University of North Carolina Athletics
The Clubhouse of the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill. (USGA/Fred Vuich)
Photo by: USGA/Fred Vuich
Four Former Tar Heels To Compete in Inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open
July 11, 2018 | Women's Golf
WHEATON, Ill. – An event three years in the making and long overdue, the U.S. Senior Women's Open tees off Thursday morning at the historic Chicago Golf Club with four former Tar Heels set to compete in the inaugural event. Suzy Whaley '89, Donna Andrews '89, Cathy Johnston-Forbes '84 and Sally Austin '73 are set to tee off at the par-72, 6,088-yard Chicago Golf Club Thursday with the final two rounds televised July 14 and 15 on FS1 from 4-6 p.m. EDT.
"It's pretty special and exciting to know this is the inaugural event and that we're going to be a part of it," Austin said. "It's something that we thought was long overdue. It's a special thing for female golfers to have this event. It's the biggest event for senior women golfers in the country right now."
Austin is a founding member of Carolina's women's golf team, graduating in 1977 and later was the Tar Heels' head coach for 16 years until 2007. During Austin's coaching tenure, UNC finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships six times. As a student-athlete, Austin and teammate Mindy Moore played together all four years on the inaugural squad, leading the team to become one of the top 20 teams in the nation.
Following her collegiate career, Austin won events on the Women's Professional Golf Tour and the Futures Tour before receiving her LPGA Tour card in 1987. Additionally, she played five years on mini-tours across the country, two years on the Asian Tour and one year on the WPGA European Tour before transitioning to coaching.
Austin qualified for the U.S. Senior Women's Open on June 6 at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, shooting 67 to finish second and earn a spot at the inaugural event.
"I've been trying to play more and practice more," Austin said. "When you have a carrot dangling out there in front of you, it motivates you to practice."
Unlike Austin, Johnston-Forbes, Andrews and Whaley were automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Senior Women's Open due to their victories on the LPGA Tour during their professional days and finishes at past Senior LPGA Championships.
"I've been practicing more than usual," Johnston-Forbes said. "Our tournaments on the Legends Tour are spread out so when we have a big event, I usually start two months out to prepare for it. I've been doing the same thing this time, but it's been hot trying to get ready for this one."
Like her teammates, Johnston-Forbes credits her time as a UNC student-athlete to aiding her success as a golfer.
"UNC got me prepared to go on and play professionally," Johnston-Forbes said. "We had a pretty good team when I was there so I had to work hard to be in the top three, top five on the team. My teammates and I had a good work ethic and we all pushed each other. That helped prepare me to play tournaments week in and week out."
Johnston-Forbes played professionally for 33 years with her first LPGA victory in 1990 when she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the du Maurier Ltd. Classic (a major championship on the LPGA tour). In 1997, she tied for second in the Susan B. Komen International and posted her career low score of 64 during the second round of the Welch's/Circle K Championship. Throughout her career, Johnston-Forbes was a runner-up three times on the LPGA Tour. Since retiring from professional golf, like most of her teammates, Johnston-Forbes turned to professional golf instruction but has spent the past few weeks and preparing for the USGA event.
Teammates and 1989 graduates, Andrews and Whaley round out the group of Tar Heels competing at the U.S. Senior Women's Open.
During her time at Carolina, Andrews was selected second-team All-America as a senior and finished third at the 1989 NCAA Championship. She also won the 1988 Lady Paladin Invitational and was a two-time champion of the North and South Amateur (1984, 1986). Andrews was selected in 2003 to the Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary women's golf team.
"My time at UNC certainly shaped me both as an individual and as a golfer," Andrews said. "It honed in on a lot of my golfing skills while I was there to making it on tour. Living in North Carolina, UNC has continued to be a large part of my life. I've introduced my kids to everything UNC I can. We still go to basketball games and football games."
Andrews went on to a successful 15-year career on the LPGA Tour from 1990-2005, winning one major title in addition to five other tournaments. She also finished in the top 10 in money earned in a season three times and finished in the top three at the U.S. Women's Open Championships in 1992 and 1993. Andrews served as president of the LPGA from 2003-04. Additionally, Andrews was the first woman inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in 2017, and was also inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.
"I'm honored to have qualified," Andrews said. "That's part of why I wanted to bring my kids with me to show them this is what mom used to do but also for them to be a part of the first ever Senior Women's Open and to know that they were there when it all started."
Fellow '89 graduate, Suzy Whaley is one of Carolina's most notable alumnae and the mother of current UNC golfer Kelly Whaley. She went on to compete in the LPGA Tour in 1990 and 1993, but she's more famously known for her qualification and participation in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open when she became the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for an event on the PGA Tour.
Whaley has since become a decorated instructor, earning Connecticut's PGA Teacher of the Year in 2004 and 2007. From 2008-13 she earned distinctions like LPGA Top-50 Instructor and PGA Top Instructor Honors in Connecticut by Golf Digest. In 2014, Whaley was elected PGA Secretary at the PGA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis on November 22. That made her the first woman to be elected as an Officer of the Association. Later this year, Whaley will become the first female president of PGA of America.
"This is something we all thought we would never see," Whaley said to USGA's Ron Sirak. "This is about showing respect for the players who came before us and about establishing a championship for the players who are on the LPGA right now. And it's about competing. That's why we are here. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."
History will be made at the Chicago Golf Club with the USGA event teeing off Thursday at 8 a.m. ET.
"I'm looking forward to the camaraderie and getting to see all the players that I haven't seen in a while," Andrews said. "For me, that's what it's all about. Getting to see old friends and have fun with the people who were such an influential part of my life molding me into who I am today."
In the morning session, Andrews begins the course at 9:06 a.m. with Kris Tschetter and Macarena Campomanes. In the afternoon, Whaley starts at 1:21 p.m. with Cindy Rarick and Dana Dormann. Johnston-Forbes joins Marilyn Hardy and Lisa DePaulo to tee off from hole one at 1:43 p.m. Austin rounds out the Tar Heels, beginning at 1:54 p.m. with Lara Tennant and Debby Murphy.
"I'll be seeing a lot of people who I haven't seen in a long time," Austin said. "Being part of the Carolina athletic family has always been special."
Eligibility for the U.S. Senior Women's Open championship is limited to professional and amateur female players, age 50 and older. The championship format will mirror that of the U.S. Open: 72 holes of stroke play on four consecutive days with a cut after 36 holes. To mirror the other Open championships conducted by the USGA, the U.S. Senior Women's Open will be a walking-only competition.
The 120 players will take on a Chicago Golf Club set up at 6,088 yards and the field will be cut to the low 50 and ties after 36 holes. If there is a tie after 72 holes, there will be a two-hole aggregate playoff, followed by sudden death if the players remain tied.
For more information visit USGA.org.
Stay up to date with Carolina Women's Golf by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
"It's pretty special and exciting to know this is the inaugural event and that we're going to be a part of it," Austin said. "It's something that we thought was long overdue. It's a special thing for female golfers to have this event. It's the biggest event for senior women golfers in the country right now."
Austin is a founding member of Carolina's women's golf team, graduating in 1977 and later was the Tar Heels' head coach for 16 years until 2007. During Austin's coaching tenure, UNC finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships six times. As a student-athlete, Austin and teammate Mindy Moore played together all four years on the inaugural squad, leading the team to become one of the top 20 teams in the nation.
Following her collegiate career, Austin won events on the Women's Professional Golf Tour and the Futures Tour before receiving her LPGA Tour card in 1987. Additionally, she played five years on mini-tours across the country, two years on the Asian Tour and one year on the WPGA European Tour before transitioning to coaching.
Austin qualified for the U.S. Senior Women's Open on June 6 at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, shooting 67 to finish second and earn a spot at the inaugural event.
"I've been trying to play more and practice more," Austin said. "When you have a carrot dangling out there in front of you, it motivates you to practice."
Unlike Austin, Johnston-Forbes, Andrews and Whaley were automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Senior Women's Open due to their victories on the LPGA Tour during their professional days and finishes at past Senior LPGA Championships.
"I've been practicing more than usual," Johnston-Forbes said. "Our tournaments on the Legends Tour are spread out so when we have a big event, I usually start two months out to prepare for it. I've been doing the same thing this time, but it's been hot trying to get ready for this one."
Like her teammates, Johnston-Forbes credits her time as a UNC student-athlete to aiding her success as a golfer.
"UNC got me prepared to go on and play professionally," Johnston-Forbes said. "We had a pretty good team when I was there so I had to work hard to be in the top three, top five on the team. My teammates and I had a good work ethic and we all pushed each other. That helped prepare me to play tournaments week in and week out."
Johnston-Forbes played professionally for 33 years with her first LPGA victory in 1990 when she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the du Maurier Ltd. Classic (a major championship on the LPGA tour). In 1997, she tied for second in the Susan B. Komen International and posted her career low score of 64 during the second round of the Welch's/Circle K Championship. Throughout her career, Johnston-Forbes was a runner-up three times on the LPGA Tour. Since retiring from professional golf, like most of her teammates, Johnston-Forbes turned to professional golf instruction but has spent the past few weeks and preparing for the USGA event.
Teammates and 1989 graduates, Andrews and Whaley round out the group of Tar Heels competing at the U.S. Senior Women's Open.
During her time at Carolina, Andrews was selected second-team All-America as a senior and finished third at the 1989 NCAA Championship. She also won the 1988 Lady Paladin Invitational and was a two-time champion of the North and South Amateur (1984, 1986). Andrews was selected in 2003 to the Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary women's golf team.
"My time at UNC certainly shaped me both as an individual and as a golfer," Andrews said. "It honed in on a lot of my golfing skills while I was there to making it on tour. Living in North Carolina, UNC has continued to be a large part of my life. I've introduced my kids to everything UNC I can. We still go to basketball games and football games."
Andrews went on to a successful 15-year career on the LPGA Tour from 1990-2005, winning one major title in addition to five other tournaments. She also finished in the top 10 in money earned in a season three times and finished in the top three at the U.S. Women's Open Championships in 1992 and 1993. Andrews served as president of the LPGA from 2003-04. Additionally, Andrews was the first woman inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in 2017, and was also inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.
"I'm honored to have qualified," Andrews said. "That's part of why I wanted to bring my kids with me to show them this is what mom used to do but also for them to be a part of the first ever Senior Women's Open and to know that they were there when it all started."
Fellow '89 graduate, Suzy Whaley is one of Carolina's most notable alumnae and the mother of current UNC golfer Kelly Whaley. She went on to compete in the LPGA Tour in 1990 and 1993, but she's more famously known for her qualification and participation in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open when she became the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for an event on the PGA Tour.
Whaley has since become a decorated instructor, earning Connecticut's PGA Teacher of the Year in 2004 and 2007. From 2008-13 she earned distinctions like LPGA Top-50 Instructor and PGA Top Instructor Honors in Connecticut by Golf Digest. In 2014, Whaley was elected PGA Secretary at the PGA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis on November 22. That made her the first woman to be elected as an Officer of the Association. Later this year, Whaley will become the first female president of PGA of America.
"This is something we all thought we would never see," Whaley said to USGA's Ron Sirak. "This is about showing respect for the players who came before us and about establishing a championship for the players who are on the LPGA right now. And it's about competing. That's why we are here. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."
History will be made at the Chicago Golf Club with the USGA event teeing off Thursday at 8 a.m. ET.
"I'm looking forward to the camaraderie and getting to see all the players that I haven't seen in a while," Andrews said. "For me, that's what it's all about. Getting to see old friends and have fun with the people who were such an influential part of my life molding me into who I am today."
In the morning session, Andrews begins the course at 9:06 a.m. with Kris Tschetter and Macarena Campomanes. In the afternoon, Whaley starts at 1:21 p.m. with Cindy Rarick and Dana Dormann. Johnston-Forbes joins Marilyn Hardy and Lisa DePaulo to tee off from hole one at 1:43 p.m. Austin rounds out the Tar Heels, beginning at 1:54 p.m. with Lara Tennant and Debby Murphy.
"I'll be seeing a lot of people who I haven't seen in a long time," Austin said. "Being part of the Carolina athletic family has always been special."
Eligibility for the U.S. Senior Women's Open championship is limited to professional and amateur female players, age 50 and older. The championship format will mirror that of the U.S. Open: 72 holes of stroke play on four consecutive days with a cut after 36 holes. To mirror the other Open championships conducted by the USGA, the U.S. Senior Women's Open will be a walking-only competition.
The 120 players will take on a Chicago Golf Club set up at 6,088 yards and the field will be cut to the low 50 and ties after 36 holes. If there is a tie after 72 holes, there will be a two-hole aggregate playoff, followed by sudden death if the players remain tied.
For more information visit USGA.org.
Stay up to date with Carolina Women's Golf by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
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