Former prodigy becomes youngest winner of Maryland Women’s Open
Carmen Bandea made national news in 2005 when she turned professional in golf and tennis at age 15 and applied for an exemption into the LPGA Qualifying School, then restricted to players age 18 and older. Just one problem – she wasn’t quite good enough in either sport.
Six years later, however, Bandea finally is a champion. Monday and Tuesday at Columbia Country Club, Bandea shot a 2-over-par 71-75 – 146 to capture the Maryland Women’s Open.
Bandea, 21, of Duluth, Ga. won by two strokes over recent Virginia graduate Whitney Neuhauser (78-70 – 148) and 15-year-old Bryana Nguyen of Columbia (74-74 – 148) to become the youngest champion in the 12-year history of the event.
The long-hitting Bandea struggled for three years on the Duramed Futures Tour (2008-10), never finishing better than 30th place in 35 events or inside the top 100 on the money list.
But this week she was one of the few players who handled the fast greens and tight layout at Columbia, which played to a par 73 and 5,779 yards. Among the players who struggled in the difficult conditions were U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur semifinalist Lisa Schlesinger (82-83 — 165) and U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier and state amateur runner-up Elyse Smidinger (77-77 — 154).
