A conversation with US Open coach, Tiffany Joh
ERIN – The word’s best women in golf will soon come to Southeast Wisconsin with hopes of hoisting a giant trophy, though others are hopeful just to be a part of it. The 80th U.S. Women’s open comes to Erin Hills in Washington County at the end of May. Among those hoping to walk the fairways are a local caddie and a college golfer who graduated from nearby Kettle Moraine High School.
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Chris Hanney has been a caddie at Erin Hills for five years. Walking the 11th fairway at a media preview event, he told WTMJ’s Vince Vitrano, of Wis. Morning News, Erin Hills will be a tough test. “With how fast these fairways and these greens are going to be, if they get some wind out here, it’s going to be a real challenge for them for sure.” The United States Golf Association staged a preview for media who will cover the open, featuring a field of more than 150 players. Hanney knows he’ll be working in some capacity. He doesn’t dismiss the possibility he could end looping for one of the players who may not be a regular on the pro tour. “Maybe. If I get one of their practice rounds, and they like my skills out here.”
It would be, perhaps, a player like Jenna Anderson. Jenna, a KM graduate is playing college golf at Utah Tech University. She’s going to try to make the U.S. Open by placing high enough in an open qualifying event two weeks before the Championship. “The beauty of golf is that anything can happen on any day,” Jenna told WTMJ. She knows it will take low numbers to be one of the top two or three finishers who make the field from the qualifier in Colorado, but she doesn’t rule it out. “I mean if I’m playing my best I don’t think I don’t have a shot. I do think if I’m playing my best and I just give it my all, I don’t think I’m out of it.”
For Jenna, who recalls working at the U.S. Open in 2017 when the men’s championship was at Erin Hills. She gets chills thinking about the stars aligning and what it would be like to play in the tournament here. “That’s what every little girl can only dream of and hope for. Now that it’s here, it’s kind of crazy that it’s happening. I’m feeling ready, and feeling excited.”
Tickets on sale now for the event. Juniors 17 and under are free with an adult admission. Competition runs May 29-June 1.
