Ephrata's Peters finishes 20th at Women's U.S. Open qualifier

WOODBURN, Ore. — Kenedee Peters was neither intimidated nor flustered when she made triple bogey four holes into the opening round at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open Sectional Qualifier at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Ore.

The Ephrata senior rebounded to finish 20th in the 56-golfer field with a 36-hole total of 150. The elite field was vying for two spots to qualify for the 72nd U.S. Women’s Open Championship July 13-16 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. The Northwest qualifier field featured 56 golfers, eight professionals and 48 amateurs, including the NCAA National Champion, Monica Vaughn (72-73-145) from Arizona State University.

LPGA Tour professional Becky Morgan of Wales (66-70) was the top qualifier with 8-under-par 136. Sixteen-year-old Brooke Seay (69-70) from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., was the second qualifier with 139.

Morgan, who is also a member of the Ladies European Tour, turned professional in 2001. She played her college golf at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she won 10 NCAA Division I medalist titles. Seay, the California teenage phenom, Class of 2019 golfer, won the ANNIKA Invitational in February.

So for Peters to hold her own in a top collegiate and professional field is a feat in itself. Factor in that she made an eight on the 484-yard, par-5 fourth hole, the story is one of promise in a promising career.

Peters, who’s headed to Washington State on a golf scholarship, rebounded from the triple bogey with five straight pars to make the turn at plus-4. Like she did in winning her second Washington state 2A girls state medalist title in May, she made her move on the back nine with birdies on 12, 16 and 17 to finish the first day with a 2-over-par 74.

Morgan set a blistering tone with an opening-round 66. Susie Cavanagh (Oregon State), Bibilani Liu (Boston College recruit for 2017-18) and Seay were all three strokes back at 69. Despite the disaster four holes into the tournament, Peters was just eight strokes off the lead with 18 holes to play.

On Tuesday, she came through the front nine in 1-over par, but made bogeys on three of the last four holes to finish with 76.

Where Peters just finished her junior year of high school, others in the elite field did not. The leaderboard also included Muni He, Southern Cal (72-69-141) and Gabi Barker (Texas Tech), a former the No. 1 ranked player in NCAA women’s golf and Big 12 Women’s Golfer of the Year (71-77-148).

Peters is scheduled to play in the USGA Girls Junior Qualifier on Monday at Meridian Valley Country Club in Kent where she will be seeking a berth in her fourth consecutive national event. The championship will be held at Boone Valley Golf Club, in Augusta, Mo., July 24-29.

Rodney Harwood is a sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com