PO‘IPU — Mariel Galdiano of Pearl City, O‘ahu roared back with a two-over par 74 in the second round to clinch the 2011 U. S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifier, Sunday at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course. Alice Kim of Honolulu,
PO‘IPU — Mariel Galdiano of Pearl City, O‘ahu roared back with a two-over par 74 in the second round to clinch the 2011 U. S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifier, Sunday at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course.
Alice Kim of Honolulu, winning the first round of the 36-hole qualifier, dropped to the First Alternate spot with a two-round total 153, just a stroke back of Galdiano’s two-round total 152.
Kim, heading for Gonzaga University, charged the first round, taking shots where other girls played conservative, winning the round with a three-over par 75, but in the second round, dropped to a tie for fourth place with Kaua‘i’s Kellie Oride at 78 despite spending her break working on various approach shots at the driving range.
Play at 6,391 yards was governed by the brisk trades blanketing the course punctuated by quick-moving rain squalls.
Galdiano, who lagged in the final grouping, finished her first round at 78, but roared back to finish tops in the second round, tying Alina Ching of Honolulu at 74 for her two-round total of 152 and a trip to play in the U.S. Women’s Open Championship at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 7 through 10.
Oride, the top girls golfer for the Kaua‘i High School program and the only Kauaian in the qualifier, finished second in the first round and third overall, earning the second alternate spot at 154, two strokes off the pace.
Ciera Min of Hilo (80-75) finished in a three-way tie at 155 with Allisen Corpuz (79-76) of Honolulu who took the first alternate spot in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links qualifier, Saturday. Kacie Komoto (80-75) of Honolulu also finished at 155.
Alina Ching of Honolulu, getting the benefit of T.J. Kua, winner of the U.S. Amateur Public Links, Saturday, as her caddy, charged back from an opening round 82 to finish tied for first at 74 in the second round, finishing at 156.
Margaret Min (80-82) and Cyd Okino (83-79), both of Honolulu, tied at 162 followed by Brittany Fan of Pearl City at 166 (88-78).
Nani Yanagi of Hilo, winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, Saturday, finished at 168 (89-79) followed by University of Hawai‘i golfer Anna Depalma of San Clemente, California (88-82-170) and Ikumi Lee of Honolulu at 184 (96-88).
Mary Bea Porter-King, scheduled to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association, June 7 in New York, said the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course staff did a superb job in accomodating the three tournaments over two days.
The 36-hole Sectional Qualifying tournament is one of 20 qualifiers being held around the United States over the next few weeks with top players from each Sectional Qualifier advancing to the U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
The U.S. Women’s Open is one of 13 National Championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association.
Visit www.usga.org for more information.
