Golf: Grimes is first alternate for U.S. Women's Open

Alexandria’s Lisa Grimes will be the first alternate for the U.S. Women’s Open after finishing second in the U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying tournament at the Wayzata Country Club on May 28.

Grimes positioned herself to make a run at the Open berth before her putter led her astray down the stretch. The director of instructions at AGC had a stretch of four consecutive three-putt bogeys. That left her with a second-round 78 and a 36-hole score of 154.

University of Virginia golfer Briana Mao won the only U.S. Open spot available at this year’s tournament by winning the event with a 76, 77 – 153. Grimes went on to win a playoff to determine the first alternate by parring the first extra hole against Iowa State’s On-lam Sasikarn.

Grimes and the rest of the field had to play on a course that was playing especially long after five inches of rain fell on it in the days leading up to the tournament. That slowed down a course that already measured 6,694 yards that day.

“I wore out the longest clubs in my bag today,” Grimes said after the tournament. “I drove the ball well. I hit a lot of fairways, and that was encouraging because I’m playing in the LPGA next week [at Locus Hill CC in Pittsford, New York], and you’re going to need to hit the fairways in that tournament. But that course won’t play nearly as long as this one. It will be shorter, and they’ll have the fairways fast so you can get an extra 30 yards if you’re in the fairway. There wasn’t any of that here today.”

Grimes overcame a slow start to the tournament to give herself a chance. She was 5-over after six holes in the tournament before playing 1-over through the next 25 holes. She moved to the front of the leaderboard through the first 12 holes of her second round before her putter let her down.

“I just couldn’t get the ball to the hole,” she said.

Grimes wasn’t the only Alexandria golfer in the field. Maggie Leland, a sophomore at Division II Augustana in Sioux Falls, finished 25th in the tournament with an 86, 88 – 174. Former Minnewaska standout Sarah Roering also played, finishing 28th with a 92, 87 – 179.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, golf, lisa, grimes