Brits Carly Booth, Meghan MacLaren and Kelsey MacDonald were among four players who qualified for the US Women’s Open at Buckinghamshire Golf Club.
Brits Carly Booth, Meghan MacLaren and Kelsey MacDonald were among four players who qualified for the US Women’s Open at Buckinghamshire Golf Club.
Booth and Swede Caroline Hedwall tied on 143, one-under-par, after 36 holes played in testing conditions.
After finishing two strokes back, MacLaren and MacDonald then earned their spots following a one-hole play-off with Valdis Thora Jonsdottir. The two Britons both made regulation pars on the par-3 ninth, despite the driving rain and swirling winds, while Jonsdottir bogeyed the hole.
Booth, 24, from Perthshire in Scotland, was thrilled to qualify for the $5 million Major championship, which will take place on July 13-17. The two-time LET tournament winner said:
“It was a roller coaster out there. The wind was switching and it was raining sideways. It was like a battlefield, but I stayed strong, positive and patient.''
“Today, a lot of it was good and I had a few bad shots in every part of my game, but I think that’s because the weather was so tough. I holed some really good putts and hit some really good drives. I think that was the key today, hitting fairways and greens and giving myself some chances.”
Ladies European Tour Rookie MacLaren led the field after an opening round of 69, but bogeyed her final two holes for a second-round of 76 later in the day. After a tense wait, followed by some putting in the torrential rain and a solid performance in the play-off, the 24-year-old from Northamptonshire was finally able to celebrate qualifying for her first Major championship.
The two-time LET Access Series tournament winner, who recently captured the Azores Ladies Open, said: “Everything that you’ve done before comes down to one hole, or one shot. You have to get your mind right and treat it the same as you would any other shot: it’s nice to get it done.
“I started off really, really well this morning and that’s what got me to this point, the way I played the first seven holes. I managed to make my score when the conditions weren’t too bad and then it was just a case of grinding as well as I could after that, because conditions were really tough out there. I was happy with what I did.
“This is the first time I’ve come to qualifying, so to suddenly be in the US Women’s Open, I’ve never played in a Major before, so it will be amazing to play against the best players in the world and I can’t wait!”
MacDonald, 26, from Inverness, previously qualified for the US Women’s Open as a rookie in 2004 and will make her second appearance this summer.
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