Maria Fassi lives just north of Mexico City, but when it comes to qualifying for USGA championships, she feels right at home in the Denver area.

Each of the past two years, the talented golfer from south of the border has made trips to Colorado successful ones as she’s qualified for U.S. national amateur championships — the U.S. Girls’ Junior in 2013 at CommonGround and the inaugural U.S. Women’s Four-Ball last fall at Heritage at Westmoor.

And Wednesday proved a charm as the 17-year-old earned a spot into arguably the most prestigious women’s golf tournament there is, the U.S. Women’s Open.

The high school junior (above) shot rounds of 70-69 for a 5-under-par 144 total at Riverdale Dunes in Brighton to secure one of the two qualifying berths available for the Women’s Open, which will be contested July 9-12 in Lancaster, Pa.

Joining her in advancing was another highly-regarded amateur from outside the U.S. Bertine Strauss of South Africa, who just completed her college career and graduated from the University of Texas, earned medalist honors Wednesday at 138 following rounds of 70-68.

Asked to explain her USGA qualifying success in Colorado, Fassi said, “The conditions are really like what I’m used to playing. It’s the same altitude (actually Mexico City is a couple thousand feet higher) so that helps a lot. I have good memories here, so to remember that you did good here helps.”

As for Strauss, while she had never been to Colorado before this week, she’s likewise quite accustomed to playing golf at a mile-high-plus altitude as she’s from an area in South Africa that’s slightly higher than Denver. So she too felt right at home, particularly in landing a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time.

“I might just want to keep on coming back,” the 23-year-old said with a smile. “It’s got good memories so far. No reason not to want to keep coming back.”

A player with close ties to Colorado came up just short of advancing. University of Denver golfer Elyse Smidinger, who in the last year has qualified in Colorado for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Publinks, couldn’t quite make the grade on Wednesday. With a nice up-and-down for birdie on the last of her 36 holes Wednesday, Smidinger posted a 140 total (68-72), which left her as the first alternate from the Riverdale Dunes site.

In all, five players finished with sub-par totals on Wednesday. No Coloradans qualified in the Centennial State for the third consecutive year, but two in-state golfers who have previously played in the U.S. Women’s Open were in the hunt. Becca Huffer of Denver (2012 qualifier) finished sixth at even-par 144, while Carleigh Silvers of Greeley (2014 qualifier) was eighth at 145.

As it was, the two 2015 qualifiers have some pretty strong credentials. Strauss (left), a three-time South African Junior Champion, is the reigning Big 12 Conference women’s golfer of the year and last month won the Ping Arizona State University Invitational. She currently stands 56th in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Strauss has never before competed in a USGA championship, but thanks to an eight-birdie, two-bogey day on Wednesday, national tournament No. 1 is a big one.

“It’s a great honor to go to the U.S. Women’s Open,” she said. “You always watch it on TV and it’s one of the biggest stages for women’s golf. I’ll love to go. It will be a good eye-opener for me, wanting to play professionally, to see how everything works. I’ll be very excited.”

Fassi early this year won the Mexican Women’s Amateur and is currently ranked 223rd in the world among women’s amateurs.

Although at 17, Fassi already has competed in four USGA championships — two U.S. Girls’ Juniors, a U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball — and is exempt into the 2015 Girls’ Junior and the Women’s Am, getting into the U.S. Women’s Open falls into a different category.

“It means the world,” said Fassi, who has committed to play college golf at the University of Arkansas. “I want to turn professional when I’m older. To be able to play a professional tournament at this stage, this will be a really good chance for me. There’s no words to explain that.”

Fassi racked up 11 birdies to go along with six bogeys in her two rounds on Wednesday.

For scores from Wednesday’s qualifier, CLICK HERE.
 

Finishing in the top 10 in a USGA national championship is no small feat. Ask any elite-level golfer with strong Colorado ties.

In the last half-dozen USGA seasons, fewer than 10 times has a player with major Colorado connections either placed in the top 10 in an individual USGA stroke-play national championship or made it to at least the quarterfinals of an individual USGA amateur championship.

That list includes David Duval (second in 2009 U.S. Open), Steve Ziegler (quarterfinalist in 2009 U.S. Amateur), Hale Irwin (fourth in 2011 U.S. Senior Open), Mark Wiebe (eighth in 2012 U.S. Senior Open) and Marilyn Hardy (quarterfinals in 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur).

Yet in this month alone, two players with significant Colorado ties accomplished that feat. Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs made it to the final eight in the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Bethlehem, Pa., last week. And this week, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (pictured above in a USGA photo) advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur — held this year in Deal, N.J. — for the third time since 2009.

The 2014 USGA championship season for non-team events ends today with the finals of the U.S. Senior Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. After that, all that’s left is the biennial USGA Men’s State Team Championship, set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in French Lick, Ind. Steve Irwin, Jon Lindstrom and Nick Nosewicz are scheduled to represent Colorado at that event.

As for the recent USGA quarterfinalists with strong ties to the Centennial State, both Harrington and Eaton earn exemptions into their respective 2015 national championships by virtue of advancing to the final eight this month.

Harrington (left), 42, was playing in his ninth USGA championship, and his third U.S. Mid-Am, but he had never before gotten beyond the round of 16 in match play. Ironically, when he did previously go to the round of 16, he lost to a fellow Coloradan, Rick DeWitt, in the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur. This time around, after qualifying for match play and winning his first three matches, the 2009 CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year fell 5 and 3 to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, Mich., who won the 2013 Michigan Open title as an amateur.

For the record, by the way, had Harrington won the title, he would have been the second national Mid-Am champion from Colorado. Bill Loeffler, who has gone on to win three Colorado Open titles, claimed the U.S. Mid-Am title in 1986.

At the Senior Women’s Amateur, Eaton, 55, went 19 holes in the round of 16 to defeat former U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Corey Weworski and earn a quarterfinal spot. But, just as was the case in 2011, Eaton fell in the quarters to Terri Frohnmayer of Salem, Ore.

Eaton, a native of Greeley who now lives in Tempe, Ariz., was competing in her 22nd USGA championship. Besides this year and in 2011, she made the U.S. Senior Women’s Am quarterfinals in 2009. She won 21 CWGA championships before “retiring” from those competitions at the end of the 2013 season. She’s been the CWGA Senior Player of the Year each of the past five years.

Eaton and Harrington are two of the 13 players with strong Colorado connections who in 2014 made cuts during the 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. (Note: Making cuts in this case means advancing to match play in amateur-only events, or surviving 36-hole cuts in open championships).

Here’s the rundown:

U.S. Open — Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler finished 63rd.

U.S. Women’s Open — Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim finished 59th.

U.S. Senior Open — Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo finished 14th.

U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links — DU golfer Elyse Smidinger advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Amateur Public Links — Chris Korte of Littleton, a current DU golfer, advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Junior Amateur — Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Girls’ Junior — Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster tied for eighth place in stroke play, easily advancing to match play, then lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Women’s Amateur — Former University of Colorado golfer Jennifer Coleman made match play, won one match and lost in the round of 32 to Alison Lee, the No. 3-ranked female amateur in the world at the time.

U.S. Amateur — No local players advanced to match play.

U.S. Mid-Amateur — Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs made match play, won three matches and lost in the quarterfinals, which makes him exempt from qualifying next year.

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur — Shannon Langhardt of Lakewood made match play and lost in round of 64.

U.S. Senior Amateur — No local players advanced to match play.

U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur — Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton made match play, won three matches and lost in the quarterfinals for the third time in the last six years, which makes her exempt from qualifying in 2015. Also making match play, but losing in the round of 64 were Christie Austin of Greenwood Village, a former USGA Executive Committee member, and part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy.
 

Hannah Wood and her dad, Don, won’t soon forget how they spent Father’s Day last year.

Wood, an alternate for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links after the qualifying tournament, received a phone call that Sunday notifying her that she had a spot in the national championship.

The only problem was, they were in Centennial, and the championship was in Norman, Okla., and competition was starting the next day.

The Woods packed up, hopped in the car about midday on Father’s Day and arrived in Norman about 11:30 p.m. Hannah didn’t have an opportunity to play a practice round, though Don checked out the course in the morning before her afternoon tee time.

Despite the disadvantage, Hannah finished 34th out of the 156-player field in stroke play, earning a spot in match play before losing in the first round.

It was all a fun and exciting experience, but this year, there will be no need to rush around at the last minute.

That’s because the recent Arapahoe High School graduate earned medalist honors on Tuesday in the national Women’s Public Links qualifier at Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora.

In fact, Wood left nothing to chance in that regard as her 2-under-par 70 was the best score of the day by a whopping five shots.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” she said of qualifying for the Publinks again. “Honestly, I love the idea of the Publinks. It’s my favorite tournament by far. And I would love to go to Washington. It’s always been on my bucket list. Especially since this is the last Publinks, it means the world just to qualify.”

Wood, who’s been part of the first two classes of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course, will be going to her fifth USGA championship — all coming in the last two years. She’s also made it to a USGA Women’s State Team, where she finished 11th individually last year, a U.S. Girls’ Junior, a U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2013 Publinks.

This year’s Women’s Publinks is scheduled for July 14-19 at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash.

Wood, a University of Oklahoma signee, was one of four qualifiers on Tuesday at Saddle Rock. Also advancing to the national championship are three players who carded 75s: Taylor Dorans of Erie, Mikayla Tatman of Fort Collins, and University of Denver golfer Elyse Smidinger of Crofton, Md. (The four qualifiers are pictured above. From left: Smidinger, Wood, Tatman and Dorans.)

Twenty-two players entered the qualifying tournament, though three withdrew beforehand.

Wood, winner of the last two CJGA Tournament of Champions, was coming off a disappointing ending of her high school career at last week’s 5A state tournament. She birdied the final hole to get into a playoff, but three putted the first sudden-death hole to finish second to Rock Canyon’s Michelle Romano.

“I would much rather play in a USGA event,” Wood said. “Of course, I wanted to win state high school, but this is quite the honor. (USGA championships) are the best tournaments in golf. I adore the USGA tournaments and how they set them up, and the courses are just amazing.”

On Tuesday, the 18-year-old (left) made five birdies and three bogeys, finishing on a high note with birdies on 17 and 18. Coincidentally, she also won a high school tournament at Saddle Rock this year with a score of 70, though it was set up much more difficult on Tuesday.

“I had three 5-footers for birdie,” Wood noted. “My ball-striking was pretty good. It was solid — a few birdies, a few bogeys and I just hung in there.”

While all of Tuesday’s other qualifiers have competed in USGA championships before, Tatman will be making her debut in Washington, which will be the site of the final Women’s Publinks after a 38-year run. Also in July, the last men’s U.S. Amateur Public Links will be held. The USGA announced last year that it is discontinuing both championships.

“This is my first USGA event that I’ll be going to,” said Tatman, a redshirt junior-to-be on the Colorado State women’s golf team. “I really wanted this one. I’m very pleased.

“I was one stroke away last year (from a potential playoff at this qualifier). I’ve been close but I’ve never been able to break through. It doesn’t matter if it’s the U.S. Women’s Open or the Amateur or the Publinks; it’s still a national tournament. I’m just ecstatic right now. I really am. It’s special, too, to be able to go to the last one. We’re going to have fun, that’s for sure.”

Tatman, the 2011 CWGA Junior Match Play runner-up, had to dig herself out of a hole Tuesday to qualify. She was 4 over par through three holes, having gone double bogey, bogey, bogey. But she went 1 under the rest of the way and made a 25-foot birdie on No. 18.

“I’ve really been working on mentally staying in it,” she said. “It’s not ever over until your last putt drops on 18. I just kept that mindset and it worked out.”

Tatman, who attended Silver Creek High School in Longmont and played golf for Skyline, was happy to come through not only for herself but in honor of her dad, Lloyd, who passed away in 2012 after battling cancer.

“I’ve just been trying to come out here and play the best I can for him,” Mikayla Tatman said. “So this is very special.”

Dorans, a University of Wyoming golfer who posted four top-six showings in the 4A state tournament while attending Broomfield High, will be going to her first U.S. Women’s Publinks. However, she did play in the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

On Tuesday, Dorans overcame a double bogey on the third hole to punch her ticket to nationals.

“It’s really special (to qualify) because it’s the last one,” the 19-year-old sophomore-to-be said. “Being able to represent the public courses is an honor. (Qualifying for a USGA event) is unbelievable. They treat you so well and the courses they set up for you are great. It’s like, all your hard work has paid off.”

Dorans, winner of the 2011 CJGA Junior Series Championship, was happy with her solid performance Tuesday after she had struggled some in recent rounds.

“It’s good to have a good round under my belt,” she said. “I felt really good about today, especially coming off the last couple of rounds I had — which weren’t exactly what I wanted them to be. Playing solid today, with a lot of pars, felt really good.”

In her first Women’s Publinks qualifier, Smidinger had to sweat out advancing after being in very good position two-thirds of the way through her round on Tuesday. She was 1 under par through 12 holes, but bogeyed her next four before righting the ship to close with two pars.

“It’s exciting to go there and represent my school as well,” she said of DU. “And we’ll be a part of history in the last one, which is kind of exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”

This will be Smidinger’s fourth USGA championship, and she has the distinction of being one of the rare 64th seeds to beat out a medalist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. That was in 2011, when she prevailed in a 5 players-for-1 spot playoff that earned her the final spot in match play. She then defeated co-medalist Jihee Kim in her first match before falling in the round of 32.

“That was a lot of fun,” said the two-time Maryland state high school champion. “Hopefully I can make it a little higher on the leaderboard (this time at the Publinks) so I don’t have to beat the No. 1 seed.”

U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Qualifying
At Par-72 Saddle Rock GC in Aurora

QUALIFIED FOR NATIONALS
Hannah Wood, Centennial 70
Taylor Dorans, Erie 75
Elyse Smidinger, Crofton, Md. 75
Mikayla Tatman, Fort Collins 75

ALTERNATES (In Order)
Morgan Sahm, Centennial 77
Somin Lee, Centennial 77

FAILED TO QUALIFY
Jennifer Kupcho, Westminster 77
Paige Crawford, Colorado Springs 78
Molly Dorans, Erie 79
Tori Glenn, Castle Pines 79
Kayla Riede, Colorado Springs 79
Mary Weinstein, Highlands Ranch 80
Amy Chitkoksoong, Aurora 82
Jenni Chun, Lone Tree 83
Jaylee Tait, Littleton 83
Shanon Spinuzzi, Pueblo 83
Julia Kim, Aurora 85
Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs 94
Savannah Walker, Denver 100
Delaney Benson, Littleton WD
Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch WD
Tonya Hardman, Highlands Ranch WD