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Homegrown Hoosier Seeks U.S. Women Amateur Title

Just how cool is this girl named Amanda, who's ranked as the very best female collegiate golfer in the U.S.? Not only cool, but refreshing, is Amanda Blumenherst, who spent eight of her formative years (ages 6-14) in Fort Wayne, Ind., and has no intention of skipping the last two years of college at Duke to play with the pros or tee it up with the guys in the PGA.

“I'm happy being a girl and playing with the girls," she declares in a quiet, soft voice filled with determination.

And, this family's Hoosier ties go way back to when grandpa Chuck Blumenherst owned the Elks course in Ft. Wayne and Amanda was still a young athlete who swam on the swim team, hit serious serves over the net during tennis matches, played 18 holes of golf on many mornings, then competed on a softball team at night.

Whew!

"I was born in Arizona, but my parents were homesick for Indiana, so we moved to Ft. Wayne when I was in the first grade", says this 20-year-old who dominated women's college golf this year by winning three consecutive tournaments against the best teams in the country with a scoring average of 69.11---a combined 23 under par!

"Golf is a family thing at my house," Amanda explains, with pride in her voice. “And, our summer base, even though I'm away a lot playing in tournaments, is our cottage at Lake James, near Ft. Wayne," she says.

There's no question a Ft. Wayne contingent will line the fairways at Crooked Stick Golf Club Aug. 6-12 to cheer for Amanda as she pursues the Robert Cox Trophy--emblematic of the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur champion.

While raucous cheering is not considered proper during head-to-head competition in golf, how about an impromptu chant at an appropriate time of an old-time cheer: "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar---all for Amanda stand up and holler".

Actually, "two bits" is an especially important coin for Amanda.

"I use the same quarter to mark all my balls on the green. It's one minted in 1965. So far, I've never lost or misplaced it so it's sort of a good luck piece," she declares.

At the time of this interview--March 27--there was no hesitation whatsoever when asked if she might skip preparing for the NCAA tourney to take advantage of an exemption offered by the LPGA to compete in the Sybase Classic, which falls between the NCAA regionals and the NCAA championship.

"No way", she emphasized. "I get a lot of questions--a lot of pressure--about leaving college for the pros, but I've set my goals and those who abandon college early have missed so much," she adds.

And, when the questions interrupt her focus as a history major (she's hooked on European history), she just retreats to the library "where it's quiet and I can study."

Unless it’s 6:30 a.m.. That's when she does 30 minuties of cardio, followed by a yoga class until it's time for this precocious young lady, who won't be 21 until Nov. 4, to head to class or the Duke golf course--a 10-minute walk from her dormitory.

She and three teammates took on Michael Jordan and his friends a year ago on the Duke golf course. "We creamed them, though Michael is really a pretty good golfer," she confesses. No wonder. Amanda belts her drives 250-265 yards, rarely missing the fairway and, at 5 ft. 9 in. she's uncertain of her weight, but "I'm built solid," she says.

Little wonder that Dad Dave, who owns a sport graphics business, and mom Amy, are proud of their first-born for her outlook on life.