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Mina Harigae to defend U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Erin Hills Golf Course

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Five members of the 2008 United States of America Curtis Cup team will be competing in the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Erin Hills Golf Course in Erin, Wis., June 16-22, including defending champion Mina Harigae.

Harigae, 18, of Monterey, Calif., will attempt to become the first repeat WAPL champion since Pearl Sinn in 1988-89. Only three players have repeated since the WAPL’s inception in 1977: Kelly Fuiks (1977-78), Lori Castillo (1979-80) and Sinn.

Besides Harigae, the four other USA Curtis Cuppers entered are Amanda Blumenherst, 21, of Scottsdale, Ariz., Tiffany Joh, 21, of San Diego, Calif., Kimberly Kim, 16, of Hilo, Hawaii, and Jennie Lee, 21, of Henderson, Nev. Joh defeated Kim to win the 2006 WAPL, while Kim captured the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the age of 14 to become that championship’s youngest winner.

Another WAPL entrant, Michelle Thomson, 20, of Scotland, has been chosen to play for the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team, while Jennifer Song, 18, who was born in Ann Arbor, Mich., but now lives in Korea is a USA Curtis Cup alternate. The Curtis Cup is scheduled May 30-June 1 at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

“The Erin Hills staff is not only honored to be hosting the Women’s Amateur Public Links….we are equally excited to see that we will be having such a strong field,” said Bob Lang, the owner of Erin Hills.

The United States Golf Association accepted 678 entries for this year’s championship, compared to 735 in 2007. The record of 1,085 entries was set in 1986.

Sectional qualifying at 40 sites begins May 15 and runs through May 31. Twenty-nine players were exempt from qualifying.

The youngest player to file an entry is Brooke Irion, 9, of Battle Mountain, Nev., while the oldest player who listed her date of birth on the entry is 71-year-old Sally Millbank of Sandy, Utah.

Four sets of twins have also entered qualifying: Monica and Stephanie Fox, 18, of Holladay, Utah, Emily and Elise Houtz, 18, of Manhattan, Kan., Rachael and Rochelle Schmidt, 20, of Elk River, Minn., and Megan and Meryl Weaver, 18, of Canton, Ohio.

Entries came from 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as well as 16 foreign countries, including Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, France, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand and Venezuela.

The Women’s Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Here is the list of 29 players who are exempt from qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship:

Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Sarah Brown, Phillippsburg, N.J.

Wonjoo Choi, Murrieta, Calif.

Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii

Brianno Do, Lakewood, Calif.

Stephany Fleet, Dewitt, Mich.

Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif.

Selanee Henderson, Apple Valley, Calif.

Becca Huffer, Denver, Colo.

Ha-Na Jang, Korea

Pearl Jin, San Gabriel, Calif.

Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif.

Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii

Rebecca Kim, Tigard, Ore.

Stacey Kim, Columbus, Ga.

Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii

Jennie Lee, Henderson, Nev.

Lee Lopez, Whittier, Calif.

Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif.

Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif.

Kayla Mortellaro, Phoenix, Ariz.

Ryann O’Toole, San Clemente, Calif.

Angela Oh, Maple Shade, N.J.

Victoria Park, Irvine, Calif.

Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif.

Michelle Shin, Cape Coral, Fla.

Jennifer Song, Korea

Ashley Tait, Littleton, Colo.

Michele Thomson, Scotland

Source: USGA