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Lady'Back Nunn Qualifies For LPGA Event
Last updated Monday, June 30, 2008 9:34 PM CDT in Golf
By Ryan Malashock
THE MORNING NEWS
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ROGERS -- Her hands shook. Her legs wobbled. Her mind raced.
Three holes remained in Lucy Nunn's round during Monday's qualifier for the P&G beauty NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club. And the Lady'Back golfer's nerves were spiraling out of control.
The senior-to-be at Arkansas won the Southern Women's Amateur earlier this month. But even that experience wasn't enough to prepare her for the stomach-churning moments that awaited her on holes 16, 17 and 18.
"I've played a lot of college events and amateur events, but nothing really compares to this, knowing you have a chance to play (in an LPGA event)," Nunn said. "So I was kind of shaky."
Not too unsteady, however. Nunn scrambled for par on No. 16. She made bogey on No. 17. And she recovered from a topped 3-wood on No. 18, sinking an eight-foot par putt that sealed her spot in the NW Arkansas Championship field.
She had to wait 20 tense minutes to find out whether her score of 2-under 70 would hold up. In fact, she had trouble getting up from her chair inside the scorer's tent following her round. Nunn sat there for a couple of minutes, her hands covering her face, still trembling a bit.
But the last six golfers who tried to qualify didn't better Nunn or South Korean tour rookie Jimin Jeong, who shot 71. Nunn, who smiled continually before finally taking off for dinner at P.F. Chang's, couldn't believe her week was only beginning.
"I am kind of (shocked)," Nunn said. "Last year I shot 80 (in the qualifier), but it was a good experience. I knew I was capable of playing a lot better this year."
Nunn, who had her father, Ron, caddying for her, steadily navigated the 6,238-yard, par-72 course at Pinnacle CC. She consistently put her tee shots in fairways and her approach shots on greens, and she recorded birdies on Nos. 5, 11 and 12. Nunn missed a handful of short birdie putts along the way and didn't three-putt any holes.
Her consistent play impressed Arkansas golf coach Shauna Estes-Taylor, who alternated watching Lady'Back golfer Kristin Ingram and Nunn. Ingram shot an 81.
"She hit it so solid and made some key putts," Estes-Taylor said. "I'm so excited for her. She's worked so hard and has gotten so much better, it's great to see her get rewarded."
Estes-Taylor admitted she also got nervous during Nunn's last three holes, especially when Nunn topper her second shot at No. 18. Nunn's reaction encouraged her coach, though.
"I stone cold topped it," Nunn said. "It happens. It was kind of funny. I kind of laughed. Then, I just try to minimize it."
She laid up her third shot to 130 yards, struck her fourth shot to eight feet and drained the putt. Jeong looked on from behind the 18th green and knew the Nunn's putt took one spot away from her.
Jeong, who has now been successful in four of eight Monday qualifiers this season, had to wait nearly an hour for the rest of the qualifying field to finish. She had eagled the par-5 14th hole by landing an 80-yard shot with her 56-degree wedge directly in the hole.
"I was real nervous," Jeong said. "I was scared I wouldn't get in."
Twenty minutes later, Jeong and Nunn rejoiced in unison.
Lucy Nunn
Height: 5-foot-6
Hometown: Lawton, Okla.
Notable: Won the 93rd Southern Western Amateur, giving the Lady'Backs back-to-back champions in the event (Stacy Lewis claimed the 2007 title). ... Placed in the top 20 in three events this past season, including a seventh-place finish in the 2008 Southeastern Conference championship. ... Reached the semifinals of the 2007 Women's Oklahoma Golf Association Match Play Championship.
P&G beauty NW Arkansas Championship
At Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers
Monday Qualifier
Player Score
Lucy Nunn (a) 70
Jimin Jeong 71
Beth Allen 72
Laurie Brower 72
Nicole Jeray 72
Hannah Jun 73
Amy Yang 73
Audra Burks 74
Jeanne Cho-Hunicke 75
Angela Jerman 75
Cindy Pasechnik 75
Kristen Samp 75
Eunjung Yi 75
Anna Grzebien 77
Nicole Hage 77
Jean Bartholomew 78
Amy Read 78
Kristin Ingram (a) 81
(a) -- amateur
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