HOUSTON – LSU women’s golf sophomore Ingrid Lindblad along with alumnae Austin Ernst and Madelene Sagstrom will tee off at the 75th United States Women’s Open Thursday.
“I am so happy the USGA did everything they could to host the US Women’s Open this year,” LSU women’s golf head coach Garrett Runion said. “Their willingness to postpone and not cancel allowed for our Tigers to play. This is a tremendous honor and opportunity, and I know Austin, Madelene and Ingrid are excited to play.”
The championship will be held on two golf courses, Cypress Creek Course and Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club, for the first time in its history due to reduced sunlight.
Lindblad earned her first U.S. Women’s Open bid by being No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. The unanimous All-America selection during her debut season for the Tigers a year ago will tee off at 11:21 a.m. CT at the Cypress Creek Course.
One of 24 amateurs in the field, Lindblad is the first LSU women’s golfer to appear in a U.S. Women’s Open as an amateur since Meredith Duncan in 2002. Lindblad owns large tournament experience as she led Sweden to the 2019 European Ladies’ Team Championship and competed at the 2019 Women’s British Open. She is also scheduled to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April 2021.
“This is Ingrid’s second major championship, and unlike the British Open, she has had plenty of time to prepare,” Runion said. “She learned from that experience and has worked on the parts of her game that she knows will be tested. It will be a great opportunity for Ingrid and it would not surprise me one bit if you see her name on the leaderboard late into the weekend.”
Ernst will tee off at 10:48 a.m. at the Jackrabbit Course, marking her 38th major championship since beginning her pro career in 2012. Ernst finished second at the 2018 Evian championships and fifth at the 2020 Women’s British Open. The 2011 NCAA Champion for the Tigers owns 25 career top-10 finishes. In 2019, Ernst became the first LSU women’s golfer to earn more than $3 million in career earnings on the LPGA Tour. She picked up second tour win of her career at the 2020 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G in August.
Sagstrom will tee off at 11:10 a.m. from the first hole of the Jackrabbit Course. The 2015 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year earned her first win on tour at the inaugural Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January 2020. This is Sagstrom’s 17th major championship and third of 2020. Her career high finish at a U.S. Open came in 2018 when she finished 17th at Shoal Creek. Sagstrom’s top major finish came in 2017 at the Women’s PGA Championship at 11th overall.
“Austin and Madelene are both coming off a good finish last week and have won recently so I expect them to compete and have good weeks.” Runion added. “These three women are great ambassadors for LSU women’s golf and continue to make us proud.”
The tournament site is a product of founders Jackie Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret. A year after his 1956 Masters victory, Burke opened Champions with Demaret, a three-time Masters winner. The Cypress Creek course opened in 1959 and five years later the Jackrabbit course was constructed adjacent to the Cypress Creek course.
This will be the 11th major golf event hosted at Champions, including a Ryder Cup and five renewals of the PGA Tour Championship.
The tournament will be televised on Peacock, the Golf Channel and NBC Sports. Thursday’s coverage begins on Peacock (NBC’s streaming channel) from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. with coverage switching to Golf Channel until 5 p.m. Friday’s coverage will be from noon to 2 p.m. on Peacock with coverage continuing until 5 p.m. on Golf Channel.
On the weekend, Saturday’s coverage will begin on Golf Channel from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by 90 minutes on Peacock and NBC picking up from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The final round will air from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Golf Channel before switching to NBC until conclusion.
(Press Release Provided by LSU Athletics)