Preview of the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship


Play will begin Monday, June 27th for both the U.S. Men's and Women's Amateur Public Links championships at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. A total of 312 players will make the trek to the remote corner of southwest Oregon to play two courses at the world-class facility.

The two championships will rotate between the Bandon Trails and Old Macdonald courses. Bandon Trails was designed by Coore-Crenshaw and "Old Mac" is a co-design by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina.

Here are some facts and figures about the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, courtesy of the USGA.

Both the Old Macdonald and Bandon Trails courses will be used during the championship. Bandon Trails will play 6,095 yards and to a par of 36-35-71, while Old Macdonald will play 6,098 yards to a par of 34-37-71. Based on the championship setup, the Course Rating for Old Macdonald is 76.3 and 76.5 for Bandon Trails. The Slope Rating for Old Macdonald is 133 and 135 for Bandon Trails.

Practice rounds will be held June 25-26. The starting field of 156 players will play two rounds of stroke play on each of the two golf courses, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The first two days of match play will be altered between Bandon Trails and Old Macdonald, with the final two days of match play being conducted at Old Macdonald in conjunction with the U.S. Amateur Public Links. The schedule is as follows:

June 27 (Monday) - First round of stroke play (at Old Macdonald)
June 28 (Tuesday) - Second round of stroke play (at Bandon Trails)
June 29 (Wednesday) - First round of match play (at Old Macdonald)
June 30 (Thursday) - Second and third rounds of match play (at Bandon Trails)
July 1 (Friday) - Quarterfinals and semifinals, match play (at Old Macdonald)
July 2 (Saturday) - 36-hole championship final (at Old Macdonald)

Emily Tubert, 18, of Burbank, Calif., will return to defend her title. In 2010 at the Warren Course at Notre Dame (Ind.), she made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch during the morning 18 en route to a 3-and-2 victory over 18-year-old Lisa McCloskey of Houston, Texas. It was Tubert's first appearance in a match-play competition. Tubert, an incoming freshman at the University of Arkansas, took control of the match by winning holes six through 12 to take a commanding 5-up lead.

The average age for the competitors in the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links is 19.76. The youngest player in the field is Angel Yin, 12, of Arcadia, Calif., while the oldest player is Kim Everett, 58, of Anchorage, Alaska.

Fifty-nine of the 156 players are competing in their first USGA championship. There are 35 states represented in the Women's Amateur Public Links field: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

In addition to the USA, there are 11 countries represented in the championship field: Canada, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, People's Republic of China, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

There are two individual USGA champions in the field: Kristen Park, 18, of Buena Park, Calif. (2007 U.S. Girls' Junior) and Emily Tubert, 19, of Burbank, Calif. (2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links). Additionally, Thuhashini Selvaratnam, 35, of Sri Lanka, was a member of Arizona's winning team at the 2007 USGA Women's Amateur Public Links Championship.

Two members of the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team are in the field: Stephanie Kono, 21, of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tiffany Lua, 20, of Rowland Heights, Calif. Sally Watson, 19, of Scotland represented Great Britain and Ireland at the 2008 and 2010 Matches.

Watson competed for Scotland in the 2010 Women's World Amateur Team Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also competing in that championship were Dianne Luke, 20, of Malaysia and Lisa McCloskey, 19, of Houston, Texas. McCloskey represented her birth country of Colombia, though she also holds United States citizenship.

Five players in the championship field have qualified for the 2011 U.S. Women's Open: Mariel Galdiano, 13, of Pearl City, Hawaii; Xi Yu Lin, 15, of Beaumont, Calif.; Rachel Rohanna, 20, of Waynesburg, Pa.; Kelly Shon, 19, of Port Washington, N.Y.; and Christine Wolf, 22, of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Player Notes

Brittany Altomare, 20, of Shrewsbury, Mass., made her first hole in one at the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship at the Traditions Club in College Station, Texas. Altomare attends the University of Virginia.

Brooke Baker, 21, of Raleigh, N.C., won the 2009 Women's Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship.

Mieke Canan, 19, of Tacna, Ariz., enjoys working with animals and is a champion in goat tying, roping and horse showmanship.

Allisen Corpuz, 13, of Honolulu, Hawaii, became the youngest championship competitor in USGA history at age 10 when she qualified for the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, surpassing Michelle Wie. She attends the Punahou School, which also produced President Barack Obama and Wie, the 2003 Women's Amateur Public Links champion.

Jennifer Delgadillo, 36, of El Paso, Texas, is an accountant for the Ysleta Independent School District. Her favorite golf memory is playing Pebble Beach Golf Links when she was four months pregnant.

Marissa Dodd, 17, of Allen, Texas, trained in classical ballet for 11 years. She is also a PADI certified scuba diver and dived with 11-foot sharks off the coast of Bora Bora.

Kim Everett, 58, of Anchorage, Alaska, went back to college and received her Master of Social Work at age 45. She won her Anchorage Women's Golf Association club championship in 2011 and is a past Alaska Senior State Amateur champion.

Dree Fausnaugh, 14, of Orlando, Fla., once shot a commercial with Tiger Woods, who taught her how to hit a cut shot.

Chanet Fiorina, 19, of Santa Fe, N.M., made the national finals of the Elks Hoop Shoot free throw contest at age 14.

Mariel Galdiano, 13, of Pearl City, Hawaii, is the youngest qualifier for the 2011 U.S. Women's Open. The four-time Hawaii State Junior champion turned 13 on Saturday, June 25.

Lea Garner, 17, of Washington Terrace, Utah, helped lead Bonneville High School to the 2011 Utah state 4-A girls' championship. Her favorite place to practice is on the range at her uncle's Idaho dairy farm.

Katie-Rose Higgins, 19, of Charleston, S.C., is the daughter of the head football coach at The Citadel, Kevin Higgins.

Abbie Horan, 18, of Antioch, Ill., hopes to work in golf as a journalist or public relations professional.

Torey Johnson, 19, of Moore, S.C., is a member of the StarMakers Dance Company and has competed in clogging, Irish-step clog, tap, hip-hop and jazz. She has caddied for PGA Tour players D.J. Trahan and Jim Furyk, as well as musician Darius Rucker.

Jinny Kim, 19, of Coppell, Texas, only started playing golf four years ago. Prior to that, she was a competitive swimmer.

Stephanie Kim, 19, of Tempe, Ariz., attends Northern Arizona University and was the 2010 and 2011 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year.

Stephanie Kono, 21, of Honolulu, Hawaii, has played in more than 20 USGA championships. She was a Women's Amateur Public Links semifinalist in 2008.

Rosalie Kubesheski, 51, of Dubuque, Iowa, is the women's golf coach at Dubuque Senior High School. She won the 2010 Iowa Women's Golf Association Senior Women's Tournament.

Mia Landegren, 15, of Bridgewater, Conn., holds dual citizenship between the United States and Sweden. She plays on the Swedish Junior tour in the summers and has played on the Swedish National girls' team. Mia and her sisters Hanna and Emma are triplets.

Suzie Lee, 18, of East Northport, N.Y., is a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She plays the flute, clarinet, piano, drums and electric guitar.

Stephanie Liu, 14, of Fernandina Beach, Fla., earned her Tae Kwon Do first-degree black belt at age 7.

Briana Mao, 17, of Folsom, Calif., played with Mark O'Meara on the final day of the 2009 First Tee Open. She converted a 61-foot putt on the 18th hole.

Kaci Masuda, 16, of Honolulu, Hawaii, plays the drums for her high-school jazz band. She enjoys jamming with her brother, who plays an electric piano.

Terri McAngus, 49, of Eagle River, Alaska, holed out from 82 yards for an eagle at her Women's Amateur Public Links qualifying site to force a three-way playoff for the final two championship berths.

Gianna Misenhelter, 19, of Overland Park, Kan., played with Tom Watson at the 2009 First Tee Open. That same year, she received the Kenneth Smith golf award, which is presented to a Kansas City golfer who exemplifies what it means to be a junior golfer both on and off the course.

Samantha Morrell, 20, of North Kingston, R.I., was the Sunday standard bearer for eventual winner Annika Sorenstam's group at the 2006 U.S. Women's Open at Newport (R.I.) Country Club.

Rachel Morris, 19, of Carlsbad, Calif., traveled to China in 2008 as a member of the United States team for the China vs. USA Youth Team Golf Championship.

Ellen Mueller, 22, of Bartlesville, Okla., is bypassing a professional golf career in favor of pursuing a graduate degree in physical therapy. Sadie Palmer, 21, of Stansbury Park, Utah, was the first female golfer to compete for her high school.

Michelle Piyapattra, 18, of Corona, Calif., attends Columbia University and won the 2011 Ivy League Women's Golf Championship by 10 strokes. Her father was an Olympic archer.

Ashlan Ramsey, 15, of Milledgeville, Ga., shot an 87 at Augusta National at age 10.

Rachel Rohanna, 20, of Waynesburg, Pa., was a tri-medalist at the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. She set the championship record for the lowest 18-hole stroke-play score with an opening-round 65.

Thuhashini Selvaratnam, 35, of Sri Lanka won the Sri Lanka Amateur at age 12. Her victory put her into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest winner of a national championship.

Karolyne Shieh, 15, of Carlisle, Mass., won the 2011 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's girls' individual state championship. She is also a competitive figure skater and has qualified for the U.S. Junior National Figure Skating Championship.

Vaishavi Sinha, 20, of West Lafayette, Ind, was the low amateur at her home country's 2010 Hero Honda Women's Indian Open, a stop on the Ladies European Tour.

Meghan Theiss, 16, of Lagrange, Ky., underwent hip surgery while she was in the seventh grade. The injury occurred during her regional golf tournament, and she had to use her club as a crutch for the final three holes.

JC Weaver, 23, of Grand Island, Neb., had a hole in one this past Father's Day while playing a round with her father.

Christine Wolf, 22, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was born in Austria and enjoys skiing.

Cheyenne Woods, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., plays for Wake Forest University and won the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference individual title. She is the niece of nine-time USGA champion Tiger Woods.

Angel Yin, 12, of Arcadia, Calif., won the 2010 California's Women's Amateur Championship. She is the second-youngest winner in championship history, behind 2007 Women's Amateur Public Links champion Mina Harigae.

Renata Young, 29, of Antioch, Calif., works as a physician assistant in an emergency room.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information and live scoring, visit www.usga.org. For information about the history of the championship, visit http://www.usga.org/press_room/media_guide/Media-Guides/ and click on U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.