Ohio State freshman golfer Jessica Porvasnik watches her ball at the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational April 20 in Columbus.
Credit: Courtesy of OSU Athletics
Ohio State freshman golfer Jessica Porvasnik is headed to the U.S. Women’s Open.
Porvasnik, who was the 2014 Big Ten individual champion, qualified for the 2014 championship during a qualification tournament at the Butler Country Club in Butler, Pa., Monday.
She qualified by shooting back-to-back rounds of 73 to become one of 156 golfers competing at the U.S. Open. Porvasnik forged her path to the tournament as one of the record-high 1,702 entries.
Porvasnik, a Hinckley, Ohio, native, is the best on her team with a 73.33 scoring average in 36 rounds this season. She has fired off two rounds in the 60s, with a low of 65, and eight total rounds under par.
She has been the only Buckeye to win a tournament this season, finishing first twice, including at the Big Ten Championships. She has finished in the top five four times and the top 10 on two additional occasions.
The OSU women’s golf team tied for fifth at the NCAA Central Regional Saturday, before Porvasnik made her U.S. Open qualification run. The team qualified for the NCAA Championship, which is scheduled for May 20 to May 23 in Tulsa, Okla.
Porvasnik won’t be the first Buckeye to take on the U.S. Open. OSU coach Therese Hession played in seven U.S. Women’s Opens during her time on the LPGA Tour, and former Buckeye golfer Meg Mallon won the tournament in 1991 and 2004, also winning the LPGA Championship in 1991 and the du Maurier Classic in 2000.
The 2014 U.S. Women’s Open is scheduled to be played at Pinehurst No. 2 at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club from June 19 to June 22 in Pinehurst, N.C., following the men’s tournament, set to be played at the same course June 12 to June 15.
