WACO, Texas – Baylor women's golf freshman Dylan Kim qualified for the 2015 U.S. Women's Open on Thursday by tying for first place in a 66-player qualifying event at Dallas' Lakewood Country Club.
Kim will compete as an amateur at the 2015 U.S. Women's Open, which will be held July 6-12 at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa. The 18-year-old from Plano, Texas, qualified for the U.S. Open just one week after leading Baylor to a nation runner-up finish at the 2015 NCAA Championship.
“I am so proud of Dylan for qualifying for the U.S. Open after her first year at Baylor,” head coach Jay Goble said. “She's going to be a star in the game, and I'm really excited for her to get to play in her first of many U.S. Open Championships.”
Kim shot 4-over-par 75 in Thursday's first round of qualifying, which put her in a tie for fourth place. She followed that round by shooting 2-over 73 later in the afternoon, tying the lowest score in the 66-player field to jump to a tie for first place with SMU senior Jennifer Park at 6-over 148.
The first-round 75 included 14 pars, one birdie, one bogey and a pair of double bogeys. Kim took the turn at even-par after making birdie on the ninth hole, but double bogeys on No. 13 and No. 17 dropped her to 4-over.
Kim's second round featured four birdies, 10 pars, two bogeys and two double bogeys. She was clean on the front nine with seven pars and birdies on both par-5s, No. 4 and No. 9, to take the turn at 2-under. Kim dropped to even-par after a double bogey on No. 12, but she rebounded to birdie the next two holes to get back to 2-under, giving her a four-stroke lead that proved crucial after she shot 4-over on the final three holes.
Over the 36-hole qualifying event, Kim made five birdies, 24 pars, three bogeys and four double bogeys. She shot 1-over on par-5 holes, 2-over on par-3s and 3-over on par-4 holes.
Kim joined Baylor as an early enrollee in January after graduating from high school a semester early. She went on to have one of the most successful seasons in program history, earning second-team All-America and All-Big 12 honors. Kim also recorded a crucial match play victory over the nation's No. 1-ranked amateur golfer, Duke's Leona Maguire, to help the Bears win 3-2 in the NCAA Championship semifinals. She finished the season with a 73.08 stroke average over 25 rounds, giving her the third-best single-season stroke average in program history.
