Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Rebels’ Oh earns berth in qualifier

Here are the scores from Monday's qualifying tournament for the LPGA Takefuji Classic at Las Vegas Country Club. The top two players earned spots:

71 -- Sunny Lee

72 -- Sunny Oh

73 -- Karine Icher

74 -- Diane Irvin, Leslie Spalding, Jen Hanna

75 -- Angela Buzminski, Katherine Hull

76 -- Angie Rizzo

77 -- Vikki Laing, Semma Sadekar (a)

78 -- Missie Berteotti

79 -- Jessica Reese, Amy Chin Huei Hung, Stacy Snider

As she finally left her spy post just outside the scoring tent, Sunny Oh curled up a smile worthy of her name and pointed a jubilant finger at her chest.

This year, there would be no playoff and no more nerves. Oh, a sophomore standout on the UNLV women's golf team, earned a spot in this week's LPGA Takefuji Classic by finishing second in Monday qualifying at Las Vegas Country Club with a score of even-par 72. Fellow Korean native Sunny Lee posted the low score of 71 to grab the other berth.

A year ago, Oh lost in a Monday playoff at the Takefuji. She thought she might find herself in the same situation again as she sailed her approach on the final hole into a greenside bunker and struggled to a bogey.

The drama rose two groups later when Karine Icher's downhill birdie putt at 18 spun around and went into the cup. On a lazy day with no scoreboards, word traveled quickly through the small gallery that Icher tied Oh with that putt.

But moments later, Oh snooped and watched Icher sign for a 1-over 73, giving Oh her first berth in an LPGA event after some tense moments. Even during her round, Oh wondered if her play against a 16-woman field of mostly non-exempt tour pros would be good enough to earn a place in the tournament.

"Today, my shots went left and right," Oh said. "It was tough to play today. I thought even-par was a great score today because (my) shot wasn't very good."

Even less than Oh's best is still very good with the hot streak she is on. Oh won the BYU Dixie Classic last week by three shots over freshman teammate Seema Sadekar, who shot a 5-over 77 Monday to finish tied for 10th in qualifying. Oh and Sadekar were the only two Rebels -- and the only two amateurs invited to take part in qualifying.

"I don't think I was mentally prepared for this, especially (because) our times were so late," Sadekar said. "The whole day, I was just constantly thinking about it. I came out here and I think I put too much pressure."

Oh felt the pressure as well, scuffling through the first few holes and showing her exasperation at some poor shots on her face. But playing with Lee, who helped to calm her, made a huge difference for Oh. They anxiously waited together off the 18th green to see if anyone in the final groups would best their scores.

"She helped me very much," Oh said. "She's 29 years old and thinks of me as a baby or something like that. She took care of me a little bit."

Oh also received a big assist from UNLV men's golf coach Dwaine Knight. He worked with Oh on her putting stroke Sunday, helping her to square her putter face and balance her arm motion.

"I just think we got her lined up correctly and that helped a lot," Knight said.

It may well have been the difference between this year's success and last year's near-miss, according to UNLV women's golf coach Missy Ringler.

"I think that she's putting better," Ringler said. "She had some trouble with her putting and I think maybe that's what she was lacking last year."

Oh will be one of two amateurs in the field, along with In-Bee Park, a sponsor's exemption. The defending NCAA West Region champion, Oh relishes the chance to move forward in both the college and pro worlds.

She wants the confidence of qualifying for UNLV's upcoming trip to the Mountain West Conference tournament and loves the opportunity to test herself against many of the Korean stars she once looked up to and played with as she trained.

"It will be a good experience for me and I'm so excited about it," Oh said.

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