Hometown Open entices former pro to dust off game

For St. Paul's Karen Weiss, a former LPGA veteran, dusting off the golf clubs and taking a shot at a U.S. Women's Open berth was well worth the effort.

By MARK CRAIG, Star Tribune

Last update: May 13, 2008 - 9:45 PM

Karen Weiss is 42 years old, happily retired from the LPGA Tour since 2006 and had played only 27 holes of golf in 2008 before teeing it up in Tuesday's U.S. Women's Open local qualifier at Woodhill Country Club in Wayzata.

So, naturally, she strolled off the difficult 6,490-yard setup, through the cold and drizzle that is Minnesota and announced ... "Not bad for an old gal ... a rusty old gal."

Indeed.

Weiss' 1-under-par 70 led the 48-player field by five shots and earned her one of the 12 spots in the June 9 sectional qualifying round. Weiss will participate in the sectional qualifier at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Ill., for a chance to play in the U.S. Women's Open at Edina's Interlachen Country Club on June 26-29.

"I basically don't play any golf anymore," said Weiss, a standout for the Gophers in the late '80s. "I went back to school to finish my master's degree. I'm starting a greenhouse and a farm business in Afton. But when the U.S. Open is in your back yard, you have to find the clubs, dust them off and at least try to make it."

Weiss, who lives in St. Paul, was one of seven Minnesotans among the 12 qualifiers. Julie Hennessy (Lewiston) and Kristin Lindstrom (Richfield) tied for fourth at 78; Lisa Grimes (Alexandria) tied for sixth at 77; and Amy Schmucker (Cold Spring), Alissa Super (Deephaven) and Rebecca Quinby (Plymouth) tied for the last spot at 78.

Super, the former Alissa Herron, is a former Women's State Amateur winner at Interlachen, a former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and a member of one of the state's more prominent golfing families. Father Carson was on the bag Tuesday, while brother Tim, a PGA Tour player, joined them in the clubhouse after the round.

Tim has played in the U.S. Open. Carson played in the 1963 U.S. Open. And grandfather Carson Lee played in the 1934 U.S. Open. As for Alissa and the U.S. Women's Open, well ...

"This is the first time I've even tried to qualify," she said. "I don't play much golf anymore. I have a family and work. But I'd be crazy not to try and play in a U.S. Open at Interlachen."

And, as Weiss said, sometimes less is more when it comes to golf.

"The swing is rusty," she said, "but the brain is clear of all golf thoughts, and I think that made the game easier for me today."

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