100th Sally golf tourney on deck as Ohio State golfer eyes three-peat
The number of entries is familiar — 96 golfers.
But Chuck Grant, tournament director of the Sally Championship, still says, “it’s becoming a more selective field.”
It’s all relative: Those 96 entries, who will compete Wednesday through Saturday, were culled from nearly 250 applications. They’ve said it for many years now and will say it again.
“The field gets better every year,” Grant says.
What’s different about this year is the additional pageantry — this year’s 72-hole event, at Oceanside in Ormond Beach, celebrates the 100th anniversary of a tournament officially known as the Women’s South Atlantic Amateur Championship.
In keeping with the modern norm, the Sally is top-heavy with standouts from national college programs and highly ranked juniors.
Among them is a potential three-peat champ, Kary Hollenbaugh, a senior All-American at Ohio State hoping to earn her third straight Sally trophy this week. Hollenbaugh, an Ohio native, was the only golfer under par last year, finishing at 5-under-par 283 and winning by five.
Hollenbaugh added her name to a Who’s Who list of past Sally winners. That list includes Hall of Fame legends like Patty Berg and Babe Zaharias, as well as modern LPGA stars such as Cristie Kerr, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, Jessica Korda and Grace Park.
The 80th U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally is officially underway.
Kary Hollenbaugh, an amateur from Ohio, kicked us off at Erin Hills.
Let’s have a week! pic.twitter.com/MecfN4aJGz
— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) May 29, 2025
Two other golfers — both college juniors — who finished in last year’s top five are also back this year — UNF’s Kaitlyn Schroeder and Georgia’s Karoline Tuttle. Palm Coast native Alexandra Gazzoli, a sophomore at FSU, is also competing this week. In three collegiate tournaments (and nine rounds) this past fall, she averaged just over 72 strokes per round.
The tournament is open to spectators at no charge. There’s limited parking at the club, however, with overflow available at the nearby Granada Plaza.
Click here to keep updated through the week on scores, pairings, etc.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 100th Sally opens Wednesday. Can Ohio State’s Kary Hollenbaugh 3-peat?
