Fouch Qualifies For U.S. Women's Open
6/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
June 13, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Allison Fouch, a 2004 Michigan State graduate and an honorable mention All-American as a senior, qualified for the U.S. Women's Open on Monday at The Village Links of Glen Ellyn in Glen Ellyn, Ill., carding a 36-hole score of 146. It will be Fouch's second trip to the U.S. Women's Open, as she also qualified in 2003 as an amateur while playing at MSU. The 2007 U.S. Women's Open is slated for June 28-July 1 at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.
Fouch, after narrowly missing a chance to earn an LPGA card this season by finishing sixth on the FUTURES Tour in 2006 - the top five on the money list earn LPGA cards, has rebounded with her finest season ever on the FUTURES Tour. She currently leads all money winners on the tour, having raked in $37,776 in nine tournaments. She has finished in the top 10 in eight events and leads the tour with a 71.70 stroke average. She has also won two events on the tour, taking the title at the United States Steel Golf Classic on Sunday in Hammond, Ind., with a three-round total of 2-under-par 214 (72-76-66). She also won the Power of a Dream Golf Classic on April 15 in Frisco, Texas, with a 4-under-par 212 (68-72-72) during the three-day tournament. The win at the Power of a Dream Golf Classic was her first professional win after she won three events at MSU.
Fouch will be returning to the site of her first collegiate win, as she won the Needles Invitational in 2001 with a two-round score of 145 (74-71). From there, Fouch earned the first of three All-Big Ten honors and finished her career with a 76.49 scoring average, the third-best in school history, in 138 rounds.
The United States Women's Open, sponsored by the United States Golf Association, was added to the USGA's roster of championships in 1953, 58 years after the first U.S. Women's Amateur. In recent years, the U.S. Women's Open has truly become the world arena of women's golf. The USGA has served as the national governing body of golf for the U.S., its territories and Mexico since its formation in 1894. It's a non-profit organization run by golfers for the benefit of golfers. The Association sponsors a variety of programs that benefit everyone who plays the game, from conducting 13 national championships each year, to writing and interpreting the Rules of Golf, to funding turf grass and course maintenance practices, to supporting grassroots programs through its "For the Good of the Game" initiative.