June 28, 2006
LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's golfer Da Sol Chung will tee of Thursday morning at the 61st U.S. Women's Open, being played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I., which is the third LPGA Major of the year.
Chung is in the second group that tees off on hole one at 4:11 a.m. (PDT) on the par-71 course. The Rebel freshman will begin Friday's round on hole 10 with a 9:41 a.m. tee time. The 60 lowest scores and anyone tying for 60th place, or anyone within 10 strokes of the leader after the first 36 holes, will continue playing into the weekend.
Chung, who was the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2006, will compete as an amateur and, in full accordance with NCAA guidelines, is not eligible for any of the $3.1 million in prize money available at the U.S. Women's Open. She earned a spot in the open by advancing through local and regional qualifying tournaments. She will be one of 27 amateurs in a field of 156 players.
"This will be a great experience for Da Sol and I told her to go out, have fun, play her game and enjoy it," UNLV head coach Missy Ringler said. "Not too many amateur players get the opportunity to play in the U.S. Open."
Chung becomes the second Rebel golfer to play in an LPGA tournament event, joining former UNLV great Sunny Oh, who played in the 2004 LPGA Takefuji Classic in Las Vegas, where she finished 49th.
The U.S. Open will cap a magical freshman year for Chung, as she finished third this year at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish ever for a Mountain West Conference golfer. She was named to the NGCA All-American First Team, the first Rebel golfer to earn first-team honors. She also won medalist honors at the MWC Tournament and was named the league's Co-Freshman of the Year.
U.S. OPEN TELEVISION COVERAGE - All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
Date Network Broadcast HoursJune 28 ESPN2 2:30-3:00 p.m. (Preview Show)June 29 ESPN2 11:00-2:00 p.m.June 30 ESPN2 11:00-2:00 p.m.July 1 NBC 12-3:00 p.m.July 2 NBC 12-3:00 p.m.
