Powers Set To Tee Off In U.S. Open On Thursday

June 24, 2008

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas junior-to-be Emily Powers will tee off with the greatest women’s golfers in the world when she competes in the prestigious U.S. Open Women’s Golf Championship at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. beginning Thursday.

Powers, who qualified for the event as an amateur, is slated to begin the tournament on Thursday at 9:01 a.m. She is grouped with professionals Hee Young Park of Korea and Janell Howland of Boise, Idaho. The same threesome will play the second round on Friday at 2:31 p.m.

Park has 14 starts on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour as a rookie this year. She has earned $165,541 and has posted two top-10 finishes already this season. Howland is a former LPGA player, who has been playing on the Futures Tour. She won the Louisiana Pelican Classic on the Futures circuit in 2007.

Powers led Kansas with a scoring average of 75.53 this past season. She was KU’s top finisher in eight of 11 tournaments, earning All-Big 12 honors, as well as a trip to the NCAA Regional as an individual qualifier.

Powers’ best finish on the year was a tie for second at the Kitahara Invitational in Fresno, Calif. in February. Powers shot 72-73–145 in that two-round tournament. She also tied for seventh in two other tournaments for her next two best finishes.

The Quincy, Ill. native will be competing against the likes of former champions Cristie Kerr, Annika Sorenstam, Birdie Kim, Meg Mallon, Juli Inkster, and Se Ri Pak among others.

Powers earned a berth in the tournament by winning a nine-player playoff at the local qualifier in Michigan on May 19. Last week Powers tuned up for the Open by advancing to the round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.

ESPN will broadcast the first two round of the championship, airing the Open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday and from 2-6 p.m. on Friday. NBC will carry the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday from 2-5 p.m.

Real-time scoring is available through the tournament’s web site at uswomensopen.com.