LORTON, Va. –– Northern Virginian Ju Hee Bae, 19, of Chantilly shot even-par 72 to lead three golfers who qualified for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship today in sectional qualifying conducted at Laurel Hill Golf Club.
Also qualifying were Rachel Lee, 18, of Woodstock, Md., (2-over 74) as well as Shannon Brooks, 16, of Vienna, Va. (3-over 75).
This year’s WAPL signals the last time the event will be conducted. The event is set for July 14-19 at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash.
Bae, a senior at Chantilly High School, relied on timely putting and par saves that kept her round going. She made her only birdie of the day at the par-5 18th, stuffing her wedge shot to 20 inches for a tap-in. Bae qualified for the WAPL last year Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman, Okla., missed match play but is ready for the return trip.
“With this being the second year playing in it, I’ve already experienced what it’s going to be like,” said Bae, who is headed to the University of Virginia on a golf scholarship in the fall. She plays at 1757 Golf Club in Dulles, Va. “I hope to make match play and see where it takes me from there.”
Lee put together a sound ball striking round. She hit every fairway and logged five birdies, including knocking in a 16-footer at the par-4 17th to card the low round of the inward nine (1-under 35) and help secure her spot in the national championship. Lee will be making her second start in the event, having qualified in 2012 at Neshanic Valley Golf Course Neshanic Station, N.J. She admits being a part of the championship this time around holds special significance.
“I’m excited to go out this year because this is the last year—I don’t think [the championship] is coming back,” said Lee, who graduated from Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville, Md., on Wednesday. She is bound for the University of Delaware on a golf scholarship in the fall. “It’s something to tell your kids about when you’re super old—‘I played in the event the last year it was held.’ I’m really excited that I qualified.”
Brooks shot 1-under 35 on the outward half. She overcame a triple-bogey at the par-3 11th and played the rest of the round in one under with a birdie at No. 17 to avert a playoff. Her performance is a continuation of her strong play in recent weeks; earlier this month, she was low Virginian (tied for eighth) in the 15-18 girls’ age group at the Scott Robertson Memorial, a prestigious junior golf tournament conducted annually at Roanoke (Va.) Country Club.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship was inaugurated in 1977 as an opportunity for public-course players to compete for a national championship. The WAPL is open to female amateur golfers who are bona fide public-course players and who hold a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4. It is one of only 13 national championships conducted by the USGA annually.
LORTON –– Results from 18-hole U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship sectional qualifying at Laurel Hill Golf Club on Thursday, May 29.
(a – denotes alternate)
Ju Hee Bae (Chantilly, Va.) 72
Rachel Lee (Woodstock, Md.), 74
Shannon Brooks (Vienna, Va.) 75
a – Allison Cooper (Harrisburg,Pa.), 76
a – Ashley Dingman (Lorton, Va.) 76