strokes behind champion Walailak Satarak of Thailand. Jacques was in the thick of the title chase until she shot a final-round 78.
“That was a huge accomplishment for me,” said Jacques, now 22. “You want to always do you best and think that you’ve got a shot at winning.”
Jacques finished her college career at Oklahoma with 10 top-10 finishes and led the Sooners in stroke average as a senior at 75.9. As a team, OU won three tournaments this season and went to NCAA regionals for the first time in Jacques’ years on the team.
Now as a pro, Jacques hopes to get her game in shape to enter LPGA Tour qualifying in the fall.
A two-time state high school champion while playing for Skyline, Jacques will be one of seven current and former Colorado state prep winners in the field at Green Valley Ranch, including former Skyline teammate Rachel Larson and reigning champ Becca Huffer of Littleton.
The Women’s Open has undergone several changes since last year, in addition to a move to late-spring dates. It will be reduced from 72 holes to 54, be played at one site instead of two, and not be held concurrently with the men’s Colorado Open. Also, this year’s tournament will be a pro-am, similar to the AT&T Pebble Beach on the PGA Tour. At the Women’s Open, each pro will be paired with an amateur sponsor, with two pros and two sponsors in each foursome.
Amateurs competing in the championship portion of the tournament will be grouped together and tee off before the pro-am foursomes on Wednesday and Thursday.
For the pros, $50,000 will be up for grabs -- at least $10,000 to the winner -- in the regular tournament, plus $14,000 in the pro-am team event.
Among those in the championship field besides Jacques and the other former Colorado state high school champions are Satarak, 2005 Colorado Women’s Open winner Erin (Kerr) Houtsma and Kim Eaton, the 2007 Colorado Women’s Golf Association Player of the Year.
