McDONALD
Daily Journal, school reports
LANCASTER, Pa. – Ally McDonald didn’t get much warning, but the All-American from Fulton was all set for today’s 7:24 a.m. tee time at the 70th U.S. Women’s Open.
The former Mississippi State product was a first alternate for the event and learned Tuesday night that she had made the field after the withdrawal of Korean golfer Yoonkyung Heo.
“Now I just have to get there,” McDonald tweeted.
She caught a 5:45 a.m. Wednesday flight from Memphis and made it to the Lancaster County Club in time for an afternoon practice round.
“When I called a couple of weeks ago to see where I was on the list, they said I was sixth,” said McDonald, the first alternate from the May 18 Atlanta sectional. “When I got a call Monday to say it was a possibility, I was very excited.”
McDonald’s 18-year-old brother, Andrew, an incoming freshman at Itawamba Community College, will serve as her caddie.
She played in the U.S. Women’s Open last year at Pinehurst as an amateur, shooting 78-77-155 and failing to make the cut.
She turned pro in late May and won her first outing, the recent Michigan Women’s Open Championship, with a $6,000 first prize.
‘different mindset’
“It’s a little different mindset,” said McDonald. “I’m still playing the same game and I am doing it because I love to play. You can’t really get wrapped up … in the money. As soon as it becomes a money game and a job, that’s when it goes downhill.”
The U.S. Open features a purse of $4 million, with $720,000 for the winner.
Last year, Michelle Wie won at Pinehurst.
McDonald is paired today with former LSU golfer Austin Ernst and Lee-Anne Pace, the four-time women’s golfer of the year in South Africa and the winner of the 2014 LPGA Blue Bay event.