Erin Houtsma has won the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open and she’s finished in the top 10 in the tournament six times this decade, but what she’s done this week may be her most impressive feat of all.
Despite being 6½ months pregnant, the former University of Colorado golfer survived the 36-hole cut at the Women’s Open. Kerr shot a 2-over-par 74 Thursday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club to reach the two-round mark with an 8-over-par 152 total.
“I don’t want to tell my son, “˜I played while I was pregnant with you, but I missed the cut,'” Houtsma said. “My goal is to make the cut and not hurt myself.”
The Denver resident met her goal of qualifying for Friday’s final round, standing in a very respectable 27th place. Heading the field are Australian amateur Alison Whitaker, a senior-to-be at Duke, and Whitney Wade, a pro from Glasgow, Ky., who are tied at 3-under-par 141 for two rounds.
Wade, a 23-year-old Futures Tour Player who has won Women’s Opens in Kentucky and Ohio, had three 2s on her card in a 3-under-par round of 69.
Whitaker, the 2006 Colorado Women’s Golf Association Match Play champion, was particularly impressive in matching Wade’s total. With a stiff wind picking up in the late afternoon, she played her last 10 holes in 3 under par en route to a 70.
“I’d take that 10 out of 10 times,” said Whitaker, hoping to become just the second amateur to win the Women’s Open. “I had some flukish stuff happen out there, like hitting a 7-iron over trees to 5 feet from the hole.”
First-round leader Sara Brown, a pro from Tucson who hadn’t seen the course before arriving on Wednesday, is tied for third place (68-74–142) with Kendall Dye (70-72–142), who is making her pro debut after playing collegiately at Oklahoma.
Houtsma won’t be winning the Women’s Open for the second time — she prevailed in 2005 — but considering her circumstances, shooting 78-74 isn’t bad. Because of her pregnancy, she didn’t even decide to play for sure until early this month, at which point she practiced daily with fellow pro Lindsey Senger at Erie’s Colorado National Golf Club, which is owned by Houtsma’s dad, Steve Kerr. Kerr is caddying for Erin this week, though the latter is the only championship player in the field allowed to ride in an electric cart. “I know I wouldn’t make it three days walking,” she said.
“I’ve had to change my golf swing a little,” Houtsma said. “I have to stay on my left side and swing through. I also have to make sure I eat and drink water (during the round). But the situation helps me keep perspective. I was looking forward to playing this event, and I hope I’m playing (Friday).”
Houtsma made the cut despite playing her last four holes in 3 over par and missing a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 17.
Houtsma, who advanced to the final stage of 2008 LPGA Tour qualifying but missed the cut, is scheduled to give birth to a boy in August.
Another former Colorado Open winner, two-time defending champion Walailak Satarak of Thailand (80-76–156), was among those who missed Thursday’s 36-hole cut to the low 36 players.
On the other end of the spectrum, Wade and Whitaker will tee off for Friday’s final round at 8:31 a.m. Brown and Dye will precede them at 8:17.
Brown, a Futures Tour player, didn’t arrive at Green Valley Ranch from Vancouver, B.C., until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, three hours before her tee time. Despite getting just a few hours of sleep, she promptly shot the low round of the tournament — a 68.
“Maybe I should do that (playing a course sight unseen) more often,” said the two-time Michigan State University Female Athlete of the Year.
Dye likewise is playing the Colorado Women’s Open for the first time.
“For my first pro event, I’m happy with two consistent rounds,” she said. Cindy LaCrosse of Tampa, Fla., and Margaret Shirley of Roswell, Ga., are tied for fifth place at 1 under par. LaCrosse’s caddie, her father Doug, has finished in the top 10 each of the last three years at the Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch.
The Colorado Section PGA’s Women & Golf Day, held in conjunction with the Colorado Women’s Open for the first time, drew about 200 women to Green Valley Ranch on Thursday. In the day’s two sessions, Section pros helped the women with various phases of their golf games — putting, chipping and pitching, long game, etc.
