Potential Stories From U.S. Women's Open Sectional Qualifying

Monday, June 9
At Daly City, Calif. (Lake Merced Golf Club) - 60 golfers for 6 spots:

• Sarah Salvo of Glendale, Calif., will celebrate her birthday by trying to qualify for her first Women's Open. She joins the teenage ranks when she turns 13 years old Monday. She is the youngest competitor in sectional qualifying.
• Salvo has quite a bit of company in her age range: others trying to qualify at Daly City include Sydney Burlison, 13, of Salinas, Calif.; Esther Choe, 13, of La Quinta, Calif.; and Danielle O'Neil, 14, of Lancaster, Calif.
• For Anne Davis, 23, of Portland, Ore., the site of the 2003 U.S. Women's Open has particular significance - her home club is Pumpkin Ridge and her father, Gay, is general chairman of the 2003 U.S. Women's Open.
• Other Oregonians attempting to qualify at Daly City are: Taya Battistella of Portland; Kailin Downs of Bend; Abby Fowler of Midford; Nicole Keller of Hillsboro; Paula Patterson of Beaverton; Julie Wells of West Linn; and Therese Winslow of Eugene.

At Heathrow, Fla. (Country Club at Heathrow) - 50 golfers for 6 spots:

• Michelle Wie is the record-holder for youngest to ever qualify for a USGA championship - she was 10 when she made the field of the 2000 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. Earlier this year, she was in second place after three rounds at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and finished in a tie for ninth. She's hoping to make her first Women's Open field.
• In 2001, Morgan Pressel, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., became the youngest to ever qualify for the Women's Open when she did so as a 12-year-old.
• Aree Song Wongluekiet, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., tied for low amateur honors at the 2002 U.S. Women's Open. She holds the record for youngest to win a USGA championship - she was 13 years old when she captured the U.S. Girls' Junior in 1999.

Tuesday, June 10
At Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Country Club) - 19 golfers for 3 spots:

• Mollie Fankhauser, 22, of Columbus, Ohio hopes to play in her second consecutive Women's Open. Fankhauser was a member of the USA squad that captured the 2002 Curtis Cup at Fox Chapel GC in Pittsburgh.
• Virada Nirapathpongporn, 21, of Thailand, was the 2002 NCAA individual champion. She qualified for her first Women's Open in 2002.
• Annie Thurman, of Highland, Utah, is the reigning U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion. Her win at the 2002 WAPL made her the first woman from Utah to capture a USGA national championship.
• The field at Charlotte also includes an Oregonian - Nicolle Flood of Wilsonville.

At Summit, N.J. (Canoe Brook Country Club) - 34 golfers for 11 spots:

• Carol Semple Thompson, 54, of Sewickley, Pa., is seeking a spot in her 33rd U.S. Women's Open. A seven-time USGA champion (including the 1973 U.S. Women's Amateur and the past four USGA Senior Women's Amateurs), her best finish was a tie for ninth in 1972.
• Wanalee (Jenny) Chuasiriporn, 25, of Timonium, Md., was a 20-year-old amateur when she lost a 20-hole playoff to Se Ri Pak for the Women's Open crown in 1998. She seeks a return to the Women's Open for the first time since 2000.
• Laura Shanahan-Rowe, 44, of Bedford, N.H., became the first golfer from New Hampshire to win a USGA championship when she won the 2001 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur.

Wednesday, June 11
At Houston, Texas (Champions Golf Club) - 27 golfers for 3 spots:

• LPGA Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lopez of Albany, Ga., is hoping to qualify for her 26th U.S. Women's Open. She has three second-place Women's Open finishes, including the 1997 championship at Pumpkin Ridge G.C.
• Patricia Beliard, 39, of Houston, Texas, is a former professional skier on the French National Ski Team.
• Robin Burke, 40, of Houston, Texas, is a long-time member at Champions Golf Club. Burke, the wife of 1956 Masters champion Jack Burke Jr., was the runner-up at the 1997 U.S. Women's Amateur.
• Another Champions member, Marilyn Hardy, 41, of Houston, Texas, is attempting to qualify. Monday, June 16

At Wheaton, Ill. (Cantigny Golf Club) - 85 golfers for 16 spots:

• Katherine Hull, 21, of Australia, is the reigning National Golf Coaches Association's NCAA Division I Player of the Year and the NCAA scoring record-holder - she shot 63 during a tournament in March. She was unsuccessful in her attempt to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2002, but hopes to make her first U.S. Women's Open field this year.
• Laura Myerscough, 23, of Charleston, Ill., is seeking a spot in her third consecutive Women's Open. Thanks to playing on the 2002 USA Curtis Cup and Women's World Amateur teams, she was locally exempt but gave back her exemption when she decided to turn professional.
• Jennifer Greggain, 26, of Puyallup, Wash., last played in 2001 Women's Open, when she was five months pregnant.

At Hudson, Ohio (Lake Forest Golf Club and Rosemont Country Club) - 43 golfers for 15 spots:

• Ellen Port, 42, of St. Louis, Mo, is a three-time U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion. She has qualified for the Women's Open three times, most recently in 1996.
• Jan Stephenson, 51, of Windermere, Fla., the 1983 U.S. Women's Open champion, hopes to qualify for her 27th Women's Open.
• Naree Song Wongluekiet, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., was 14 years old when she earned low amateur honors at the 2000 Women's Open.
• Suzy Whaley, 36, of Farmington, Conn., earned a spot in the PGA Tour's Greater Hartford Open this summer, thanks to her victory in the PGA Connecticut Sectional last year.
• Emily Bastel, 23, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, is an assistant coach for the women's golf team at Michigan State University. She was a member of the USA Curtis Cup and Women's World Amateur teams in 2002, and played in the 2002 U.S. Women's Open.

Tuesday, June 17
At Rochester, N.Y. (Webster Golf Club and Ontario Golf Club) - 92 golfers for 26 spots:

• Nine USGA champions are in the field at Rochester. They are: Catherine Cartwright (2000 Women's Amateur Public Links); Amy Fruhwirth (1991 Women's Amateur, 1992 Women's Amateur Public Links); Penny Hammel (1979 Girls' Junior); Tracy Hanson (1991 Women's Amateur Public Links); Marcy Newton Hart (1995 Girls' Junior; 2000 Women's Amateur); In-Bee Park (2002 Girls' Junior); Deb Richard (1984 Women's Amateur); Laurie Rinker-Graham (1980 Girls' Junior); and Michelle Saiki (1983 Girls' Junior).
• Reilly Rankin of Hilton Head Island, S.C., feared she might be unable to walk again, let alone play golf, after breaking her back when she dove off a 70-foot cliff in 1999. She recently earned her first professional victory on the Futures Tour, and is seeking her first spot in the Women's Open field.
• Elizabeth Janangelo, 19, of West Hartford, Conn., just finished a successful freshman campaign at Duke University, culminating in first-team All-America honors. A five-time Connecticut Women's Amateur champion, Janangelo played in the 2000 Women's Open as a 16-year-old.

2003 U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN SECTIONAL QUALIFYING SITE: