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Inside: Video highlights from Coe's round and a photo gallery from the qualifier, plus tee times for today's pro-am

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - Joanna Coe dreamed of playing in the ShopRite LPGA Classic as she grew up hitting golf ball after golf ball on the practice range.

The Mays Landing resident made her dream a reality Monday afternoon.

Coe, 20, grabbed one of final two spots in this year's Classic 150-player field during Monday's qualifying round.

"I just tried to focus (on Monday)," she said. "But now I'm going to be teeing up on Friday. It's surreal."

Coe shot a 3-under-par 68 on the Bay Course at Seaview - A Dolce Resort. Her score was the lowest of the 13 golfers competing in the qualifier. LPGA professionals Adrienne White and Ashli Bunch each shot a 1-under-par 70 to finish tied for second. White won the final spot in a playoff that lasted three holes.

Coe, an amateur, will join a field that includes professionals Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie when the 54-hole, $1.5 million Classic starts Friday at Seaview.

"This is all we've ever talked about since she was 11 years old," said her longtime coach, Bruce Chelucci, who also caddied for her Monday. "I kept telling her, 'You're going to play in the ShopRite one year. You're going to play in the ShopRite.' "

Coe is already the region's most accomplished female golfer. A 2007

Oakcrest High School graduate, she just finished her junior year at Rollins College in Florida, where she won the NCAA Division II championship as a freshman. She reached the semifinals of last year's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship.

But Monday's performances pushes her to a new level. This will be her first LPGA event.

Monday qualifying rounds on the LPGA Tour are usually ho-hum events. The qualifiers are for nonexempt touring professionals, club professionals and amateurs with low enough handicaps.

There is no leaderboard and few, if any, spectators. Workers scurried about the course Monday getting it ready for the rest of the week. Traffic zoomed by on Route 9.

Coe's presence made it feel more like an event. A gallery of 40 fans followed her around the course.

A few more fans waited in the grandstand for her at the 18th hole.

LPGA player Adrienne White spotted a few spectators in the grandstand while she stood on the first tee.

"I said to my caddie, 'Do they know it's only Monday?' " she said with a laugh. "There were tons of people out. It's unexpected, but it was nice to see the support."

Coe's gallery was a who's who of her life. Her father, Michael, and mother, Kathleen, were there along with other relatives. Her Oakcrest golf coach, Doug Shiner, was in the crowd as well as Sharon Riordan, who was principal of Hess Elementary School in Hamilton Township when Coe went there.

"My mom asked her if she was a golf fan," Coe said. "She said, 'No, I'm a Joanna fan.' That's awesome. People came here for me and that means a lot."

Coe not only showed her golf skill but also her mental toughness during her round.

She started fast and was surprisingly calm. Coe was 3-under after nine holes.

"For some reason, I wasn't nervous," she said. "I had the perfect state of mind from the first tee to the last hole."

Coe sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the 179-yard, par-3 11th hole to move to 4-under par.

"That was just cool," she said. "I had a good feeling over it. It just dropped perfect."

But Coe then stumbled. She hooked drives on the 13th and 14th holes and bogeyed both holes.

"I'm kind of in between two drivers right now," she said. "One goes right and one goes left. I had a couple of bad swings with my driver - no big deal. I made smart bogeys and didn't turn them into doubles."

Chelucci, who admitted to being more nervous than Coe throughout the round, checked with her to make sure she was OK after the errant drives.

"I thought she might have been worse off than me," he said, "but she was fine."

Coe just missed birdies at No. 15 and 16. A 20-foot birdie at the par-3 15th stopped on the lip of the cup. Her downhill, 10-foot birdie try at No. 16 slid right by the hole.

Again, she did not allow those missed putts to discourage her.

Her most memorable shot came at No. 17, a 98-yard, par-3.

"Bruce was like, 'Make it rain on the hole,' " Coe said. "I had a good feeling over the ball. I hit it perfect."

Coe's wedge shot landed on the green and spun back to within a foot of the hole. She sank the putt to move to 3-under-par.

Coe parred the par-5 18th. Fans sat in the grandstand and applauded as she walked to the green.

There were plenty of hugs and smiles after her round.

Coe hopes to play professionally. Monday's round should give a big confidence boost in that direction.

Coe grew up with the Classic. She attended the tournament. She and her mother volunteered as hole marshals.

"This is a thrill," her dad Michael said. "She proved she belongs out here."

The rest of the week will be a hectic one for Coe as she prepares for her first-ever LPGA event. Chelucci will caddie for her in the tournament.

"I'm going to practice and keep doing what I'm doing," she said. "It's been working."

Coe will be one of the tournament's most followed stories.

This weekend the Classic features the world's best women golfers. Coe is one of them.

Contact Michael McGarry:

609-272-7185

MMcGarry@pressofac.com

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