Although you might not know it, one of the names on the first page of the leaderboard at the U.S. Women's Open has ties to both GCSAA and GCM.
Lizette Salas, a two-time All-America performer at the University of Southern California who's in her second year on the LPGA Tour, is currently tied for fourth at 2-under-par in the early stages of second-round competition at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. You might remember Lizette's name and story because her father, Ramon, was the winner of GCM's very first Most Valuable Technician Award back in 2010 for his work as the equipment technician at Azusa Greens GC in Azusa, Calif. He's also the person that Lizette credits with getting her started in the game of golf.
Lizette is no stranger to success on the biggest stage in women's golf. She finished tied for 15th place during last year's Women's Open and was tied for second following the first round at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. In the first round this year, she repeated that strong early showing with a 3-under-par 69 that had her tied for the lead with Christie Kerr and Brittany Lincicome. You can follow the tournament via a live leaderboard (which doesn't seem to be so live right now ... technical issues?) right here.
In other U.S. Women's Open news, today's edition of the USGA Green Section Record featured an interesting podcast (embedded here) focused on the golf course management side of this week's championship. In the podcast, Kimberly Erusha, Ph.D., the Green Section's managing director, sits down with Mike Lee, manager of golf course maintenance for Destination Kohler, and Bob Vavrek, Green Section senior agronomist to discuss preparations and maintenance at Blackwolf Run.
Lizette Salas IS NOT two-time American. She is the only "FOUR-TIME AMERICAN at this time.
Posted by: Martha | July 31, 2012 at 09:30 AM