Kim, Stelzmiller Set For The U.S. Women's Open

Links associated with this release:
U.S. Women's Open Tournament Site
Golfweek Player Blogs for Kim and Stelzmiller

UC Davis' Alice Kim

UC Davis' Chelsea Stelzmiller

Courtesy of UC Davis Athletics Department

Alice Kim and Chelsea Stelzmiller, who will be entering their junior seasons with the UC Davis women's golf team this fall, will live a dream this week when the standout players participate in the 2009 U.S. Women's Open at Saucon Valley Country Club.

The Aggies will each be playing in the most prestigious tournament in the world for the first time after qualifying last month in a sectional tournament in Santa Cruz. Kim and Stelzmiller are providing a daily blog of their experiences this week through Golfweek, providing unique insight while the play alongside the best players in the world.

The pair are the first UC Davis women's players to qualify for the U.S. Open. Both participated at last year's U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, advancing to match play where they faced each other in the first round, a contest won by Stelzmiller.

Stelzmiller, a two-time All-Big West Conference first-team selection, will tee off the 10th hole inThursday's first round at 9:30 a.m. (Pacific) with Jennie Lee of Henderson, Nev., and Alison Walshe of Westford, Mass.

Kim, who finished tied for eighth at the NCAA Division I Championships in May to earn All-America honorable mention accolades, will open at 11:31 a.m. (Pacific) - also on the 10th - with Caryn Wilson of Rancho Mirage and Carolina Llano of Colombia.

Stelzmiller will open Friday's play at 4 a.m. (Pacific) from the first hole while Kim plays at 6:01 a.m. (Pacific), also off the first.

The 72-hole tournament will open with 156 players, including 29 amateurs, before cutting after Friday's play to the 60 lowest scorers and ties, along with players within 10 strokes of the leader.

Kim and Stelzmiller will get a feel for the par-71, 6,740-yard championship course with a trio of practice rounds before opening up play Thursday morning. Saucon Valley is no stranger to USGA events after hosting the 1951 U.S. Amateur and the 1992 and 2000 U.S. Senior Opens, among others.

The course will provide a big challenge for players with fairway widths between 25 and 25 yards and rough that will get deeper the further off the fairway the players venture. Greens will be set to 12 to 12-1/2 feet on the Stimpmeter.

Inbee Park, winner of the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, captured last year's tournament at 9-under 283. At 19 years old, Park was the youngest champion in the tournament's 63-year history.

For Kim and Stelzmiller, participating in the U.S. Women's Open is a major addition to their already impressive golfing careers. They have helped lead a still young UC Davis women's golf program which just completed its fourth year of competition at the varsity level.

Kim, from Walnut, Calif., led UC Davis this year with a 73.4 average while earning All-Big West honors for the second consecutive year. Along with Stelzmiller, Kim was selected to play as an individual at the NCAA West Regional at Arizona State where she finished eighth to qualify for the national finals. She flirted with the lead during the NCAA Championships before finishing with her impressive top-10 finish.

She most recently played in the U.S. Women's Public Links Championships in Massachusetts where she tied for second after stroke play and advanced to the third round of match play.

Stelzmiller, from Union Mine High School in Placerville, opened her Aggie career in notable fashion in 2008 by being named the Big West Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. She has twice earned medalist honors including this spring at the UC Irvine Invitational.

Stelzmiller was second on the squad in 2008-09 in scoring, posting a 73.7 average. She had a top-25 performance at the NCAA Regional to cap her standout sophomore season.

ESPN will provide national television coverage the first two days between 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. (Pacific) while NBC will televise over the weekend from noon-3 p.m.