Hoosier junior to play in LPGA tournament

In the wake of Annika Sorenstam's attempts to revolutionize the women's golf game at the Memorial, IU might see the rise of another golfer who could leave her mark on the LPGA Circuit as early as next week.\nComing off the most successful year of her college career, junior Karen Dennison has accepted a sponsor's exemption to partake in the 2003 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic on June 9-15, at the Squaw Creek Country Club in Vienna, Ohio. She will now get a small taste of what it feels like to play on the professional tour, alongside greats such as Sorenstam, Dorothy Delasin and Beth Daniel. \nDennison has been very excited all month, working consistently with coach Sam Carmichael to improve her overall game in an attempt to be as competitive as possible come tournament time. Prior to the 2003 season, Carmichael was happy with her ability to better herself as a player, and with a LPGA Tour bid, it seems that her will for improvement has paid off.\n"Karen is a really good player who makes the effort everyday to become better," Carmichael said. "She has the ability to score and the attitude to post a low number. She has the chance to be an outstanding player."\nDennison said she has been pleased with the consistency of her short game this year, something that is reflected in the Golfstat Collegiate rankings, where she was ranked 7th overall in the short game rankings. Golfstat also ranked her as No. 1 overall in Par 4 scoring in the nation, where her average score is 3.97 per round. \nDespite all the hype surrounding her performance at her first major professional tournament, Dennison said she is in a calm mood. She recently left to tee off in a practice round at the tournament venue and was very impressed with the way the course played. \n"I managed to hit quite a few fairways and I was able to establish my short game early," Dennison said. "Overall, I was quite excited about having the opportunity to practice before the tournament and now I can go out there on Monday with a more confident outlook."\nOn top of playing at the side of some of the game's greats, Dennison has the distinction of being the only amateur playing at the tournament. However, Dennison is not looking at the tournament as the biggest event of her college career.\n"Tournaments will always be special. However, the most important moment in my golfing life has been when I was selected All-American," Dennison said. "I was so shocked. That is just too much to take and I was pleasantly surprised."\nDennsion carries a No. 5 national rating in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Collegiate Rankings, and was even ranked No. 1 in the country at one point this year. She also won three tournaments this year and was tied for the Big Ten individual championship; the first Hoosier to win the Big Ten championship since Erin Carney in 1999.\nDennison attributes a lot of her success to coach Carmichael, whom she respects tremendously. "Coach has always been there for me and I trust him in whatever he says," Dennison said. "He believes in me and has shown me how constant improvement in my game can lead to results. He is my only coach and guides me through whatever problems I have." \nSo what does the future hold for Karen Dennison? Money purses, LPGA tournament championships, frenzied fans? Not if you go by what Dennison aspires. The Louisville-born Hoosier said she believes in completing her sports marketing major and possibly moving on to graduate school or helping organize professional golf tournaments, unless she turns pro. She said the option of turning pro will be dependent on her how her senior year goes, but this tournament will definitely be a start in that direction.