Moa Svedenskiold stands with a sign after qualifying for the NCAA championship as an individual. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

Houston junior Moa Svedenskiold stood on the 18th tee, one hole away from a trip to the NCAA Championships.

Her tee shot missed the fairway, briefly putting her hopes in jeopardy, but the Halmstad, Sweden, native responded with a solid approach shot and calmly two-putted to finish at 2-under 214 at the NCAA Columbus Regional. It was just enough to slide into fifth place, the top individual not on a qualifying team and earn the lone individual qualifying spot. 

After steadying herself with back-to-back pars on holes 15 and 16, she pulled ahead of SMU junior Emily Odwin by sinking a clutch birdie on the par-3 17th, and never trailed again.

Securing two birdies on her last six holes allowed Svedenskiold to become only the third Cougar since the program began in 2013 to advance to college golf’s biggest stage.

Just a year ago, one shot separated Svedenskiold from nationals; this year, one shot sent her through.

“Since last year, I missed my chance of making it to nationals by one shot, getting that revenge this year was an absolutely great feeling,” she said.

Since arriving in Houston in 2022, ranked 1,068 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Svedenskiold has steadily climbed the ranks. As of May 2025, she is ranked No. 104.

Over her three seasons in Houston, Svedenskiold earned a single-season scoring record and leads all Cougars with a career 71.72 average

This season, she has continued to excel, leading the Cougars with a 71.93 scoring average and 19 rounds of par or better. She also became the first Cougar since Leonie Harm to win multiple tournaments in a single season, capturing individual titles at the Veritex Bank Collegiate and Riverbend Intercollegiate.

“If you had met her freshman year, she barely said two words,” head coach Lydia Lasprilla said. “To watch her grow as a person and a player and really be coachable these last three years has helped her develop. She is becoming one of the best players to come through our program.”

With the team narrowly missing qualification at the regional, all eyes turned to Svedenskiold. Her teammates embraced her at the 18th, though the full weight of her achievement did not hit her.

“I took a moment to soak it all in, but it really didn’t hit me until a few days later, when I got back home and had time to reflect on what I had accomplished,” she said.

Just three years ago, the place she now calls home was completely unfamiliar, but even thousands of miles away from Halmstad, Svedenskiold stays connected to her roots and still talks to her parents every day.

Despite finding what she calls her ‘second family’ in Houston, a return trip home is always at the top of her mind when the season ends.

With her season now extended, that reunion in Sweden will have to wait, but on her first call home after qualifying, she learned she would not have to celebrate alone. 

“The first thing my dad said was, ‘I already booked a ticket, Moa. I’m coming to see you,’” she said.

Svedenskiold will tee off at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif, on Friday, with the tournament running through Monday.

Her plan is simple: stay true to the mindset that carried her to nationals and across the world to pursue her dream of playing college golf.

“Like I tell myself every time I play, ‘just one shot at a time.’ That’s kind of how I try to live my life here in the U.S.,” Svedenskiold said. 

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“Moa Svedenskiold takes it ‘one shot at a time,’ heading to NCAA Championships” was originally posted on The Cougar