Bradenton Country Club hosts qualifier for U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament
Amelie Zalsman hit her 9-iron shot right at the flag but didn’t look at how it ended up.
Her caddy, though, did.
The ball found the hole for an eagle on the par-4 13th at Bradenton Country Club. The momentum-building shot catapulted Zalsman to medalist honors in Monday’s United States Women’s Open qualifier.
“My caddy went, ‘Oh my God, it went in,’” Zalsman said. “I was like, ‘What?’ And then I looked and went, ‘Oh my God!’”
The 15-year-old, who attends a boarding school in the Bahamas, finished the 36-hole qualifier with a 1-under par 141 total. The performance earned the amateur her first appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open, which starts May 30 at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The top two scores in the 64-player field automatically qualified. UCF’s Pimpisa Sisutham grabbed the second berth at even par.
Zalsman fired a 66 in the morning round, before posting a 75 during windy afternoon conditions. The 6,346-yard Donald Ross-designed track saw winds in the 15 to 17 miles per hour range with gusts exceeding that.
“Putting was probably the most challenging, obviously club choices were hard,” Zalsman said of the windy conditions.
Zalsman recently played in Manatee County during an American Junior Golf Association tournament at The Concession Golf Club. The event titled, “The Nelly Invitational,” was named after and hosted by women’s world No. 1 player Nelly Korda.
Zalsman took second place in the tournament held last week, and now gets to tee it up in the same tournament as Korda, a Bradenton native, after her performance at Bradenton Country Club.
“I think that’s pretty cool,” Zalsman said.
Sisutham, who her parents nicknamed “Sandwich” at an early age to keep with Thai tradition, fired a 68 in the first round and a 74 in the second round to snag the last qualifying berth.
“I holed some mid-putts, more than usual,” Sisutham said, who converted four putts of 20 feet over the two rounds.
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson, who is aiming to become the first trans woman to play in the U.S. Women’s Open, won a playoff to become the first alternate from the Bradenton qualifier after a 1-over par 143 total for the two rounds. Jasmine Suwannapura was the second alternate following the playoff that also included Louise Olsson Campbell.
