JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS — Addie Dobson qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles County by shooting a 66 in the first round of the 36-hole qualifier at Meadowbrook Country Club in St. Louis. She secured her place in the field after completing both rounds of the qualifier, earning one of the available spots for the championship.
Dobson began playing golf at age 15 as a high school freshman in Jacksonville, Illinois, initially hoping to break 100. Her high school, Routt Catholic, did not have enough players to field a girls golf team at the time. Before focusing on golf, she played basketball, softball, and volleyball. Early in her high school career, her father, Kenny Dobson, took her for a lesson with Craig Onsrud, the head women's coach at Illinois Wesleyan University and longtime pro at Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, Illinois. Onsrud’s first impression was that she had a natural swing and the potential to improve quickly.
As a freshman at the University of Missouri, Dobson averaged 76.67 strokes and played in three events. By her senior year, she had lowered her scoring average by four strokes and played in her first NCAA Championship, part of Missouri’s second-ever team appearance and its first since 2005. She had never been to California before that regional event at Stanford. Now ranked No. 2,075 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Dobson is one of 28 amateurs in the U.S. Women’s Open field; nine of the top 10 amateurs in the rankings are also competing.
“I feel like the people around me were more excited for me than I was because it was hard for me to even believe that I could – that someone like me could just go to St. Louis and play 36 holes and now I’m going to the U.S. Open,” Dobson said. She added, “You know, you have those moments where your life feels like it changes just a little bit, and this is definitely one of those. I feel like people, they look at me just a little bit differently.” She also recalled, “It started a dream.”
After seeing his daughter’s name in the top five after nine holes of the qualifier, Kenny Dobson took a screenshot. He later said, “It’s the one tournament that you don’t need the resume,” and added, “She just built girls golf in Jacksonville, Illinois.” The Dobson family has rented a four-bedroom house in Pacific Palisades for the tournament. Dobson plans to host a clinic on a simulator for junior players in Jacksonville during winter break. Both the public high school and junior high in her hometown now have girls golf teams.