Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Ellenbogen makes pro field
The Blacksburg High junior qualifies for an LPGA event.
The Roanoke Times I File 2007
Courtney Ellenbogen will play in Williamsburg.
She qualified and played in the U.S. Women's Open last summer, missing the 36-hole cut by a single shot. Now she's going be teeing it up with the LPGA Tour's finest this week in the Michelob ULTRA Open in Williamsburg.
Courtney Ellenbogen, you go, girl.
Once again showing she can play competitively with anyone of her gender in the world, Ellenbogen fired a 3-under 69 Monday at Kingsmill Resort's Plantation Course to tie for medalist honors in a special qualifier and earn a spot in one of the most prestigious events in women's golf.
"This is definitely right up there with the Open and some of my big wins," said Ellenbogen, a 17-year-old junior at Blacksburg High School. "It's an opportunity to gain more experience and trying to compete with the best players."
Video
Fine-tuning her game in 2008: Courtney Ellenbogen, Blacksburg High School junior, in weekly practice session with her pro. She's going to Duke, the nation's No. 1 program, on scholarship, and will play in several major junior events in next few months. Click the arrow to play.
Ellenbogen, who is 10th in Golfweek's latest girls' junior rankings, captured one of two berths in the field in the 72-hole event that starts Thursday at Kingsmill's River Course.
Na Yeon Choi of South Korea, an LPGA rookie who has three top-10 finishes in three starts this year, also shot 69 to claim the other available spot in the star-studded field.
After three-putting the first hole and making bogey, Ellenbogen played flawlessly the rest of the way. She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. She scored four birdies in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 7 through 11, then parred the final seven holes on the 6,250-yard course.
"I dropped a few long putts and my long game was just good and solid," Ellenbogen said.
Ellenbogen will get up early today and play her first practice round on the tournament course. Unlike the other 134 players, including 47 of the top 50 current money leaders on the LPGA Tour, she won't be around Wednesday. She has a Calculus exam at Blacksburg High.
"Oh, well ... because of the amount of school I've missed, I have to go to school at least one day this week," said Ellenbogen, who plans on studying for four hours on the drive back to Blacksburg tonight. "It's going to be a quick trip home, though."
Roanoke's Meredith Swanson, the only other amateur who attempted to qualify in Monday's 18-player field, shot a 78.
