HAMILTON, Ohio — The U.S. Women's Open is under way in North Carolina. Lakota West alum Marissa Steen teed off Thursday, officially competing in her fourth open championship.
"When I started playing golf, I was like 'this is it'," Steen recalled with a smile.
A multi-sport athlete as a child, LPGA golfer, Marissa Steen was introduced to the game at an early age, but it didn't run in the family.
"My dad used to play a handful of times a year but now he goes out once every two or three years for maybe nine holes...They (Steen's parents) did know, we can't teach you. They were great with basketball and softball and those other things," Steen said.
Steen figured out her game, having a very successful career at the University of Memphis.
“I thought I wanted to play professionally, if not stay in the golf industry as a golf pro or teaching professional, something like that,” Steen said.
10 years later, Steen is competing in her fourth U.S. Women's Open. This year, Steen earned her spot by finishing second in theSectional Qualifier in Pittsburgh, in dramatic fashion.
"I was in third place at the time, thinking there were only two spots, they had added one and I didn’t realize it, then I was really nervous and I was like ‘oh shoot’ that players were still around me on the leaderboard that needed to finish,” Steen said.
Overcoming the drama has Steen competing for the biggest purse of the year, $10 million. However, it’s less about taking home the cash, more about what the money says.
"Everything has been kind of tight financially, and they are still investing money in the women’s game. It’s really cool to see,” Steen said.
What would she do with the money?
"I don’t even know, I would probably put some more money down on my car, I just bought a car last year,” Steen said.
Truly, she's just competing for love of the game.
