Former Lakota West standout qualifies for U.S Women’s Open

Weather delays and being unaware of the actual number of qualifiers left Marissa Steen’s United States Women’s Open qualifying experience fraught with uncertainty.

The 2008 Lakota West High School graduate went to Shannopin Country Club near Pittsburgh believing that only two golfers would qualify out of the May 3 event for the Open, scheduled June 2-5 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in central North Carolina.

“When I posted my score, I looked at the leaderboard, and I was third,” Steen said on Wednesday from New Jersey, where she was preparing for the LPGA’s Cognizant Founders Cup. “There was word going around on Monday that they were taking three qualifiers, but I hadn’t heard that. My caddy and I were talking to a couple of other golfers we know, and I said, ‘I need someone to falter.’ They said, ‘What are you talking about? They’re taking three.’

“For me, that was a huge sigh of relief.”

As it turned out, Steen didn’t need the extra spot. The 10-year pro, playing a remarkably consistent game that featured effective putting, shot a 1-under par 71-70 – 141 to finish second, three strokes behind the leader one ahead of the two women who tied for third.

“I was really excited,” said Steen, who also qualified for the 2014 and 2017 Opens. “Last year, I missed by one stroke.”

The West Chester native was 14 when she started playing golf. She was named second-team allGreater Miami Conference and was a first-team all-GMC pick as a sophomore and senior. The only year she didn’t make the all-conference team was 2006, but she compensated by helping the Firebirds win the Division I state champion.

Steen enjoyed a standout collegiate career at the University of Memphis, also winning the 2011 Cincinnati Women’s Met before turning pro in 2012. She has played on the secondary Symetra and Epson tours before earning her LPGA card, becoming the first Memphis product