Ebster struggles, falls into tie for seventh at U.S. Senior Women’s Open
Who could blame Dana Ebster for not getting a little caught up in the moment in the third round of the Senior Women’s U.S. Open?
One week she’s handling her various work duties at the Turlock Golf and Country Club, the next she’s on one of her sport’s biggest stages in front of a nationwide television audience.
A surprise first-round leader, the Modestan struggled Saturday with a 4-over-par 76, leaving her tied for seventh place and nine strokes behind leader Annika Sorenstam heading into Sunday’s final round at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut.
The Grace Davis High School alum birdied the opening par-5 first hole and the par-4 third to move to within three of Sorenstam.
Through 40 holes the of the 72-hole tournament, Ebster sat at 5-under par and in second place.
However, she bogeyed the par-3 fifth and par-4 sixth and doubled the par-4 ninth to go out in 39. She bogeyed 10, 11 and 13 before a much-needed birdie on the par-3 15th helped to settle the 51-year-old who burst into the national limelight on Thursday.
She enters Sunday’s final round tied with Michelle McGann, Rosie Jones and amateur Ellen Port at 1-over-par. Sorenstam, at 8-under, has a two-shot lead over Liselotte Neumann.
“I think I just kind of started thinking about, there are cameras there and there are people here, and I just kind of got out of my little world.,” Ebster said. “And I was like, Oh, my God, this is kind of cool. And then it’s like, Wait, you got to play golf.”
To be sure, Ebster has played great golf. Following her round Thursday in a much-adored interview with golf writers, she said regardless of all the noise around her, the focus would be on hitting fairways and greens.
Although fourth overall in greens in regulation among the 51 players left in the field, Ebster struggled off the tee Saturday, hitting just 3 of 14 fairways.
On Sunday, Ebster will be paired with Port. The twosome will tee off at 9:01 a.m. PDT. Sunday’s final round will be televised on the Golf Channel starting at 11 a.m.
