Woods misses cut, sets sights on U.S. Women's Open

• By Randall Mell
• Jun 8, 2012 8:25 PM ET

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Cheyenne Woods put herself to a wicked test making her professional debut at the Wegmans LPGA Championship this week.

Her second start won’t be much gentler.

Woods qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played next month at Blackwolf Run, which could once again be one of the most demanding tests in the women’s game.

Woods shot 7-over-par 79 Friday at Locust Hill and missed the cut by three shots, but she was excited about the chances she’s getting.

“I was just so happy to get in,” said Woods, who played on a sponsor’s exemption. “I just found out last week I was going to be playing Wegmans. I’ll have a little more time to prepare for the U.S. Open, so I’ll be looking forward to that. But I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my professional career, to play two majors in a month. I just graduated from college a few weeks ago. I don’t think I can complain about playing in these two tournaments.”

Woods, who is niece to Tiger Woods, struggled in her start Friday, shooting 44 on her first nine, but she regrouped and played the back nine in even par. She ended up 10 over for the tournament.

“I don’t even know what had happened,” Woods said of her poor start. “I wasn’t hitting the ball well. I wasn’t finding the fairway, and that makes it really hard on this course. I found myself struggling for par on every hole and even bogey on some.”

She was steady on the back nine, with a birdie and a bogey to go with seven pars.

“I know what I need to work on,” Woods said. “I’m not too far off from playing at this level. I think it was a great start to my professional career, and I’m thankful to have been able to play here at Wegmans.”

What does she need to work on?

“This rough really tested my short game,” she said. “My putting wasn’t horrible, but I do think I can improve on that. I was pretty happy with how I struck the ball generally.”