June 13, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's golfer Da Sol Chung finished tied for ninth Monday in a sectional qualifying tournament, putting her in the field for the 2006 U.S. Women's Open to be played at the end of June.

Chung shot a 36-hole total of 151 on the Hacienda Country Club course in La Habra Heights, Calif., and she was one of 10 players from that sectional to earn spots in the open. The U.S. Women's Open, the third LPGA major to be played this year, is set for June 29-July 2 at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I.

"I am extremely excited for Da Sol and her qualifying for the U.S. Open," said UNLV head coach Missy Ringler. "It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in women's golf and to qualify as an amateur is pretty impressive. Her confidence is pretty high right now."

Chung becomes the third Rebel golfer to play in an LPGA Tournament event, joining former UNLV great Sunny Oh and current Rebel golfer Seema Sadekar. Oh played in the 2004 LPGA Takefuji Classic in Las Vegas where she finished 49th while Sadekar played in the Canadian Open in 2004 as well.

Chung's qualifying for the open continued a storybook first year for her at UNLV, where the freshman phenom has played her way into the Rebel record books.

Chung finished third at this year NCAA Championships, the highest finish ever for a Rebel golfer, earning her a spot on the NGCA All-American First Team in the process. Chung is also the first Rebel golfer to earn first team honors. She won medalist honors at the Mountain West Conference Tournament, was named the MWC Player of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year and was selected to the All-West Regional Team following her fourth-place finish at that tournament.

Chung now holds the record for lowest scoring average in a season with a 72.70 this year, which is also the career best in Rebel history. She notched another record by setting the UNLV mark for low score in a 54-hole tournament with a four-under 209 at the Wildcat Invitational in February. Chung was named the MWC Golfer of the Month following that performance.

LA HABRA HEIGHTS, CALIF. - HACIENDA COUNTRY CLUB

AMIE COCHRAN (a) - TORRANCE, CALIF. 142BETH ALLEN - SAN DIEGO, CALIF. 146YU PING LIN - CHINESE TAIPEI 146SYDNEE MICHAELS (a) - TEMECULA, CALIF. 146JOANNE LEE (a) - SAN CARLOS, CALIF. 148MICHELLE MURPHY - MILWAUKIE, ORE. 148AMANDA BLUMENHERST (a) - SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. 149YA-NI TSENG (a) - CHINESE TAIPEI 150Da Sol Chung (a) - LAS VEGAS, NEV. 151JENNIE LEE (a) - HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. 151