Golf

Fort Worth resident Gerina Piller qualifies for U.S. Olympic golf team

The Assoicated Press
Gerina Piller smiles in the final round at the Women’s PGA Championship in June. On Sunday, the Fort Worth resident qualified for the Olympics.
Gerina Piller smiles in the final round at the Women’s PGA Championship in June. On Sunday, the Fort Worth resident qualified for the Olympics. Elaine Thompson AP
SAN MARTIN, Calif.

Gerina Piller used a tie for eighth place in the U.S. Women’s Open to move up one spot to 15th in the Rolex Rankings and earn a spot in the Olympics.

Piller, a Fort Worth resident, will join fellow Americans Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis on the team that will play next month in Rio de Janeiro.

The top 15 players earn spots in the 60-player field with a limit of four per country. With Thompson and Lewis entrenched in the top 10, Piller needed to move from 16th place to qualify.

Piller’s 2-under 70 in the final round on Sunday got her to 2 under for the tournament.

She is married to PGA Tour pro Martin Piller, who went to high school in Duncanville before a collegiate career at Texas A&M.

Piller was born in Roswell, N.M., and went to Goddard High School. She played collegiately at UT El Paso.

In the first three women’s majors this year, she has tied for sixth, tied for 12th and tied for eighth.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 12:18 AM with the headline "Fort Worth resident Gerina Piller qualifies for U.S. Olympic golf team."

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