Sectional Qualifying Complete for 2013 U.S. Women's Open


The United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced that 69 women have advanced through sectional qualifying and will compete in the 2013 U.S. Women's Open Championship, to be conducted June 27-30 at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

Considered the world's premier women's golf championship, the U.S. Women's Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. It is open to professional female golfers and amateur females with a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 4.4.

The list of Women's Open qualifiers includes 14 teenagers. Nelly Korda, 14, of Bradenton, Fla., is the championship's youngest competitor. Korda is the younger sister of exempt player Jessica Korda, the winner of the 2012 Women's Australian Open and runner-up at the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. The Kordas are the daughters of former professional tennis player Petr Korda, who won the 1998 Australian Open.

Mariel Galdiano, 14, of Pearl City, Hawaii, qualified for her second U.S. Women's Open. Galdiano, who is one month older than Korda and will turn 15 on June 25, competed in the 2011 championship at age 13. Other teenagers to qualify are: Shannon Aubert, 17; Kelli Bowers, 18; Casie Cathrea, 17; Yueer Feng, 17; Brooke Mackenzie Henderson, 15; Erica Herr, 17; Alexandra Kaui, 17; Kyung Kim, 19; Annie Park, 18; Elizabeth Schultz, 16; Mariah Stackhouse, 19; and Gabriella Then, 17. They join the three teenagers who were already fully exempt into the championship: Ariya Jutanugarn, 17; Lydia Ko, 16; and Lexi Thompson, 18.

Five USGA champions advanced through sectional qualifying: Doris Chen (2010 U.S. Girls' Junior), Tiffany Joh (2006, 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links), Kim (2012 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links), Jane Park (2004 U.S. Women's Amateur) and Emily Tubert (2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links).

Chen, Kim and Annie Park are members of the University of Southern California team that won the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship. Park became the seventh freshman to claim the individual title and only the second woman in NCAA history to sweep the conference, regional and national titles. In addition to Park, there are two other USC individual champions in the field: Jennifer Rosales, who qualified in Atlanta, and exempt player Dewi Claire Schreefel.

Other notable players to advance to the 2013 U.S. Women's Open are past Solheim Cup competitors Laura Diaz, Christina Kim, Kristy McPherson and Janice Moodie, as well as four-time LPGA Tour winner Lorie Kane, who is the championship's oldest qualifier at age 48.

Four spots reserved for future exemptions have been released back to the qualifying field. Moira Dunn (Heathrow qualifier), Jiyoung Oh (Baltimore qualifier), Brooke Pancake (Atlanta qualifier) and Karen Stupples (Atlanta qualifier) have been added to the Women's Open field. Additionally, Jimin Kang has withdrawn from the championship and been replaced by Danah Bordner (Baltimore qualifier).

Eighty-three players are fully exempt into the championship's 156-player field. Four spots are currently being reserved for any non-exempt players who win an official LPGA Tour event through the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (which ends June 23), the winner of the 2013 Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship (provided she remains an amateur), and those who enter the top-25 of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings as of June 24.

The list of the players who qualified for the 2013 U.S. Women's Open, including qualifying sites and scores, includes:

May 7 - The Eldridge Club, Baltimore, Md.

Christina Kim, San Jose, Calif. 138
Irene Cho, La Quinta, Calif. 139
Thidapa Suwannapura, Thailand 139
Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Canada 141
Taylore Karle, Frisco, Texas 142
Nicole Jeray, Berwyn, Ill. 143
Felicity Johnson, England 143
Paz Echeverria, Chile 144
Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif. 144
Janice Moodie, Scotland 144
Stephanie Sherlock, Canada 144
Jiyoung Oh, Duluth, Ga. 145
Danah Bordner, Indianapolis, Ind. 145

May 13 - Druid Hills Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.

Jane Park, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 143
Macarena Silva, Chile 143
Laura Diaz, Scotia, N.Y. 144
Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C. 145
Amelia Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla. 145
Kristy McPherson, Conway, S.C. 146
Jennifer Rosales, Philippines 146
Kris Tamulis, Naples, Fla. 146
Brooke Pancake, Chattanooga, Tenn. 147
Karen Stupples, Orlando, Fla. 147

May 13 - Mount Pleasant Country Club, Boylston, Mass.

Becky Morgan, Wales 148
A - Ryann O'Toole, San Clemente, Calif. 149
A - Cindy Schreyer, Peachtree City, Ga. 150

May 13 - Butler (Pa.) Country Club)

(a) Erica Herr, New Hope, Pa. 152
Rachel Rohanna, Waynesburg, Pa. 153
A - Garrett Phillips, St. Simons Island, Ga. 156
A - Kathleen Ekey, Sharon Township, Ohio 156

May 14 - Cantigny Golf, Wheaton, Ill.

Caroline Powers, Bowling Green, Ohio 143
Chelsea Harris, Normal, Ill. 145
A - (a) Ana Menendez, Mexico 145
A - (a) Alejandra Cangrejo, Colombia 146

May 15 - Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, Calif.

Tiffany Lua, Rowand Heights, Calif. 139
(a) Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 139
Stacey Keating, Australia 144
A - (a) Grace Na, Alameda, Calif. 145
A - (a) Eun-Jeong Seong, Korea 145

May 20 - Arrowhead Country Club, Glendale, Ariz.

(a) Alexandra Kaui, Kapolei, Hawaii 141
Elena Robles, Torrance, Calif. 146
A - (a) Mikayla Harmon, Gilbert, Ariz. 147
A - (a) Hannah O'Sullivan, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 147

May 20 - Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, Calif.

(a) Casie Cathrea, Livermore, Calif. 140
Emily Childs, Alameda, Calif. 144
(a) Elizabeth Schultz, Lafayette, Calif. 147
A - (a) Hannah Suh, San Jose, Calif. 150
A - (a) Kathleen Scavo, Benicia, Calif. 151

May 20 - Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii

(a) Mariel Galdiano, Pearl City, Hawaii 145
A - Yuka Kuriyama, Japan 147
A - (a) Allisen Corpuz, Honolulu, Hawaii 147

May 20 - Waverley Country Club, Portland, Ore.
(a) Kelli Bowers, Chelan, Wash. 146
(a) Karinn Dickinson, Mukilteo, Wash. 146
A - Allison Hanna, Portland, Ore. 149
A - Maiya Tanaka, San Diego, Calif. 150

May 21 - The Woodlands (Texas) Country Club (Player Course)

Katy Harris, Humble, Texas 149
Jessica Shepley, Canada 149
Christi Cano, San Antonio, Texas 151
A - Cara Freeman, Chandler, Ariz. 152
A - Ai-Chen Kuo, Chinese Taipei 153

May 28 - Industry Hills Golf Club, City of Industry, Calif.

(a) Mariah Stackhouse, Peachtree City, Ga. 139
Alice Kim, Walnut, Calif. 141
Aimee Cho, Korea 142
A - (a) Jenny Hahn, Henderson, Nev. 143
A - Vanessa Brockett, Los Angeles, Calif. 145

May 28 - Heathrow (Fla.) Country Club

Lorie Kane, Canada 140
(a) Yueer Feng, Orlando, Fla. 143
Caroline Westrup, Sweden 143
(a) Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. 144
Moira Dunn, Utica, N.Y. 145
A - Eileen Vargas, Colombia 145

May 28 - Minneapolis Golf Club, St. Louis Park, Minn.

Ayako Uehara, Japan 146
Kirby Dreher, Canada 147
A - Lauren Mielbrecht, Gulf Stream, Fla. 149
A - (a) Jennifer Ha, Canada 150

May 29 - The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo. (West Course)

Sally Watson, Scotland 148
(a) Nicole Zhang, Canada 149
A - Katie Kempter, Albuquerque, N.M. 149
A - (a) Kim Kaufman, Clark, S.D. 150

May 29 - Bear Lakes Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla. (Links Course)

(a) Nelly Korda, Bradenton, Fla. 141
(a) Shannon Aubert, France 143
(a) Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif. 143
Jackie Barenborg Stoelting, Vero Beach, Fla. 146
A - (a) Lindy Duncan, Plantation, Fla. 148
A - Sandra Angulo, Port St. Lucie, Fla. 149

May 30 - Algonquin Golf Club, St. Louis, Mo.

Izzy Beisiegel, Canada 144
Megan Grehan, Mamaroneck, N.Y. 144
A - Amy Meier, Rochester Hills, Mich. 144
A - Emma Jandel, Dayton, Ohio 144

May 30 - Carolina Trace Country Club, Sanford, N.C. (Lake Course)

Patcharajutar Kongkraphan, Thailand 142
Tiffany Tavee, Tempe, Ariz. 146
Christine Song, Maryville, Tenn. 147
A - (a) Lauren Stephenson, Lexington, S.C. 147
A - Nannette Hill, Pelham Manor, N.Y. 147

May 30 - Edgewood Country Club, River Vale, N.J.

(a) Brooke Mackenzie Henderson, Canada 136
(a) Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y. 136
Kendra Little, Eugene, Ore. 138
A - Christel Boeljon, Netherlands 139
A - Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass. 141

May 30 - Bent Tree Country Club, Dallas, Texas

Jamie Hullett, Mesquite, Texas 145
Catherine Matranga, Fort Worth, Texas 147
(a) Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz. 148
A - (a) Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. 148
A - (a) Bertine Strauss, South Africa 149

(a) - amateur
A - alternate

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org.