The USGA just released the tee times for next week's U.S. Women's Open. Read between the threesomes and you find a couple interesting nuggets:
1) There are 28 amateurs in the field at Newport (R.I.) CC. To help do the math, that means almost 18 percent of the field can't earn any money. This compares to 18 amateurs a year ago at Cherry Hills. I've got more to say on this, but I'll save it for later.
2) Not listed among those 28 is UCLA's Amie Cochran. Rumor at the NCAA Women's Championship was that Cochran, who just finished with her sophomore year in Westwood, was thinking about turning pro. Well it seems as if she's not thinking any more. The USGA failed to put the "Scarlet A" next to her name on the tee-times sheet and a source at UCLA confirmed that she is expected to play as a professional next week.
So what does this mean for UCLA, my very, very, very early No. 2 team entering the 2006-07 season? Well, they're depth takes a bit of a hit obviously in that Cochran (pictured) had won All-American honors each of her two seasons with the Bruins. But coach Carrie Forsyth does have Sydnee Michaels coming in, who also happens to be playing at Newport next week, along with Jane Park.
Moreover, Hannah Jun looks to be continuing to regain her confidence after coming back from a broken neck earlier this season. She just earned a share of medalist honors (along with Mina Harigae) at this week's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship out in Colorado and now heads into match play. (To follow the action at Walking Stick GC, in Pueblo, Colo., click here.) Sure UCLA would like to have seen Cochran return, but the team can handle the loss just fine.
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