SHOAL CREEK, Ala. — Jillian Hollis, a three-time All-American for the Georgia Bulldogs, will play in women’s golf’s premier event in her professional debut this weekend. Hollis is among 156 golfers competing in the U.S. Women’s Open at Shoal Creek on Thursday–Sunday.
Hollis earned her spot in the field by finishing as runner-up in a 36-hole qualifer in Westminster, Colo., on May 15 and turned professional following the NCAA Championships last week.
“It’s so exciting to be here,” Hollis said on Wednesday. “I’m loving every minute of it and learning from all the different people I’m playing and practicing with. It is also cool seeing everyone because you get to see what people do to get ready and how they practice differently from others. I have a lot of friends and familiar faces from college here playing like the Arkansas girls, Robyn Choi from Colorado and Emilia (Migliacchio) from Wake Forest. It’s cool seeing all of your friends competing on a stage with you and the best in the world.”
Tuesday’s practice round was rained out due to Subtropical Storm Alberto; however, Hollis was able to practice late in the day.
“Right now, the experience has been about Mother Nature,” said Georgia head coach Josh Brewer, who will serve as Hollis’ caddy this weekend. “It’s neat being here and seeing her excited. I can see that she belongs at our national championship, the professional one, and how excited she is about competing. This is just a great way to kick off her professional career.”
Hollis notched seven top-10 finishes in nine tournaments during the 2017-18 season, including victories at the 3M Augusta Invitational and the PING/ASU Invitational. She shattered the Georgia stroke average record and finished the season at 71.04, a combined 22-under par. In 26 rounds, Hollis posted 18 par-or-better tallies with eight scores in the 60s.
Hollis will tee off from No. 1 at 9:30 ET on Thursday morning and be paired with Karine Icher from France and Nicole Broch Larsen from Denmark. On Friday, the same trio will begin play at 3:10 p.m. ET from No. 10.
Hollis becomes the third member of her class at Georgia to qualify for the Open. Rinko Mitsunaga participated in the 2012 and 2016 events, while Bailey Tardy competed in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Live coverage of the Open will be featured on Fox throughout the weekend, airing on FS1 from 3:00-8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday and Fridayand on FOX from 2:00-7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.