June 26, 2008

LUBBOCK, Texas - Amidst many of the premier names in women's golf, former Texas Tech golfer Laurie Brower teed off the 2008 Women's U.S. Open Thursday at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. with an eight-over par 81.

For the former Lady Raider and current assistant golf pro at the Rawls Course, she earned the opportunity to play among some of the game's greats by finishing in second place with a 146 at a sectional qualifier nearly two weeks ago. To be able to play on one of the biggest stages in the game on a well-known course is a dream-like situation for many golfers.

Facing a challenging par-73 course, Brower opened up play with a fairly strong front nine. After bogeying the first hole, she fought back to shoot par on seven of the next nine holes to post a 40 going into the back nine. A challenging par-five hole on 13 bit Brower, as she triple bogeyed the hole. It would not keep her down, however, as she finished strong by carding par over her final nine holes, including a challenging par-five 18th, to come in at 81 for the day and tie for 146th.

The 60 players with the lowest scores and those within 10 strokes of the leader after the second round will make the cut.

Brower will tee off the second round Friday morning at 9:12 a.m. CST. Up-to-date results can be found at www.uswomensopen.com.