Mulcahy plays her way into LPGA Dana Open

This summer just keeps getting better for Mary Kelly Mulcahy.

The Lima Central Catholic graduate and current University of Findlay golfer qualified for this week’s LPGA Dana Open in an 18-hole qualifier at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania on Monday.

Mulcahy shot a one-under-par 70 to finish second among 24 golfers playing in the qualifier for two spots in the tournament’s field. Former University of Kentucky golfer Jensen Castle, the 2021 Women’s U.S. Amateur champion who recently turned pro, led the qualifier.

In the last two weeks, Mulcahy has gone undefeated in four rounds of match play when the United States won the Arnold Palmer Cup against a team of international players in Ireland, qualified for the Women’s U.S. Amateur, and now has qualified for an LPGA tournament.

Mulcahy, who just finished her third season at the University of Findlay, earned a place in the U.S. Amateur by finishing second with a two-under-par round of 70 in a qualifier for that tournament last Thursday at Walnut Grove Country Club in Beavercreek near Dayton.

The Dana Open is scheduled to be played Thursday through Sunday at Highland Meadows. The U.S. Amateur will be Aug. 5-11 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., a course which has been the site of eight men’s major tournaments — three U.S. Opens and five PGAs.

Jim Naveau
Jim Naveau has covered local and high school sports for The Lima News since 1978 and Ohio State football since 1992. His OSU coverage appears in more than 30 newspapers. Naveau, a Miami University graduate, also worked at the Greenville Advocate and the Piqua Daily Call. He has seen every boys state basketball tournament since 1977. Reach him at [email protected] or 567-242-0414.