Far Hills, N.J. – Six USGA champions and four members of the 2006 USA Curtis Cup team lead the list of players who have earned spots in the 156-player field via sectional qualifying for the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played June 29-July 2 at Newport (R.I.) Country Club.

Seventy-one players were fully exempt into the Championship, leaving 84 spaces open for qualifiers in the field. In addition, one place is still being held open for the winner of next week’s LPGA event, should that winner not already be fully exempt into the Women’s Open. 

Ya-Ni Tseng, 17, of Chinese Taipei, who won the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links by defeating Michelle Wie in the final, advanced to her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open. Other USGA champions who qualified for the 2006 Women’s Open are: Beth Bauer (1997 Girls’ Junior); Silvia Cavalleri (1997 Women’s Amateur); Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (1989, 1992 Women’s Amateurs); Tracy Hanson (1991 Women’s Amateur Public Links); and Michele Kim Saiki (1983 Girls’ Junior).

The four players to successfully qualify who will represent the USA at the 2006 Curtis Cup Match at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in July are: Amanda Blumenherst, 19, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Jennie Lee, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif.; Taylor Leon, 19, of Dallas, Texas; and Amanda McCurdy, 22, of El Dorado, Ark.

Blumenherst, Lee, Leon and Tseng lead the list of 19 teenagers who qualified for the Women’s Open. They will be joined by Jennie Arseneault, 18, of Grinnell, Iowa; Esther Choe, 16, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Lauren Espinosa, 19, of Hickory Creek, Texas; Megan Grehan, 17, of Mamaroneck, N.Y.; Vicky Hurst, 15, of Melbourne, Fla.; Ayaka Kaneko, 16, of Honolulu, Hawaii; Taylore Karle, 15, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Kimberly Kim, 14, of Hilo, Hawaii; Stacey Kim, 15, of Columbus, Ga.; Stephanie Kono, 16, of Honolulu, Hawaii; Joanne Lee, 17, of San Carlos, Calif.; Teresa Hsiao-Ching Lu, 18, of Chinese Taipei; Sydnee Michaels, 17, of Temecula, Calif.; Jane Rah, 15, of Torrance, Calif.; and Maria Jose Uribe, 16, of Colombia.

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.

A list of the players who qualified for the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open, including qualifying sites and scores, follows:

Key

(a) – amateur

A – alternate

(qualifying score in parentheses)

6/5/06 – West Bloomfield, Mich. (Knollwood Country Club)

(a) Jennie Arseneault, Grinnell, Iowa (147)

Lynnette Brooky, New Zealand (147)

(a) Sandra Gal, Germany (147)

Sarah Jane Kenyon, Australia (149)

Charlotte Mayorkas, Las Vegas, Nev. (149)

Kim Welch, Sacramento, Calif. (149)

(a) Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (150)

Diana Luna, Italy (150)

Kristen Samp, Lawrence, Kan. (150)

Elizabeth Bauer, Tampa, Fla. (151)

Aimee Cho, Korea (151)

Brandi Jackson, Greenville, S.C. (151)

(a) Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. (151)

Laree Sugg, Pinehurst, N.C. (151)

Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif. (152)

Marianne Morris, Middletown, Ohio (152)

Sophia Sheridan, Mexico (152)

Denise Munzlinger, Columbia, Mo. (152)

A – Leanna Wicks, Brighton, Mich. (152)

A – Melissa Sneller, Holland, Mich. (152)

A – Moah Chang, Los Angeles, Calif. (153)

6/8/06 – Spartanburg, S.C. (Country Club of Spartanburg)

(a) Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia (145)
Kristina Tucker, Sweden (145)
May Wood, Windermere, Fla. (148)
Jen Hanna, Greenville, S.C. (148)
(a) Stacey Kim, Columbus, Ga. (149)
A – (a) In Kyung Kim, Korea (149)
A – (a) Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (150)
A – (a) Kristina Wong, Vestal, N.Y. (151)
A – (a) Adrienne Millican, Fuquay Varina, N.C.(151)

6/12/06 – La Habra Heights, Calif. (Hacienda Country Club)

(a) Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif. (142)

Beth Allen, San Diego, Calif. (146)

(a) Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (146)

Yu Ping Lin, Chinese Taipei (146)

Michelle Murphy, Milwaukie, Ore. (148)

(a) Joanne Lee, San Carlos, Calif. (148)

(a) Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz. (149)

(a) Ya-Ni Tseng, 17, Chinese Taipei (150)

(a) Jennie Lee, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif. (151)

(a) Dasol Chung, Las Vegas, Nev. (151)

A – (a) Brianna Do, Vietnam (151)

A – (a) Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (151)

A – Krista Bartlett, Scottsdale, Ariz. (152)

A – Dana Bates, Thousand Palms, Calif. (152)

6/12/06 – Heathrow, Fla. (Country Club at Heathrow)

(a) Vicky Hurst, Melbourne, Fla. (148)

Colleen Cashman McSween, Plantation, Fla. (150)

(a) Nicole Hage, Coral Springs, Fla. (151)

Randi Gauthier, Sugar Land, Texas (151)

A – (a) Charlotte Campbell, Heathrow, Fla. (151)

A – Johanna Head, England (153)

A – (a) Lindy Duncan, Plantation, Fla. (153)

6/12/06 – Baltimore, Md. (Green Spring Valley Hunt Club & Woodholme Country Club)

Beth Bader, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (142)

Michele Kim Saiki, Tempe, Ariz. (142)

Angela Jerman, Columbus, Ga. (143)

Tracy Hanson, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho (143)

Teresa Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (144)

Candy Hanneman, Brazil (144)

Amy Hung, Chinese Taipei (144)

Nicole Castrale, Palm Desert, Calif. (145)

Sherri Steinhauer, Madison, Wis. (146)

Nancy Scranton, Centralia, Ill. (147)

Becky Iverson, Gladstone, Mich. (147)

Karin Sjodin, Sweden (147)

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Cartersville, Ga. (147)

Kris Tschetter, Sioux Falls, S.D. (147)

Alena Sharp, Canada (147)

(a) Michelle Jarman, Wilmington, N.C. (148)

Becky Morgan, Wales (148)

Minea Blomqvist, Finland (148)

Allison Hanna, Portland, Ore. (149)

(a) Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (149)

Silvia Cavalleri, Italy (149)

Mhairi McKay, Scotland (149)

Lindsey Wright, Australia (149)

Dawn Coe-Jones, Canada (149)

Sherri Turner, Greenville, S.C. (150)

Hana Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. (150)

Dina Ammaccapane, Phoenix, Ariz. (150)

Shani Waugh, Australia (150)

Il Mi Chung, Korea (150)

Wendy Modic, New Canaan, Conn. (151)

Celeste Troche, Paraguay (151)

(a) Megan Grehan, Mamaroneck, N.Y. (151)

Dana Dorman, Pleasanton, Calif. (151)

(a) Esther Choe, Scottsdale, Ariz. (151)

Moira Dunn, Utica, N.Y. (152)

Siew Ai Lim, Malaysia (152)

A – Aram Cho, Orlando, Fla. (152)

A – Stephanie Louden, Las Vegas, Nev. (152)

A – Clarissa Childs, Columbia, S.C. (152)

A – Annette DeLuca, Tequesta, Fla. (152)

6/12/06 – McKinney, Texas (TPC at Craig Ranch)

(a) Taylor Leon, Dallas, Texas (141)

(a) Taylore Karle, Scottsdale, Ariz. (143)

(a) Ashley Knoll, The Woodlands, Texas (143)

(a) Lauren Espinosa, Hickory Creek, Texas (146)

(a) Amanda McCurdy, El Dorado, Ark. (147)

Cindy Currier, Austin, Texas (147)

A – Randi Meadows, San Antonio, Texas (148)

A – (a) Lauren Johnson, The Woodlands, Texas (148)

A – (a) Alison Whitaker, Australia (149)

A – Adrienne Gautreaux, Mabank, Texas (149)

6/13/06 – Barrington, R.I. (Rhode Island Country Club)

Kristal Parker-Manzo, Cable, Ohio (142)

Elizabeth Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn. (143)

Nadina Light, Australia (144)

Christina Baena, Colombia (145)

A – Carrie Wood, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (145)

A – Anna Grzebian, Providence, R.I. (147)

A – Marina Marselli, Rye, N.Y. (149)

A – Danielle Downey, Spencerport, N.Y. (150)

6/13/06 – Kapolei, Hawaii (Ko Olina Golf Club)

(a) Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (149)

A – (a) Miki Ueoka, Lihue, Hawaii (155)

A – Dawn Kaneshiro, Lahaina, Hawaii (158)

A – (a) Lori Planos, Kapalua, Hawaii (159)