GF: McCurdy Makes Cut At U.S. Women's Open

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, COLORADO – Lady Razorback junior Amanda McCurdy had to wait a few hours to find out if she had made the cut at the 60th U.S. Women’s Open but it was more than worth it as she just made the cut at 8-over par. A weather delay halted play Friday afternoon for 43 minutes, but upon completion of the second round McCurdy had made the cut on the number (+8 and better). “I am very excited. It’s really awesome, I was so nervous that it would come down to one shot but to make the cut at my first U.S. Women’s Open is awesome.”, said McCurdy. “My goal now is to make the top 20 so I can be exempt for next year. I want to come out and play the best that I can and shoot the lowest I can shoot this weekend.” The El Dorado native’s 8-over par 150 total entering Saturday’s third round places her in a tie for 52nd place. Nicole Perrot is the second round leader at 2-under par and is the only player under par. “I am so excited for Amanda,” commented Arkansas head coach Kelley Hester. “I feel like she played better than she scored today. She really bounced back and overcome the obstacles of today. Anything can happen at this point and it will be interesting over the course of the next two days.” McCurdy’s playing partner will be LPGA vetran Heather Bowie and they will be the fourth group on the course with a tee time of 7:15 a.m. local time. She was one of 17 amateurs in the field this week of which 6 made the cut this year. Michelle Wie is the leading amateur at even par and is tied for 2nd, one of three amateurs currently in the top 10. Divots: The El Dorado native hit 10 of 14 fairways on Friday which was one fewer than in round one, she also hit 11 greens in regulation which was one more than in round one….The most difficult hole, by far, has been the 459-yard par-4 18th which has played to an average of 4.674 shots. McCurdy bogeyed the hole Thursday and made par Friday. Only 3 birdies have been recorded so far on 18. 3 holes (the par-4 4th, par-4 14th, and 18) have yielded less than 10 birdies to this point in the tournament…..Among those following McCurdy on Friday was her roommate and Lady’Back softball catcher Shana Easley. The Fort Collins native was joined by her parents and grandfather…McCurdy’s playing partners, Jill McGill and Hilary Lunke, for the first two rounds both missed the cut at 9-over par. McGill, who grew up playing the Cherry Hills course, finished with an 8-over par 79 while Lunke carded one of the day’s better rounds, a 1-under 70…..Lunke made the turn Friday in 3-under par during which she put her tee shot on the 206-yard par 3 8th hole to within 6 inches…..Bunker play has proven most difficult at times as several players blasted shots out of greenside bunkers that have gone completely over the green during the first two rounds…24,308 were in attendance on Friday which was up from 22,251 Thursday and bigger crowds are expected this weekend….. TV Coverage of round of the U.S. Women’s Open will air on NBC from 2pm to 5pm and live scoring can be found at the official web site of the U.S. Women’s Open; www.uswomensopen.com. Daily coverage of McCurdy’s play at the U.S. Women’s Open can be found following each round at Ladybacks.com, the official website of Lady Razorback Athletics.