Adjusting From Euphoria Of U.S. Women's Open To Girls' Junior

By David Shefter, USGA

Bedminster, N.J. – No ropes. No grandstands full of cheering fans. No autograph seekers. And certainly no stylish courtesy cars.

The practice range won’t have equipment representatives to try out the latest gear nor will there be an on-site fitness trailer.

	Alison Lee, 14, enjoyed performing in front of the huge crowds at the U.S. Women's Open. (John Mummert/USGA)

For the 10 juniors who competed at the recent U.S. Women’s Open, the upcoming U.S. Girls’ Junior at Trump National Golf Club might feel like a club championship.

Of course, that’s not the case. But when you’ve been cheered and adored like a rock star for a week, it’s sometimes difficult to adjust downward.

“I think I am going to miss it,” said 14-year-old Alison Lee, the youngest of the three juniors to play all 72 holes at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Old Course. “If I make a putt [at junior events], my mom and dad probably will be the only ones clapping.”

While the Girls’ Junior won’t generate the thousands of fans who flocked to Lehigh Valley two weeks ago, it certainly won’t lack for prestige. Some of the game’s greatest players have won this championship, including Nancy Lopez, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Amy Alcott and Mickey Wright.

Recently, the event has been dominated by those not old enough to drive … a car that is. Jenny Shin of Torrance, Calif., won at 13 in 2006 and she was followed by 14-year-old Kristen Park of Buena Park, Calif., and 13-year-old Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla. All three are in this year’s field, with the latter two having qualified for the 2009 Women’s Open. Thompson, 16 days older than Lee, made the cut and shot 11-over-par 295.

Lee and 16-year-old Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., were the other two girls to enjoy an extra two trips around Saucon Valley. In fact, Korda shot a final-round 69 for the second consecutive year and shared second low-amateur honors with Lee at 9-over 293. Korda was the only golfer to record an eagle-2 at the shortened par-4 15th hole in the final round.

A birdie at the 17th hole allowed Lee to post a final-round 70 (one under).

Lee and Korda left immediately after the Women’s Open to play in the McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Girls Championship in the Philadelphia suburb of

Malvern, Pa., where spectators likely were limited to friends, family and a few curious onlookers. Lee had never experienced anything like the crowds she encountered at Saucon Valley. She learned to love the attention.

“I liked it because if you made a putt, they cheered for you,” said Lee, who will be a high school freshman in the fall. “It’s also more nerve-racking because more people are watching you. You don’t want to mess up in front of them because it can be embarrassing.”

And she also got plenty of practice signing her name. Whether it was a hat, ball or flag, Lee got plenty of use out of her pens.

“I practiced in the car,” said Lee. “I showed two different signatures to my mom. She told me since they don’t know who you are to make sure to sign it so they can read it.”

Now that Lee has made a Women’s Open cut, there might be some added attention from fellow competitors at the Girls’ Junior. Even Thompson knows that nothing is guaranteed even though she is the defending champion. In 2007, Shin missed the cut while defending and Park lost in the third round last year.

“Anybody can win in match play,” said Thompson, who also shared low-amateur honors at the Kraft Nabisco Championship earlier this year. “It’s a pretty good feeling, and it’s good [to be defending] going into it. But when you get there, it doesn’t give me that much of an advantage.”

David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.