs
The Hogs were ranked inside the top five in both preseason rankings: No. 4 in Golfweek’s top 30 and No. 5 in Golf Channel’s top 30.
Preseason Honors
Two Razorbacks earned preseason All-America honors from Golf Channel and Golfweek. Senior Maria Jose Marin was placed on both outlets’ first team, while sophomore Sara Brentcheneff was a member of the third team.
Marin was also placed on the ANNIKA Award’s preseason watch list for the third straight season.
The Returners (2025-26 Scoreboard Ranking)
Arkansas returns four of its starting five from last season: senior Maria Jose Marin (2), senior Abbey Schutte (58), sophomore Sara Brentcheneff (69) and sophomore Swetha Sathish (283). Also returning is junior Natalie Blonien, who appeared in both of the Razorbacks’ matches at the NCAA Championship, and sophomore Sofia Cherif Essakali.
The Newcomers
In the offseason, the Hogs brought in Ebba Liljeberg, the top player in the transfer portal. Liljeberg earned freshman All-American honors in her debut season at Missouri and finished the season ranked No. 66 in Scoreboard’s national player ranking.
Arkansas brought in one freshman: Melliyal Schmitt of Reunion Island.
Hogs on TV
Five of Arkansas’ tournaments will air on television:
East Lake Cup (Oct. 26-28) – Golf Channel
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (March 1-3) – Golf Channel
Nanea Cup (March 11-14) – Golf Channel
SEC Championship (April 16-20) – SEC Network
NCAA Championship (May 21-26) – Golf Channel
Up Next
The Hogs will host the Blessings Collegiate Invitational from October 3-5 at Blessings Golf Club in Johnson, Arkansas.
For more information on Arkansas women’s golf, follow @RazorbackWGolf on social media.
