Billy Payne wore a smile as wide as the Augusta National fairways as he watched eight kids file out of the room with their trophies from the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship on the Sunday before the Masters. "Were going to be hearing from some of these kids again," he said. Yes, but six weeks later? An 11-year-old girl who won her age group in the youth competition before the Masters has played her way into the U.S. Womens Open next month at Pinehurst No. 2. Lucy Li, a sixth grader with braces and a sharp short game, made history Monday at Half Moon Bay with rounds of 74-68 to become the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Womens Open. Not only did she earn a spot at the biggest event in womens golf, she won the 36-hole qualifier by seven shots. Its another example that golf has no age limits. The record for youngest qualifier had belonged to Lexi Thompson, who was 12 when she made it to the 2007 Womens Open at Pine Needles. Its only fitting that when Li signed up for the Drive, Chip and Putt, she listed Thompson as among her favourite players. Li, from the suburbs south of San Francisco, still wont be the youngest player. Beverly Klass was 10 when she played in 1967, but that was when the U.S. Womens Open didnt have qualifying. Judy Rankin was a 14-year-old prodigy from Missouri when she entered the 1959 U.S. Womens Open at Churchill Valley Country Club in Pittsburgh. "When I went to register, they asked me if I was registering for my mother," Rankin said Tuesday. "I weighed 80 pounds. I remember the first tee was way up high. I was shaking. I was so scared, so nervous. I thought I could fall off. I didnt even make the cut. I was probably ill-prepared to be playing. But the next year, I was low amateur." Teenagers in the U.S. Womens Open are nothing new. Morgan Pressel, who went on to become the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history at 18, qualified for the U.S. Womens Open in 2001 when she 12. Michelle Wie was 12 when she qualified for her first LPGA Tour event, and she was in the final group at a major when she was 13. Lydia Ko was 15 when she won the Canadian Womens Open two years ago, making her the youngest winner in LPGA history. Now shes in range of becoming No. 1 in the world. In mens golf, Matteo Manassero won twice on the European Tour before he had his drivers license. Ryo Ishikawa won his first professional tournament when he was 15. Jordan Spieth nearly won the Masters last month at age 20. And who can forget Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old from China who made the cut at the Masters last year? Even so, two numbers are enough to get anyones attention — "11" and "sixth grade." "This is ridiculous," Dottie Pepper said Tuesday, more amazed than concerned. Earlier in the day, Pepper was on Twitter and tried to get her head around an 11-year-old teeing it up at Pinehurst No. 2 when she noted that Lis date of birth was "THIS CENTURY. Whoa!" Rankin and Pepper both attributed the increasing achievements by teens — pre-teens in Lis case — to modern equipment and coaching. Li began playing when she was 7 by whacking a few golf balls on the range while waiting for her brother and cousin to finish a golf tournament. She now works with Jim McLean. And this is not the first time Li has written herself into USGA history. She set a record last year in the U.S. Womens Amateur as the youngest qualifier at age 10. She also was the youngest in the U.S. Womens Amateur Public Links to reach match play, losing in the first round to a college player. "For people with talent, regardless of age, todays equipment is making the game a lot easier to learn," Rankin said. "For talented people, they are learning the game quicker and easier. That has a big bearing on it." Rankin also points to the very best in golf being on television so often, and the fact that kids copy what they see. "No one in the world is better at mimicking than children," she said. "I can go way back to a friend of mine from U.S. Amateur days, Helen Sigel Wilson. She always said the way to teach a kid how to play good golf is only let them see great players. They can figure it out." Sooner than later, thats what theyre doing. Hanser Alberto Jersey . Hes just beginning to get similar results. The right-hander struggled after winning the honour in 2008 and 2009, but a retooling of his game has begun to pay off and has the San Francisco Giants thinking about the Lincecum of old. Pat Valaika Jersey . The first of the three games will be played in Week 4, when the Oakland Raiders will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sept. https://www.cheaporioles.com/368i-eric-h...-orioles.html.C. - Canadian ice dancing, it seems, is in good hands. Robin Roberts Jersey . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. Paul Fry Jersey . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal.Ann Arbor, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - The New Jersey Institute of Technology is the only independent program in Division I mens basketball. The power conferences arent going to want to schedule the Highlanders any time soon. Just ask Michigan. Damon Lynn scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, as NJIT pulled off a stunning 72-70 win over the 17th-ranked Wolverines on Saturday at Crisler Center. Ky Howard and Winfield Willis each chipped in 17 points for the Highlanders (3-5), who played a top-25 team for the first time since joining the Division I ranks in 2006-07. We played really well. said NJIT coach Jim Engles, who has been at the helm since the program made the move to Division I. We were a little nervous on offense early, but we competed on defense and eventually our offense came around. Im really proud of the way my guys competed and the way they played. Caris LeVert tried to keep Michigan in the game with a career-high 32 points, connecting on 6-of-8 from 3-point range, but the Wolverines (6-2) came up short and had a two-game win streak stopped. Michigan was coming off a victory over Syracuse on Tuesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and scored the first eight points of this game, but NJIT quickly regrouped after the early deficit. The Highlanders never allowed the Wolverines to pull away and a big NJIT run in the second half led to the incredible upset. New Jersey deserved to win the game today, said Michigan coach John Beilein. They were the better team today. And were going to grow from it, over the time that Ive been here -- actually in all the years of coaching -- theres moments in the season that make you a lot better. My hope is that this will be one of them. NJIT trailed by five at halftime and came out of the break with a 7-2 run, tying it at 34-34 on a 3-pointer by Willis. Michigan went in front by six soon after, but the Highlanders used a 13-0 burst to take a surprising lead. A three by Lynn tied it at 44-44 and Michigan twice turned it over before Howards layup put NJIT on top. After two more empty trips from the Wolverines, Lynn drained another shot from above the top of the key and Willis converted a layup to give the Highlanders a 51-44 lead with 9:08 remaining. Derrick Walton Jr. ended Michigans scoreless drought of more than seven minutes with a pair of free throws. It also started an 11-2 run that LeVert capped with a triple to give the Wolverines a 55-53 edge with just over six minutes left. Lynn, though, answered with a three from the left wing and the lead see-sawed back and forth over the next few minutes until NJIT scored on consecutive possessions for a 65-62 edge. A 3-pointer by Lynn a few moments later pushed the lead to 68-64 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. LeVeert drilled a three to pull Michigan within 70-69 with 1:41 remaining and Zak Irvin came up with a block at the defensive end to give the Wolverines a chance to take the lead, but LeVerts cross-court pass resulted in a turnover with 44 seconds remaining.dddddddddddd NJIT whittled the shot clock down before Michigan nearly came up with a steal. The Highlanders retained possession and Howards rushed 3-pointer drew iron, but the rebound was batted around before Daquan Holiday came away with it for NJIT with 4.3 seconds to play. Holiday was fouled and calmly sank both ends of the 1-and-1 for a three-point edge. The Highlanders chose to foul in the backcourt and Kameron Chatman made the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2.6 seconds remaining. Chatman missed the second free throw on purpose and Holiday pulled down the rebound. He missed the first free throw and Michigans Aubrey Dawkins quickly grabbed the rebound, but his desperation heave came up well short as time expired. Walton was the only other Wolverine to reach double figures with 16 points, while leading scorer Irvin was just 2-of-11 from the field and had only five. Spike Albrecht, who hit the go-ahead shot late against Syracuse, finished with seven points and fouled out late in the contest. Our coaching staff told us that this team was a great ball club, and they were, said Irvin. They came out and were the better team today. Lynn finished 6-of-10 from 3-point range for NJIT to lead an 11-for-17 effort from beyond the arc for the Highlanders, who shot 58.7 percent overall. They really made tough shots; they shot 58 percent, Beilein added. Now, we gave them some layups as well, and we didnt get to some people in that first half. They gave us a great advantage by turning the ball over early a lot; we didnt take advantage of it, and then they stopped turning it over. Michigan scored the first eight points and opened a 13-5 advantage, but NJIT followed with a 10-3 run. Tim Coleman and Howard connected from beyond the arc during the surge, which Lynn capped with a driving layup to pull the Highlanders within 16-15 with just under eight minutes left in the first half. Threes by Mark Donnal and LeVert on consecutive possessions a few minutes later extended the Michigan lead to seven, but the Highlanders stayed within striking distance and cut the deficit to three before a bucket by Irvin sent the Wolverines to the break with a 32-27 margin. Game Notes NJIT had been a member of the now-defunct Great West Conference ... The Highlanders have another ranked matchup ahead with a visit to Villanova on Dec. 23. Villanova handed Michigan its only other loss on Nov. 25 ...The Wolverines made 11-of-24 3-point tries and shot 42.6 percent overall. ' ' '