Blumenherst and Thompson Lead 2010 U.S. Women's Open Qualifiers

Far Hills, N.J. (June 4) - USGA champions earned medalist honors at five of the 20 sectional qualifiers conducted for the 2010 U.S. Women's Open Championship, which will be played July 8-11 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Sixty-eight players were fully exempt into the championship's 156-player field, leaving 84 spots open in the field for qualifiers. Four spots are still being held open for the winners of the next four LPGA Tour events, should those winners not already be fully exempt into the Women's Open. 

Alexis Thompson, 15, of Coral Springs, Fla., will return for her fourth consecutive championship after earning medalist honors at the sectional qualifier at Plantation Bay Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. Thompson, the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior champion, became the youngest U.S. Women's Open qualifier in history when she earned a place in the 2007 championship.

Kimberly Kim, 18, of Pahoa, Hawaii, earned medalist honors at the qualifier at the Broadmoor Golf Club's East Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. Kim, who became the youngest U.S. Women's Amateur winner in history when she won the 2006 championship at age 14, will be playing in her fifth consecutive Women's Open.

Other USGA champions earning medalist honors were: 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur winner Amanda Blumenherst, 23, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links winner Mina Harigae, 20, of Monterey, Calif.; and 2006 and 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Tiffany Joh, 23, of San Diego, Calif.

Four other USGA champions also qualified: Meredith Duncan, 30, of Shreveport, La. (2001 U.S. Women's Amateur); Julieta Granada, 23, of Paraguay (2004 U.S. Girls' Junior); Jill McGill, 38, of San Diego, Calif. (1993 U.S. Women's Amateur and 1994 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links); and Jenny Shin, 17, of Torrance, Calif. (2007 U.S. Girls' Junior).

Thompson and Kim are two of the four members of the 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team who earned a place in the U.S. Women's Open. They will be joined by Stephanie Kono, 20, of Honolulu, Hawaii; and Jessica Korda, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., who earned medalist honors at The Oaks Club in Osprey, Fla. Two other members of the 2010 USA Team were already exempt into the Women's Open: reigning U.S. Women's Amateur and U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Jennifer Song, 20, of Ann Arbor, Mich., and 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur runner-up Jennifer Johnson, 18, of La Quinta, Calif. One member of the Great Britain and Ireland 2010 Curtis Cup Team, Sally Watson, 18, of Scotland, also qualified.

At age 14, Yueer Feng of Orlando, Fla., will be the youngest in the U.S. Women's Open field for the second consecutive year. She is one of 20 teenagers who earned a place in the field via sectional qualifying. Joining Feng, Kim, Korda, Shin, Thompson and Watson in the field are: Jaye Marie Green, 16, of Boca Raton, Fla.; Nicole Zhang, 17, of Canada; Tiffany Lim, 16, of San Jose, Calif.; Alison Lee, 15, of Valencia, Calif.; Gabriella Then, 14, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Victoria Tanco, 16, of Argentina; Chella Choi, 19, of Korea; Lisa McCloskey, 18, of Houston, Texas; Christine Wong, 18, of Canada; Sun Gyoung Park, 18, of Korea; Ariya Jutanugarn, 14, of Thailand; Danielle Kang, 17, of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Brittany Altomare, 19, of Shrewsbury, Mass.; and Jennifer Kirby, 19, of Canada.

Martha Nause, 55, of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., earned medalist honors at White Bear Yacht Club in White Bear Lake, Minn. Nause will be the oldest in the field at Oakmont.
The U.S. Women's Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. Other championships include the U.S. Open, the U.S. Senior Open, and 10 national amateur championships.

A list of the players who qualified for the 2010 U.S. Women's Open, including qualifying sites and scores, follows:

Key
(a) - amateur
A - alternate
(qualifying score in parentheses)

White Bear Lake, Minn. (White Bear Yacht Club)
Martha Nause, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (75-74--149)
A - Noriko Nakazaki, Hanover Park, Ill. (78-74--152)
A - (a) Olivia Lansing, Dellwood, Minn. (75-78--153)

Fort Worth, Texas (Shady Oaks Country Club)
Maria Hernandez, Spain (70-74--144)
Taylor Leon, Dallas, Texas (72-73--145)
Heather Young, Edmond, Okla. (74-73--147)
A - Pernilla Lindberg, Sweden (76-73--149)
A - (a) Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth, Texas (76-75--151)

Ormond Beach, Fla. (Plantation Bay Country Club)
(a) Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (71-67--138)
(a) Yueer Feng, Orlando, Fla. (71-73--144)
(a) Jaye Marie Green, Boca Raton, Fla. (72-73--145)
Shasta Averyhardt, Flint, Mich. (73-74--147)
Sarah Kemp, Australia (73-75--148)
Veronica Felibert, Venezuela (74-75--149)
A - Lori Kane, Canada (77-72--149)
A - Paola Moreno, Colombia (74-75--151)
Scottsdale, Ariz. (Pinnacle Peak Country Club)
Aiko Ueno, Japan (71-71--142)
Shi Hyun Ahn, Irvine, Calif. (69-73--142)
Paige Mackenzie, Yakima, Wash. (69-74--143)
(a) Nicole Zhang, Canada (71-74--145)
(a) Juliana Murcia Ortiz, Colombia (75-71--146)
Esther Choe, Scottsdale, Ariz. (72-75--147)
A - Louise Stahle, Scottsdale, Ariz. (75-72--147)
A - (a) Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. (71-77--148)

Corral De Tierra, Calif. (Corral de Tierra Country Club)
Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (73-76--149)
(a) Tiffany Lim, San Jose, Calif. (75-74--149)
Sofie Andersson, Sweden (75-75--150)
(a) Sally Watson, Scotland (71-79--150)
A - (a) Grace Na, Oakland, Calif. (76-75--151)
A - (a) Emily Childs, Alameda, Calif. (76-75--151)

Mission Viejo, Calif. (Mission Viejo Country Club)
Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif. (74-71--145)
(a) Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. (71-76--147)
Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif. (72-76--148)
(a) Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (75-74--149)
A - Jennie Lee, Henderson, Nev. (77-73--150)
A - (a) Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (71-79--150)

Osprey, Fla. (The Oaks Club)
(a) Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (68-68--136)
Samantha Richdale, Canada (70-71--141)
Jennifer Gleason, Clearwater, Fla. (72-72--144)
(a) Victoria Tanco, Argentina (75-69--144)
(a) Sandra Changkija, Orlando, Fla. (71-75--146)
A - Haeji Kang, Korea (72-74--146)
A - (a) Lindy Duncan, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (72-74--146)

Long Grove, Ill. (Twin Orchard Country Club)
Libby Smith, Essex Junction, Vt. (71-74--145)
Nicole Jeray, Berwyn, Ill. (72-73--145)
(a) Laura Kueny, Whitehall, Mich. (70-75--145)
Ashli Bunch, Morristown, Tenn. (72-74--146)
(a) Junthima Gulyanamitta, Thailand (73-73--146)
A - (a) Vaishavi Sinha, India (73-73--146)
A - Seul-Ki Park, Northbrook, Ill. (74-72--146)

Rockville, Md. (Woodmont Country Club)
Chella Choi, Korea (70-70--140)
Karine Icher, Switzerland (72-69--141)
Pornanong Phatlum, Thailand (71-71--142)
Hye Jung Choi, Korea (71-72--143)
Laura Diaz, Scotia, N.Y. (73-70--143)
Meredith Duncan, Shreveport, La. (69-75--144)
Alison Walshe, Westford, Mass. (70-74--144)
Julieta Granada, Paraguay (72-73--145)
Alena Sharp, Canada (77-68--145)
Shanshan Feng, Peoples Republic of China (73-73--146)
Jung Yeon Lee, Korea (71-76--147)
Louise Friberg, Sweden (74-74--148)
A - Angela Oh, Maple Shade, N.J. (73-75--148)
A - Jenny Suh, Fairfax, Va. (74-74--148)

St. Louis, Mo. (Persimmon Woods Country Club)
(a) Kelli Shean, South Africa (74-71--145)
Lucy Nunn, Canada (73-73--146)
A - (a) Sara-Maude Juneau, Lawton, Okla. (75-71--146)
A - (a) Ellen Mueller, Bartlesville, Okla. (73-75--148)

Richmond, Texas (Shadow Hawk Golf Club)
(a) Lisa McCloskey, Houston, Texas (73-69--142)
Christi Cano, San Antonio, Texas (73-71--144)
(a) Janine Fellows, Houston, Texas (73-72--145)
A - (a) Nicole Vandermade, Canada (74-71--145)
A - Karin Sjodin, Sweden (73-73--146)

Washington, N.J. (Hawk Pointe Golf Club)
Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz. (74-70--144)
Azahara Munoz, Spain (73-71--144)
Naon Min, Korea (72-72--144)
Jennifer Rosales, Philippines (76-69--145)
A - Jimin Kang, Korea (73-72--145)
A - Soo Yun Kang, Korea (75-71--146)

Alpharetta, Ga. (White Columns Country Club)
Allison Fouch, Grand Rapids, Mich. (75-69--144)
Karen Stupples, England (74-71--145)
Sarah Lynn Sargent, Greer, S.C. (74-72--146)
Stacy Prammanasudh, Enid, Okla. (75-71--146)
Irene Cho, La Habra, Calif. (74-72--146)
A - (a) Jaclyn Sweeney, Bradenton, Fla. (75-72--147)
A - (a) Katie Burnett, Brunswick, Ga. (76-71--147)
Roslyn, Wash. (Tumble Creek Club)
(a) Christine Wong, Canada (78-69--147)
A - Kirby Dreher, Canada (75-78--153)
A - (a) Whitney French, Corvallis, Ore. (76-78--154)

Ewa Beach, Hawaii (Hoakalei Country Club)
Sakurako Mori, Japan (74-70--144)
A - (a) Kristina Merkle, Honolulu, Hawaii (73-74--147)
A - (a) Cassy Isagawa, Wailuku, Hawaii (77-73--150)

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Broadmoor Golf Club)
Kimberly Kim, Pahoa, Hawaii (71-72--143)
Jill McGill, San Diego, Calif. (71-76--147)
Mhairi McKay, Scotland (77-73--150)
A - Katie Kempter, Albuquerque, N.M. (74-77--151)
A - (a) Becca Huffer, Denver, Colo. (78-74--152)

City of Industry, Calif. (Industry Hills Golf Club - Eisenhower Course)
Giulia Sergas, Italy (70-68--138)
Belen Mozo, Spain (70-71--141)
(a) Kaitlin Drolson, San Diego, Calif. (70-71--141)
(a) Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (72-70--142)
(a) Sun Gyoung Park, Vail, Ariz. (71-72--143)
Charlotte Mayorkas, Las Vegas, Nev. (69-75--144)
(a) Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (72-72--144)
(a) Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (75-70--145)
(a) Lizette Salas, Asuza, Calif. (70-75--145)
Tamie Durdin, Australia (71-74--145)
Anna Rawson, Australia (72-74--146)
A - (a) Brittany Mai, San Diego, Calif. (76-71--147)
A - (a) Lee Lopez, Whittier, Calif. (74-73--147)

South Hadley, Mass. (Twin Hills Country Club)
(a) Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass. (71-69--140)
Elizabeth Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn. (69-73--142)
A - (a) Marina Alex, Wayne, N.J. (76-67--143)
A - (a) Joanna Coe, Mays Landing, N.J. (73-72--145)

Pittsburgh, Pa. (Fox Chapel Golf Club)
Janice Moodie, Scotland (72-74--146)
(a) Jennifer Kirby, Canada (75-74--149)
Becky Morgan, Wales (77-72--149)
A - (a) Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Canada (76-73--149)
A - (a) Rachel Rohanna, Waynesburg, Pa. (75-78--153)

Sanford, N.C. (Carolina Trace Country Club - Lake Course)
Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (69-70--139)
Gwladys Nocera, France (74-68--142)
Joomi Kim, Korea (72-71--143)
A - (a) Courtney Ellenbogen, Blackburg, Va. (77-68--145)
A - (a) Katie Rose Higgins, Charleston, S.C. (72-76--148)