By John Breech / STAFF

Twenty-three year old Roswell resident Margaret Shirley is 36 holes away from qualifying for one of golf’s greatest events; the U.S. Women’s Open. The fair-haired Auburn grad shot a one-over par 72 on the Canongate course at the Georgia National Golf Club in McDonough to take top honors in last Tuesday’s women’s qualifier.

The win sends her to Sanford, NC, for a 36-hole Thursday showdown with some of the country’s best female golfers. The top qualifiers in the June 11 event will be awarded entries into the 64th U.S. Women’s Open which is being held July 9-12 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Penn.

Shirley, who has been playing golf since she was 12, knew she had been giving her golf club some quality swings lately, but she never imagined she would take top honors at the qualifier. “I had been playing really well this spring, so I knew I had a great chance to make it through to sectionals,” admits the 2004 Lassiter graduate. “I certainly didn’t think a 72 would be the low score [at the qualifier] but the course was set up pretty tough.”

Being the medalist at a U.S. Open qualifier might be a career highlight for some, but not Shirley. The two-time high school state champion is no stranger to success. Her freshman year at Lassiter, the then 15-year-old finished second in the state individually while helping her team take home the state title, “In high school winning state is always your goal so it was awesome to be able to accomplish that my first year,” Shirley says.

After starting her high school career with a state title, she went ahead and ended her high school days with a title too, taking home the individual state championship her senior year, “I always wanted to win state as an individual and it was a great way to finish my senior year.”

During the high school golf offseason, Shirley got acquainted with tournament golf, something that convinced her she wanted to take her career to the next level, “After I had been playing tournament golf for a couple years I knew I wanted to play in college,” Shirley explains. “It had been a goal of mine to play for a top golf program.”

With two high school state titles under her belt, Shirley had her choice of schools, “My final three [choices for school] were Auburn, Vanderbilt and Georgia,” Shirley recalls. “Auburn just seemed to fit me. I loved the campus. The coach and team were great and I knew I could go there and improve my game.” And if any Alabama fans are reading, Shirley has no problem admitting that Auburn “is a school I would have gone to even if I hadn’t played golf.”

SUCCESS AT ALL LEVELS

The budding starlet’s college career included being named second team All-SEC three times. In 2006, Auburn won the team SEC championship by a stroke; something Shirley calls “The most exciting tournament” she’s played in to date.

In 2008, Shirley, a senior, finished her final season at Auburn with a fourth place individual showing in the SEC championship. “I was really happy with my fourth place finish at SEC’s my senior year,” the former Tiger says. “I had really been struggling with my game throughout the year and it was really special to be able to pull everything together and play so well for my last SEC Championship.”

Now that the communications major has graduated from college, her days are almost completely consumed by golf, “I play golf basically every day,” Shirley says. “I am a player who likes to practice on the course. I’ll go play nine holes and then spend a couple hours on the course hitting a lot of shots and chipping and putting on the greens.” Is that all? “I also spend a couple of hours on the range working on my swing and short game. It just depends on what I need to work on for the day. I do spend more time on the course than on the range.”

Shirley’s career has also included several appearances in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. The amateur, which consists of two-days of stroke play that narrows the field down to 64 before match play begins, is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. In 2004, Shirley played her way into the match play portion of the event before losing in the round of 16. Shirley advanced farther then Michelle Wie (Wie lost in the round of 32) and played at the same level as current LPGA stalwarts Morgan Pressel (lost in round eight) and Paula Creamer (lost in final four). Her career in the amateur tournament also includes wins over Stacy Lewis and Yani Tseng, both of whom are currently on the LPGA tour.

Speaking of the LPGA tour, that’s Shirley’s definitive goal and she knows a good showing at Thursday’s sectional could go a long way towards helping accomplish that lifelong dream, “Qualifying for the Open would be unbelievable,” Shirley exclaims, “It definitely would be a great experience to be able to play with the best players in the world and to play for the national title. My ultimate goal is definitely to play on the LPGA.”

For now Shirley is playing on a women’s developmental tour called the Suncoast Series. The Orlando-based tour holds weekly 54-hole events and Shirley just happened to win one of them in April, “I shot 10-under for the three days and that gave me a huge confidence boost.”

The confidence boost should help as Shirley heads into Thursday’s Sectional in Sanford, NC. The golf will be played at a Carolina Trace course that Shirley’s never seen or stepped foot on. How does she prepare for a course that’s as mysterious and alluring as a wrapped Christmas present, “I’ll just play a practice round the day before and try to learn the course the best I can,” says Shirley.

One last question, can she qualify? “I think if I can continue to play the way I have been, I definitely have a chance to make it to the U.S. Open.” Keep your fingers crossed for this rising star from Roswell.