SPORTS: FEATURE: Senior golfer leads TAMIU in Lone Star Conference Championship
By Margot Amaya
Bridge Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Building a steady name for herself, one Dustdevils women’s golf team member moved into a senior leadership role this year. Most recently, she led the team in the Lone Star Conference Championship in Rockwall, Texas, on April 14, where she finished 20th overall with a total of 10 over par, collecting three birdies over three rounds (76/75/74 = 225).
Texas A&M International University senior Margret Nyamukondiwa joined the Dustdevils two years ago after attending Western Texas Junior College in Snyder for two years. Even in her childhood, the Harare, Zimbabwe, native loved the sport.
TAMIU senior Margret Nyamukondiwa prepares to tee off for the Dustdevils women’s golf team in this submitted photo dated Feb. 5, 2025.
“I started when I was 7,” Nyamukondiwa said. “It was more personal; it was my parents [who] allowed me and my brother to play. When I went to my junior [high] school, we didn’t really have a golf team, but I would still practice every day.”
She graduated from The Heritage School in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 2021, as a multi-sport athlete in golf and cross country. She achieved national-level success when she joined the Zimbabwe national team and earned the Zimbabwe Ladies Open title.
The consistent effort and practice were there from the start, shaping not only her skills, but also a deep sense of comfort and belonging every time she stepped onto the course. Those early habits became the groundwork for the steady, disciplined approach she carries into competition today.
That dedication continued into her collegiate career as she placed in the top 10 in eight of her 10 tournaments with WTJC. She won three of those tournaments. On April 12, 2026, she received the Lone Star Conference 2026 All-Conference Second Team honor for the Dustdevils, as well as leading the Dustdevils to earn 10th in the 2026 Lone Star Conference Golf Championship. TAMIU’s women placed in the top 10 six times this year and 56th out of 186 NCAA Division II teams in the nation.
“When I’m on the golf course, it’s peaceful,” Nyamukondiwa said. “It’s like I don’t worry about anything else; I don’t think about anything else. It’s just me and my golf bag and my golf clubs.”
That feeling of serenity isn’t to say she is immune from the expectations surrounding her sport or the pressure of competition. Nyamukondiwa has felt the pre‑tournament nerves, but she has her own way of settling them. She explains her internal monologue during those moments with a small laugh, acknowledging that nerves are simply part of the process.
“At every tournament you’re always gonna get nervous at some point,” Nyamukondiwa said. “I’m like, ‘We have a tournament coming up. It’s OK. Just try and do better than last time.’”
Her relationship with golf isn’t just a hobby or a competitive pursuit, it’s a deeply personal part of her identity. She draws from her own time on the course to reveal an intimate, often overlooked dimension of the sport. Through her reflections, she brings forward the human side of being a player, the side that spectators rarely witness.
“There’s so much that’s behind the golfer,” she said. “There’s a picture that people don’t see that comes out when you’re playing golf. For me, it brings out joy; it brings out excitement; it brings out ambition; it brings out all the other things that help me get better and see why I picked this up.”
Despite her status as a business management major, Nyamukondiwa has never seen golf as just about scores, rankings or the next tournament on the schedule. It’s a space where her discipline, joy and ambition intersect. Years of childhood practice, the long days of competition and the steady growth at TAMIU all come together.
As she continues her final season with the Dustdevils, she carries not only her talent but also a deep appreciation for the game that shaped her. And in every swing, every round, every adrenaline rush of nerves before a tournament and every moment of calm on the course, she reinforces the commitment and love for the game that have shaped her journey.
