The standards were high on Monday as CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora hosted a qualifying tournament for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
How high?
For those who shot even-par? Not good enough.
Fire a 70? Still not up to snuff.
Only the four players who shot in the 60s at CommonGround earned berths into the U.S. Women’s Am, which will be played Aug. 7-13 at San Diego Country Club, where Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jill McGill won her Women’s Amateur national championship in 1993.
Easily making the grade on Monday was University of Colorado golfer Brittany Fan, who earned medalist honors with a 7-under-par 65. Joining her in San Diego will be 12-year-old Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Fla., winner of Drive Chip & Putt national titles each of the last two years; Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch and the University of Denver, the first Colorado resident to qualify in the state for the U.S. Women’s Am since 2015; and Colorado State University golfer Katrina Prendergast, who advanced from the Colorado qualifier for the second straight year. Pano carded a 67 on Monday, Weinstein eagled the final hole for a 68 and Prendergast posted a 69.
(The qualifiers are pictured, from left, Fan, Pano, Prendergast and Weinstein.)
“There were some low scores out there today,” said the 19-year-old Weinstein, who recently transferred from NCAA Division II Regis University to Division I DU. “I feel like if you just hit it in the right spots, you have a lot of birdie chances.”
In all, 42 players were vying for the four national spots.
It will be the second U.S. Women’s Am for Fan, Prendergast and Pano, and the first for Weinstein.
Fan, the Hawaiian who paired up with CU teammate Esther Lee and went to the round of 16 after being the stroke-play co-medalists at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, made a 15-foot eagle on the 11th hole on Monday, and added six birdies and one bogey.
“I played in the Women’s Amateur a few years ago (in 2013), and it’s a really fun event. It’s really good competition,” said Fan, the low amateur in the 2013 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open and the runner-up in the 2015 CWGA Match Play.
The last time Fan (left) competed in the U.S. Women’s Am, she advanced to the round of 32, where she lost to that year’s NCAA champion, Annie Park.
“I’m much stronger mentally now,” said Fan, a 21-year-old senior-to-be who plans to go to LPGA Q-school later this year. “When I went and lost my last match, I was playing Annie Park. At the time I had no idea who that was. Some spectator asked me heading up to the first tee, ‘Who are you playing?’ I was like, ‘Some girl named Annie Park.’ I had no idea. He was like, ‘OK, good luck with that.’ I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ I got a little intimidated.
“But I think mentally I’ve made the biggest adjustment from fall to spring (of her junior season at CU). It was a complete reset mentally because I had a rough fall season. I basically learned how to control my mind. I’m still working on it of course, but it’s much better now.”
Indeed, Fan didn’t finish worse than 18th individually in any of CU’s spring tournaments this year.
Pano, who played in the U.S. Women’s Am last year after being an alternate in qualifying at Fort Collins Country Club, went bogey-free on Monday and played her final 11 holes in 5 under par. The result was a return trip to the national championship, which isn’t something many 12-year-olds accomplish. Overall, it will be Pano’s fourth USGA championship.
“It’s another honor,” said Pano, who will be a home-schooled eighth-grader in the fall. “The U.S. Am was one of my favorite tournaments last year and I’m glad I got to experience it.”
Weinstein, the 2016 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Girls Player of the Year who won the 5A state high school title at CommonGround, supplemented her eagle with five birdies and three bogeys on Monday.
“I didn’t think I was going to shoot this low today because of how I was playing in general, but I’m happy I did,” Weinstein said. “I was actually not putting well today except for a couple of holes that I really needed. I made (the 20-foot eagle) putt on the last hole, which was really awesome. ” (Weinstein four-putted that same hole during the final round when she won the 2016 5A state title.)
This will mark Weinstein’s first individual USGA championship, but she’s no stranger to playing well in big national/international tournaments. Last summer, for instance, the former Hale Irwin Elite Player finished fifth in the Optimist International Junior and 15th in the Junior PGA Championship.
“I’m only playing in about four tournaments this summer,” she said. “When I was younger, I could qualify for (Junior Worlds), Optimist, all of these out-of-state tournaments. There’s only so many USGA qualifiers as a woman that you can play in, so I put a lot of emphasis on this tournament.”
Prendergast was 2 over par through five holes on Monday, but chalked up six birdies in her final 13 holes. Like Fan, Prendergast made the Sweet 16 at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, with Prendergast teaming with CSU teammate Ellen Secor, who also has qualified for the U.S. Women’s Am.
“It means a lot” to return to the Women’s Amateur, said the 19-year-old Prendergast. “I missed the cut (to make match play) last year by one, so hopefully I can kind of redeem myself and make the cut and see how far I can get.”
U.S. Women’s Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 CommonGround GC in Aurora
ADVANCE TO U.S. WOMEN’S AM
Brittany Fan, Pearl City, Hawaii 34-31″“65
Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla. 35-32″“67
Mary Weinstein, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 35-33″“68
Katrina Prendergast, Sparks, Nev. 37-32″“69
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Sydney Youngblood, Durant, Okla. 34-36″”70
Erin Sargent, Longmont, Colo. 34-37″”71
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Sadie Englemann, Austin, Texas 35-36″“71
Destiny Lawson, Ocala, Fla. 36-36″“72
Emily Gilbreth, Houston, Texas 35-37″“72
Sydney Smith, Las Vegas, Nev. 36-37″“73
Calli Ringsby, Denver, Colo. 36-37″“73
Kylee Sullivan, Colorado Springs, Colo. 37-36″“73
Anna Kennedy, Parker, Colo. 37-36″“73
Shelby Poynter, Scottsbluff, Neb. 38-36″“74
Delaney Elliott, Superior, Colo. 37-37″“74
Gillian Vance, Lakewood, Colo. 36-38″“74
Alexandria Trask, Commerce City, Colo. 37-38″“75
Madison McCambridge, Boulder, Colo. 38-37″“75
Alex Darwin, Albuquerque, N.M. 36-39″“75
Samantha Lee Barker, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 37-38″“75
Annie Nelson, Bismarck, N.D. 39-36″“75
Shania Berger, Albuquerque, N.M. 39-37″“76
Jaylee Tait, Littleton, Colo. 37-39″“76
Laura Gerner, Kaysville, Utah 39-37″“76
Val Cruz, Thornton, Colo. 39-38″“77
Caitlyn Skavdahl, Casper, Wyo. 39-38″“77
Morgan Sahm, Centennial, Colo. 41-36″“77
Maddie Kern, Westminster, Colo. 41-37″“78
Amy Chitkoksoong, Aurora, Colo. 42-36″“78
Jacquelin Biggs, Englewood, Colo. 40-38″“78
Margaret Cowart, New Braunfels, Texas 38-40″“78
Jordan Shackelford, Austin, Texas 38-40″“78
Tori Glenn, Castle Pines, Colo. 43-36″“79
Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 39-40″“79
Jaclyn Murray, Grand Junction, Colo. 40-39″“79
Aili Bundy, Fort Collins, Colo. 41-38″“79
Larissa Steinfeldt, Lakewood, Colo. 40-40″“80
Klara Castillo, Waco, Texas 41-40″“81
Kimberly Moore, Fort Collins, Colo. 40-42″“82
Jamie Zook, Colorado Springs, Colo. 41-41″“82
Delaney Benson, Littleton, Colo. 47-41″“88
Ashley Mayhall, Valencia, Calif. NS
