Natalie Gulbis has not been in contention on the LPGA tour for some time but the popular 32-year-old turned back the clock on Tuesday when she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open by setting a course record.
A course-record 66 was a solid start from @natalie_gulbis on the first 18 holes of her #USWomensOpen qualifier today. pic.twitter.com/WzjCJ82FDu
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 1, 2015
The 2007 Evian Masters winner has been grinding away through injuries and illnesses for the last couple of seasons with little to show for it other than missed cuts (three in seven tourneys in 2015) and disappointing finishes.
So firing a course-record 5-under 66 at Galloway (N.J.) National Golf Club to kick start the weather-delayed 36-hole event, and beat the field of 67 women by two strokes has to be a confidence-booster for the hard-working California native.
Qualified. phew!! :))Excited to play in this years USWomensOpen. Finished qualifier today in Jersey.… https://t.co/cbgC1L7jqp
— Natalie Gulbis (@natalie_gulbis) June 2, 2015
Gulbis missed the cut on Friday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic so she didn't have far to travel from Galloway’s Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club. Seven birdies in her first round sent her into Day 2 on a wave of momentum.
Gulbis will tee it up in her 15th U.S. Open, to be played July 9-12 at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.