MGA Press Release

WEISS SHOWS NO RUST AS SHE LEADS U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN QUALIFYING

Karen Weiss played on the LPGA Tour for 13 years, but she hadn't played tournament golf in nearly two years prior to the U.S. Women's Open Local Qualifying at Woodhill Country Club on Tuesday. She has spent most of her time since then working on a Masters Degree in horticulture and establishing what she describes as "a little greenhouse business."

Her time off turned out not to be a problem. Even though it was cold and wet, and the tees were all the way back on 13 of 18 holes, which stretched Woodhill out to 6,504 yards, Weiss was able to shoot a 1-under-par 70.

Not only was she the medalist, but there was no one within five strokes of her.

Jamie Fischer, a teaching professional from the Chicago area who won her third consecutive LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Championship last fall at Town & Country Club, shot a 75 and tied for second with Lara Kueny, a long-hitting college golfer from Michigan State.

Julie Hennessy and Kristin Lindstrom tied for fourth, another shot back at 76.

Lisa Grimes, the teaching pro from Alexandria who posted a top-10 finish over the weekend in the Minnesota Golf Champions tournament at Bearpath (with a 54-hole score of 71-71-72--214) was one of the three players who shot 77, along with Mary Narzisi and Amy Anderson.

In all, 48 players signed up to attempt to qualify, and 12 advanced to the sectional (final) stage. That's about double the usual number, but that was because the number of players trying to qualify from here for the 2008 Women's Open at Interlachen was also double the usual number.

The last four spots were taken by two former MGA players of the year, Alissa Super (formerly Herron) and Amy Schmucker (who now plays on the Futures Tour), plus Rebecca Quinby, a University of Iowa golfer by way of Benilde-St. Margaret's, and Pennapa Pulsawath, a native of Thailand who plays college golf at Iowa State. 

"I didn't hit it well at all today, but I chipped and putted really well," Super said, slighlty shocked. "It was amazing, because I've never chipped and putted well."

Super would love to qualify to play at Interlachen, which has fond memories for her. She won one of her three State Amateur championships there, defeating, among others, Hilary Lunke (then Homeyer), who would go on to win the 2003 U.S. Women's Open (and is exempt from qualifying because of that). 

This was only the second time that a course has played more than 6,500 yards for a women's competition in Minnesota. The first was last year's local qualifying for the Open at Windsong.

"I'm always a little nervous when I set up a course like this, thinking that I might have made it too hard," conceded Ede Rice, who ran the qualifier. "But any player who gets through the two stages of qualifying and makes it to the Open will have to be able to play a long course, because Interlachen is going to be nearly 6,800 yards. I thought these players would be able to handle the challenge, and they definitely did." 

Rice was surprised by the low score, which she predicted would be 73. But then Weiss was a little bit surprised, too.

"Maybe it's been so long since I played in a tournament that I just didn't have any bad thoughts left in my head," she joked.

Weiss, who played at the University of Minnesota in the late 1980's (she was all-Big Ten and all-Academic Big Ten in 1989), is only 5 feet, 3 inches tall, but she hits the ball a long way, and the she likes long, difficult courses.

"As long as I'm hitting my driver well," she said. "Basically, I prefer courses where par is a good score."

On Tuesday, she made only two bogeys, on No. 1 and No. 9, and she countered those with three birdies (7, 14, and 17).

"Two weeks ago, I thought that I'd better start practicing," she said. "I didn't have that much time, and wasn't really able to practice that much. But the weather has been so bad that no one else has been able to practice, either."

(The rotten weather has not been exclusive to Minnesota, by the way. Fischer said she was giving lessons in Illinois whle wearing a heavy coat and stocking cap, "and I was still freezing.")

Weiss wasn't quite sure what to expect when from herself in her first competitive round since 2006, but she hit the ball well on the practice range as she warmed up, and all the old feelings came back as soon as she got on the course.

"I felt the adrenaline," she said, "and I felt the nerves."

Like most of the other Woodhill qualifiers, Weiss will play in the Sectional Qualifier at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Ill.

"It would really be fun to get to play at Interlachen," she said. "I love the course. I've had a lot of good rounds there, and I've shot 88. But it would be fun."

U.S. Women's Open Local Qualifying

At Woodhill Country Club

Par 71, 6,504 yards

Final results

(12 players advance)

Qualifiers 

1. Karen Weiss                   70

T2. Jamie Fischer                75

T2. Laura Kueny                  75

T4. Julie Hennessy             76

T4. Kristin Lindquist          76

T6. Mary Narzisi               77

T6. Lisa Grimes                 77

T6. Amy Anderson            77

T9. Amy Schmucker         78

T9. Pennapa Pulsawath     78

T9. Alissa Super               78

T9. Rebecca Quinby         78

Did not qualify

13. Samantha Sommers    80 (1st alternate)

T14. Angela Ause            82

T14. Carolyn Barnett-Howe  82

T14. Kendra Hanson        82

T14. Sabrina Danielson     82

T18. Katie Detlefsen         83

T18. Tina Miller               83

T18. Michele Edlin           83

T21. Jill Hardy                 84

T21. Becca Swords          84

T21. Chelsey Cothran      84

T21. Christin Thompson  84

T21. Staci Smoot            84

T21. Jessica Gerry          84

T27. Christine Herzog     85

T27. Hillary Gerster        85

T29. Andrea Kellar         86

T29. Sydney Sturdevant 86

T29. Kristin Hines          86

T32. Kathy Swanson      87

T32. Dee Forsberg         87

T32. Claudia Pilot          87

T32. Paige Broman        87

T32. Katie Bakken         87

T37. Janine Moffa         89

T37. Brenda Williams    89

T37. Steffi Neisen         89

T37. Aubrie Nelson       89

T37. Margo Anderson   89

T42. Kelli Berns           90

T42. Lindsay Somrock 90

44. Heather Frye          92

45. Kathleen Ritter       94

46. Angela Kippley       96

47. Armana Christianson 97