Mulcahy shoots 74 in Dana Open, grateful for the opportunity

SYLVANIA – It was a day of firsts for Mary Kelly Mulcahy at the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club on Thursday.

It was the first LPGA tournament for the University of Findlay golfer and Lima Central Catholic graduate.

She started her debut against the pros by parring the first seven holes she played.

She got her first birdie in an LPGA event on her ninth hole. And finally, after she turned in her scorecard for her three-over-par round of 74 she signed autographs for the first time.

“These are my first autographs. I signed like 20 autographs when I was walking out of the scoring tent. Everyone – little kids, adults, everyone,” Mulcahy said.

Two three-putts on her second nine holes, one of which caused a double bogey, made her score a little higher than she would have liked. But overall she saw the day in a positive light.

“Not many people get to do this so just being able to be out here and play with the best in the world is a really cool experience and I’m definitely not going to take it for granted,” Mulcahy said.

“I had higher hopes for today. I played pretty good on the front nine but the back nine I struggled a little. But I can’t really complain.”

Mulcahy started her round at No. 10. Early in her round her putting was a strength when she one-putted No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16 for pars and one-putted No. 18 for a birdie.

She’s one of only two amateurs in the Dana Open. She played her way into the tournament by finishing second in a Monday qualifier when she shot 70.

But the course might have played tougher Thursday than it did earlier in the week, Mulcahy said.

“The pins were harder today than in the qualifier or the practice round. The greens are definitely getting faster and the rough is getting thicker. So I think it’s going to keep getting harder and harder. It was definitely harder,” she said.

Asked how long she had dreamed about playing in an LPGA tournament, she said, “How long? Pretty much forever.

“I guess when everyone starts their sport when they’re younger they want to play professionally and then when you grow up you have to make some more realistic goals. But this has always been in the back of my head. Being able to do this while I’m still in college and kind of see if this is what I want to do in the future is really cool,” she said.

Qualifying for an LPGA tournament is another accomplishment on Mulcahy’s long list this year.

She arrived at Findlay three years ago after being the No. 1 golfer on three consecutive state champion teams at LCC. She was an honorable-mention All-American as a freshman and a first-team All-American as a sophomore.

This season, she was the NCAA Division II National Player of the Year. She was the only Division II player on the United States Palmer Cup team and went 4-0 in match play in that tournament which matched a US team against a team of international college golfers in Ireland.

She played in the British Women’s Amateur. And in less than a week this month she qualified for the United States Women’s Amateur Championship and the Dana Open.

University of Findlay golf coach Dominic Guarnieri, who was among a sizeable group of family and friends following Mulcahy on Thursday, said the biggest difference in her from last year to this year is in the mental side of the game.

“I think it’s mainly the confidence and belief in herself. That was one of the biggest things. She was obviously very good her first two years but just took a giant step in her mentality from sophomore year to her junior year.

“She loves to compete so it was just go out here (today) and compete and have fun and enjoy it,” he said.

Mulcahy said, “I’ve gotten better just in general, but probably more on the mental side. I just gained a lot of confidence. I believe in myself.

“I think that’s because of the hard work and preparation I put in so that when I get on the golf course I am confident because I know that I have worked hard, I know I’ve done everything that I could leading up to the tournament.”

Mulcahy will play again Friday in the Dana Open. After Friday’s round the field will be cut. In last year’s Dana Open it took a 36-hole total of 141 (one below par) to make the cut.