2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links

STORYLINES

Youngest and oldest:  The oldest player in the field is 51-year-old Lynn Decambra-McLeod of Barbados.  Decambra-McLeod was born in Guyana and lives in Edgewater, N.J.  She is a massage therapist and her husband, Paul, is caddieing for her. The youngest is 11-year-old Cyd Okino of Honolulu, Hawaii, who doesn’t turn 12 until December. Okino is the youngest winner of the Hawaii State Match Play (2005) and has three holes in one.  The average age of the competitors is 20 years old.

All-Americans:  Amie Cochran of Torrance, Calif. and Jenny Suh of Fairfax, Va., won second-team All-American honors playing at UCLA and Furman, respectively in 2005.  Cochran was the medalist at the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur.  Suh was the Southern Conference Player of the Year.

On to the Women’s Amateur:  Of the 144 players in the field, 33 will participate in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at the Settindown Creek course of Ansley Golf Club near Atlanta.  Following is the list of those players:

Christi Athas, Ames, Iowa                        Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif.

Yu-Jin Bang, Orlando, Fla.                        Amanda McCurdy, El Dorado, Ark.

Jackie Beers, Bonaire, Ga.                      Megan McLeod, Fallbrook, Calif.

Brianna Broderick, Richmond, Mo.          Tina Miller, Miami, Fla.

Sara Brown, Tucson, Ariz.                         Noriko Nakazaki, Hanover Park, Ill.

Jaclyn Burch, Satellite Beach, Fla.           Angela Park, Torrance, Calif.

Remi Jin Camping, Hollywood, Fla.         Jenna Pearson, Wheaton, Ill.

Mari Chun, Pearl City,  Hawaii                  Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif.

Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif.                Ashley Rollins, Austin, Texas

Amanda Costner, Claremore, Okla.         Kelly Schaub, Denver, Colo.

Emily Culbertson, Crestview Hills, Ky.      Amy Schmucker, Cold Spring, Minn.

Elizabeth Dotson, White Bluff, Tenn.         Nara Shin, Chula Vista, Calif.

Kailin Downs, Bend, Ore.                           Renee Skidmore, Everett, Wash.

Julia Huh, Pasadena, Md.                          Jenny Suh, Fairfax, Va.

Kelly Jacques, Longmont, Colo.                Ya-Ni Tseng. Chinese Taipei

Hannah Jun, San Diego, Calif.                   Juli Wightman, Chicopee, Mass.

Eun Jung Lee, Temecula, Calif.

Foreign Participation:  In addition to the predominantly-USA field, five other countries are represented:  Australia, Barbados, Canada, Chinese Taipei and Korea.

State by State:  A total of 35 states in the USA are represented.  California has the most participation with 22 players, followed by Florida (14) and Texas (9). Missouri has three players and Kansas has two.

PLAYER STORYLINES

Lynn Anderson of Hopkins, Minn., is a certified trainer and is the women’s tennis coach at Macalester College. She is a two-time Minnesota Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.

Deb Arbogast of Auburn, Calif., is the GM of her family’s auto body shop business. An accomplished motocross racer, she won two national titles racing a Kawasaki 250 C.C. She played professionally for six years and shot 68 at LPGA Qualifying School in 2001.

Carmen Bandea of Duluth, Ga., recently wrote to the LPGA Tour for an exemption to its entry age requirement of 18.  Bandea is 15. She attempted, unsuccessfully, to qualify for both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open earlier this year. The LPGA Tour has the letter in review.

Wallace Hamerton of Bluffton, S.C., is a pastry chef.  Her husband, Daryl, will work as her caddie.

Judy Haughton of Pennsauken, N.J. is a teacher in the Philadelphia school system. She is playing in her fourth WAPL and took up golf when she was 30. She is a competitive swimmer.

Jennifer Hedberg of Boise, Idaho, graduated from Boise State this spring. She has a caddie who can provide lots of support – her fiancé Ryan Hietala, who plays professionally on the Nationwide Tour.

Mikala Henzlik of Rapid City, S.D. is a two-sport athlete, winning all-state honors in tennis three times and golf four times. She plays tennis left-handed and golf right-handed.

Felicia Johnston of Tigard, Ore. is the women’s golf coach at Portland State. She is playing in her seventh WAPL and advanced to the round of eight in 1997. She has coached Portland State to three consecutive Big Sky Conference titles (2003, 2004, 2005) and has been named Conference Coach of the Year in those seasons. Portland State has only had a women’s golf program for seven years.

Christina Jones of Jensen Beach, Fla., was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year, playing for South Florida.

Hannah Jun of San Diego, Calif., was the PAC-10 Freshman of the Year in 2004 as the Bruins won the NCAA Championship. She also won the Junior Worlds in 2003.

Karla Kalian of Brush Prairie, Wash., is a high school math teacher who bales hay with her husband for sale around her hometown. She played college basketball at Weber State.

Leigh Klasse of St. Anthony, Minn. works as a principal infrastructure engineer at an insurance concern.  This is her 22nd WAPL and her son, Zachary (12), will caddie for her.  She was a member of the 2001 Minnesota team which won the USGA Women’s State Team Championship.

Gianna Morelli of St. Augustine, Fla., is a black belt in karate at age 14. 

Jenna Pearson of Wheaton, Ill., is the only player in this year’s field who advanced to the final 16 at both the 2004 Women’s Amateur and 2004 WAPL.

Alexandra Quagliata of Reston, Va., is a nationally ranked junior diver.

Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., is only 14 but she made match play at last year’s WAPL.  Richard Davis, who spent some time working on the PGA Tour, is her caddie.

Saana Rapakko of Portola Valley, Calif., holds dual citizenship in the USA and Finland. 

Karla Sauerwein of St. Louis, Mo., is a tractor trailer driver for Federal Express. 

Kristin Walla of Aspen, Colo., is a three-time Junior Olympic Aerial champion in freestyle skiing.

Juli Wightman of Chicopee, Mass., was the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year but she should be treated ‘royally.’ Her grandfather was a chief in the village of Loa Loa in American Somoa.  If she went there to live, she would be a princess.

Andia Winslow of Winter Garden, Fla., is a 2004 graduate of Yale. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, she is a freelance writer and a documentary filmmaker. Her uncle is Pro Football Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow. She considers World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Sifford her mentor.