I had a chance to interview Radnor High’s two-time PIAA
Class AAA champion Brynn Walker as she started to map out her spring and summer
of 2016 before starting her college career at North Carolina in the fall.
A year ago Walker had won the amateur pre-qualifier for the
ShopRite LPGA Classic. That got her into the open qualifier for a spot in the
main body of the tournament.
“I bogeyed the last four holes and missed by a shot,” said
Walker, who tries to take something from successes and failures alike.
She mentioned how much she loves the golf course, the
old-school Bay Course at the Stockton Hotel Seaview Golf Club. Once upon a
time, when it was just known as Seaview, it was a destination resort for
Philadelphia’s wealthy class.
Left unsaid by Walker that day was that given the same
opportunity, she would finish this time. Consider it done. Because of her
strong showing in the open qualifier last year, Walker was exempted into the
open qualifier this year.
I’m a little short on details, but her mom Mary Lou reports
that Walker finished first with a 69. The website associated with the ShopRite LPGA
Classic just boldfaced the names of the players who advanced and it appears fledgling
pro Katie Detlefsen, who played in Walker’s group, also qualified. Detlefsen, a
native of Eagan, Minn., is a former Central Florida standout and appeared in
The Golf Channel’s “Big Break” series in 2014.
The qualifier was scheduled for Monday and I’m pretty sure
the tropical moisture associated with Bonnie hung around the Jersey Shore most
of the day, but a determined Walker got it done.
Walker is coming off another successful showing with her pal
Madelein Herr, the District One champion from Council Rock North, at last week’s
U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Streamsong Resort’s Blue
Course in Florida. Team WalkHerr advanced to the quarterfinals before falling
to stroke-play medalists Princess Mary Superal and Pauline Del Rosario of the
Philippines, 1-up, on the last hole.
Technically, this will not be the first time Walker has
competed in a professional event. She snuck in a start in the Florida Women’s
Open, a Suncoast Tour event played at The Hills Course at LPGA International in
Daytona Beach, Fla. during a winter foray to the Sunshine State to keep her
game sharp.
But this is different. This is the LPGA. It’s the big
leagues and that’s where Brynn Walker appears to be headed. Oh yeah, and she turns 18 Wednesday, so what better way to celebrate than to rub shoulders with some LPGA stars.
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