12-Year-Olds Choe, Harigae, Wie Fail To
Qualify For Women’s Open

 By Larry Morgan

VALENCIA, Calif. -- Score one for the older generation.

Jody Anschutz, who turns 40 in October, stole some of the spotlight from some of golf's brightest, young female golfers by tying for low-medalist honors in U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying on June 10 at Valencia (Calif.) Country Club.

Anschutz, from Rio Verde, Ariz., will make her first Open appearance since the 1998 championship at Blackwolf Run Golf Course in Kohler, Wisc., and 13th overall. She jokingly said she wants “a bigger piece of the pie” because of the LPGA's increased purses, but she was particularly eager to play in this year's Open, set for July 4-7 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., because her husband Fred had played there in a member-guest tournament.

Monday was a grueling day, however. Anschutz could not find a caddie and had to tote her own bag for 36 holes. She managed to shoot an even-par 72 in the afternoon despite a double and triple bogey.

“Putting was the key today,” she said. “I made a lot of important ones, and I made just about all of the birdie putts I had.”

Most of the attention Monday was on four 12 year olds attempting to qualify for the Open. They included Honolulu, Hawaii, sensation Michelle Wie, who earlier this year qualified for the LPGA's season-opening Takefuji Classic; Monterey's Mina Harigae, who won last November's California Women's Amateur Championship; La Quinta's Esther Choe and Honolulu's Stephanie Kono.

Neither of them earned any of five spots available to 60 players at Valencia, with Wie finishing the best as fourth alternate. Sue Daniels of Tahoe City, Calif., earned the third qualifying position at 72-148 and the Republic of Korea's Soo-Young Moon was fourth at 74-150. But Allison Finney of Bermuda Dunes, Calif., and Lisa Ferrero of Lodi, Calif., still hadn't decided the final qualifying spot despite five playoff holes, including the last two in near-darkness. They returned to Valencia June 11 in the morning to settle matters.

That left the spotlight to Anschutz, a winner of the 1987 du Maurier Ltd. Classic, and Arizona State junior-to-be Jimin Kang, who each finished at 1-over-par 145. Kang, who recently ended Lorena Ochoa's NCAA-record seven-tournament winning streak at April's Pac-10 Championships in Walla Walla, Wash., had the best round of the day, an impressive 2-under 70 in the afternoon round despite occasional gusty winds and firm, fast greens. She had played the demanding par 72, 6,407-yard course only once in practice and found it to be tougher than she had imagined.

“The greens aren’t easy, and you have to focus on every single shot,” she said. “A few times I hit bad drives, and I said, ‘What is going on?’”

Wie and the rest of the 12-year-old wunderkinds likely are still asking themselves that question. Wie was at 1-over 73 after June 10th's morning round but struggled to a 79 in the afternoon and dropped out of contention. Hiriage finished with 84-84, while Choe and Kono each went 77-78.

Wie, who turns 13 on Oct. 11, said she was impressed with the course because she heard it hosted the Nissan Open several years ago.

“I know I could have done better, though,” she said.

Her father, B.J., a transportation/business logistics professor at the University of Hawaii, said he could sense his daughter was getting a little frustrated as the day wore on.

“Mental management is what she needs to work on,” he said. “She can get a little discouraged when she isn't playing well, but she's getting better with her emotions.”

Kono, who like Wie hails from Honolulu, said she had fun but admitted fatigue started to set in during the afternoon.

“The back nine I almost fell asleep, I was so tired,” she said.

She also acknowledged Valencia's difficulty, although she said she has played one course that is even tougher.

“Koolau,'' she said, referring to Koolau Golf Club on Oahu, which reportedly has the highest slope rating in the nation. A standing joke among those who have played it is whatever your handicap/index is, double it for the number of golf balls you will need.

“I lost six,” said Kono.

Choe said the qualifier was a “great learning experience” in that she was afforded insights on how to improve her course management. Her caddie/coach, Terry Myers, said he was impressed with his young prodigy despite her struggles. Choe continued to smile, for example, despite difficult circumstances.

“She's so much fun to work with, and she just loves to play,” he said. “She has such great composure for a 12 year old ... sometimes kids her age take it too seriously and take the fun out of it, but she's the same, no matter how she's playing.”

Choe apparently hasn't had too many of those “bad stretches” lately. She lists La Quinta’s PGA West as her home club, and boasts an impressive 76 from the blue tees at the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course. She also has a 74 on the Arnold Palmer course to her credit and once was 2-under on the front nine of the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.

June 10, however, was one of those days, she said.

“I was hitting it really bad today,” she said. “I don't know why it happened.”

Larry Morgan writes for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.