2003 U.S. Women's Open Sectional Qualifying Concludes

Far Hills, N.J. - Seven USGA champions, including the current U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion, highlight the list of players who have earned spots in the 156-player field for the 2003 U.S. Women's Open through sectional qualifying, which was held at eight sites and concluded today in Rochester, N.Y.

Sixty-six players were fully exempt into the Championship, leaving 78 spaces open for qualifiers in the field. Two places are still being held open for the winners of the next two LPGA events. The USGA received 929 entries for the 58th U.S. Women's Open, scheduled for July 3-6, 2003 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore.

Reigning U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Annie Thurman, 20, of Highland, Utah, is one of 19 amateurs to advance through sectional qualifying for the 2003 Women's Open.

Leigh Anne Hardin, 21, of Martinsville, Ind., the 1998 U.S. Girls' Junior champion and a member of the victorious 2002 USA Curtis Cup squad, qualified for her third consecutive Women's Open. She will be joined in the field by two of her Duke teammates, Elizabeth Janangelo, 19, of West Hartford, Conn., and 2002 NCAA individual champion Virada Nirapathpongporn, 21, of Thailand.

Two of Hardin's Curtis Cup teammates, Mollie Fankhauser, 22, of Columbus, Ohio, and Angela Jerman, 23, of Columbus, Ga., also earned a place in their second consecutive Women's Open. Jerman earned a tie for low-amateur honors at the 2002 Women's Open.

Twins Aree and Naree Song, 17, of Korea, have both played in the championship previously, but will play in the same Women's Open for the first time this year. Aree, who won the 1999 U.S. Girls' Junior at age 13, earned low-amateur honors when she tied for 40th at the 2000 Women's Open. Naree captured a share of low-amateur honors at the 2002 Women's Open.

In addition to the Songs and Janangelo, 10 other teenagers qualified for the championship: Sydney Burlison, 13, of Salinas, Calif.; Irene Cho, 18, of La Habra, Calif.; Paula Creamer, 16, of Bradenton, Fla.; Alice Kim, 18, of Los Angeles, Calif.; Soo Young Moon, 19, of Korea; Jane Park, 16, of Oak Valley, Calif.; Morgan Pressel, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla.; Cindy Shin, 18, of Coppell, Texas; Whitney Wade, 17, of Glasgow, Ky.; and Michelle Wie, 13, of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Other past USGA champions who have qualified through sectional play are Kellee Booth of Coto De Caza, Calif., (1993 Girls' Junior); Penny Hammel of Decatur, Ill., (1979 Girls' Junior); Tracy Hanson of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho (1991 Women's Amateur Public Links); and Michele Saiki of Las Vegas, Nev., (1983 Girls' Junior). The U.S. Women's Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. Other championships include the U.S. Open, the U.S. Senior Open, and 10 national amateur championships.

Tickets for the 2003 Women's Open may be ordered by calling the Championship Office at (866) 503-2003. For more information, please call the office or visit the official U.S. Women's Open Web site at www.uswomensopen.com.

A list of the 78 players who qualified for the 2003 U.S. Women's Open, including qualifying sites and scores, follows:

Key
(a) - amateur
(qualifying scores in parentheses)

6/9/03 - Daly City, Calif. - Lake Merced G.C.
(a) Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif. (152)
Lisa Chang, Los Angeles, Calif. (152)
(a) Kelly Schaub, Greeley, Colo. (152)
(a) Irene Cho, La Habra, Calif. (152)
Kathy Choi-Rogers, Huntington Beach, Calif. (153)
(a) Alice Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. (153)
A - (a) Allison Hanna, Portland, Ore. (154)
A - (a) Hana Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. (154)
A - Riko Higashio, Tokyo (154)
A - (a) Hannah Jun, San Diego, Calif. (154)

6/9/03 - Heathrow, Fla. - The C.C. at Heathrow
(a) Aree Song, Korea (143)
(a) Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (144)
Laura Korus, Miami Beach, Fla. (145)
Kirsty Taylor, England (145)
(a) Morgan Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. (147)
(a) Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii (147)
A - Elisabeth Esterl, Germany (147)
A - (a) Aimee Cho, Orlando, Fla. (148)
A - Nina Karlsson, Sweden (148)

6/10/03 - Charlotte, N.C. - Charlotte C.C.
(a) Virada Nirapathpongporn, Thailand (146)
(a) Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah (147)
(a) Mollie Fankhauser, Columbus, Ohio (149)
A - Rachel Bates, Farragut, Tenn. (154)
A - (a) Diana Ramage, Fayetteville, Ga. (155)
A - (a) Violeta Retamoza, Mexico (157)
A - (a) Anne Hutto, Birmingham, Ala. (159)

6/10/03 - Summit, N.J. - Canoe Brook C.C.
Charlotta Sorenstam, Sweden (142)
(a) Leigh Anne Hardin, Martinsville, Ind. (148)
Kellee Booth, Coto De Caza, Calif. (150)
Heather Daly-Donofrio, Fairfield, Conn. (150)
Maggie Will, Whiteville, N.C. (151)
Kathryn Marshall, United Kingdom (152)
Hilary Lunke, Edina, Minn. (153)
(a) Allison Fouch, Grand Rapids, Mich. (153)
Alicia Dibos, Peru (153)
Karen Weiss, St. Paul, Minn. (154)
Cindy Schreyer, New Fairfield, Conn. (154)
A - Kris Tschetter, Sioux Falls, S.D. (155)
A - Michelle McGann, Singer Island, Fla. (155)
A - Leslie Spalding, Billings, Mont. (156)
A - Cindy Reeves, Bedford, N.Y. (157)

6/11/03 - Houston, Texas - Champions G.C.
(a) Cindy Shin, Coppell, Texas (143)
Tara Bateman, Phoenix, Ariz. (144)
(a) Leah Hart, Australia (145)
A - Kristi Albers, El Paso, Texas (145)
A - (a) Maru Martinez, Venezuela (145)
A - Wendy Martin, Oklahoma City, Okla. (146)
A - Kim Rowton, San Antonio, Texas (148)

6/16/03 - Wheaton, Ill. - Cantigny G.C.
Seol An Jeon, Korea (142)
Salimah Mussani, San Antonio, Texas (143)
(a) Whitney Wade, Glasgow, Ky. (145)
Abby Pearson, Florence, S.C. (145)
Vickie Linkous, Roanoke, Va. (146)
Stacy Prammanasudh, Enid, Okla. (146)
Kimberly Adams, Canada (146)
Stacey Bergman, Fort Dodge, Iowa (147)
Katie Bakken, Minneapolis, Minn. (147)
Katherine Hull, Australia (147)
(a) Jane Park, Oak Valley, Calif. (147)
Cheryl Musser, Sand Canyon, Calif. (147)
Soo Young Moon, Korea (148)
Michele Vinieratos, Altamonte Springs, Fla. (148)
Kathryn Cusick, Jacksonville, Fla. (148)
Erika Wicoff, Hartford City, Ind. (148)
A - Adele Snyder, Glen Ellyn, Ill. (149)
A - Lanie Cahill, Canada (149)
A - (a) Rebecca Halpern, Chicago, Ill. (149)
A - Jaejean Kang, Palo Alto, Calif. (149)

6/16/03 - Hudson, Ohio - Lake Forest C.C./Rosemont C.C.
Tammie Green, Somerset, Ohio (146)
Becky Morgan, Wales (146)
Candy Hannemann, Brazil (147)
Yu-Ping Lin, Taiwan (148)
Miriam Nagl, Germany (148)
Annette Deluca, Tequesta, Fla. (148)
Jacqueline Gallagher-Smith, Jupiter, Fla. (149)
(a) Naree Song, Korea (150)
Kimberly Williams, Bethesda, Md. (150)
Audra Burks, Altamonte Springs, Fla. (151)
Namika Omata, Orlando, Fla. (152)
Denise Killeen, Marietta, Ga. (152)
Sherri Turner, Greenville, S.C. (153)
Marianne Morris, Middletown, Ohio (153)
Ashli Bunch, Morristown, Tenn. (153)
A - Marisa Baena, Colombia (154)
A - Vicki Fergon, La Quinta, Calif. (154)
A - Jan Stephenson, Windermere, Fla. (154)
A - Laurel Kean, Port Charlotte, Fla. (157)

6/17/03 - Rochester, N.Y. - Webster G.C./Ontario G.C.
Jung Yeon Lee, Korea (145)
Michele Saiki, Las Vegas, Nev. (146)
Liz Earley, Canada (146)
Amy Read, Houston, Texas (146)
Pamela Kerrigan, Franklin, Mass. (147)
Tracy Hanson, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho (147)
Michelle Murphy, Tacoma, Wash. (148)
Jamie Hullett, Mesquite, Texas (148)
Mardi Lunn, Australia (148)
Angela Stanford, Saginaw, Texas (148)
A.J. Eathorne, Canada (148)
Michelle Bell, Melrose, Mass. (149)
Helen Alfredsson, Sweden (149)
(a) Elizabeth Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn. (149)
Beth Bader, Eldridge, Iowa (149)
Jean Bartholomew, Garden City, N.Y. (150)
Diana D'Alessio, Flanders, N.J. (150)
Penny Hammel, Decatur, Ill. (150)
Suzanne Strudwick, United Kingdom (150)
Jimin Kang, South Korea (150)
Young-A Yang, South Korea (150)
Lori Atsedes, Ithaca, N.Y. (150)
Kris Lindstrom, Richfield, Minn. (150)
Moira Dunn, Utica, N.Y. (150)
Angela Jerman, Columbus, Ga. (150)
Val Skinner, Bay Head, N.J. (151)
Susan Ginter-Brooker, Appleton, Wis. (151)
Giulia Sergas, Italy (151)
A - Reilley Rankin, Hilton Head Island, S.C. (151)
A - Suzanne Green-Roebuck, Franklin Village, Mich. (151)
A - Jen Hanna, Greenville, S.C. (151)
A - Ashley Winn, West Monroe, La. (152)