Boulder Creek native Jennifer Serbin punched her ticket to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship following a solid performance during the qualifiers two weeks ago.
The Scotts Valley High alumna shot 3-under-par 67 behind top finisher Momo Kamiya (66) of Japan at La Rinconada Country Club in Los Gatos on July 18.
Serbin, 34, finished strong by shooting 2-under-par on the front nine, setting her up for second place and a chance to compete against some of the nation’s best golfers at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
“I don’t practice a whole lot, my expectations aren’t gonna be super high,” she said. “I just want to play good golf. So, the fact that I was able to actually qualify this time was pretty awesome, it was a pretty great day.”
Natalie Vo (68) of San Jose and Michelle Woo (68) of Fremont tied for third, which also qualified them to compete at the U.S. Women’s Amateur tourney. The alternates are Wa yeung Tong (68) of Costa Mesa and Alexa Pineda (68) of San Carlos.
Serbin had an inkling she was doing well going into her final hole of the round, thinking she was a 2-under par and in a solid position to qualify.
What Serbin didn’t realize was she wasn’t counting one birdie she sunk on the first nine, giving her an actual score of 3-under-par.
“I was just feeling pretty happy about the round,” she said. “I hit some really great shots, just kept my cool, which was really nice. But then it was just like, ‘Whoa, wait. What’s going on?’”
One of Serbin’s good friends, Stephen Smith—a member at La Rinconada—was her caddy for the day. Smith kept reassuring Serbin she was going to advance, but it wasn’t official until both of them saw the final scores on the television.
“It was at that moment in those last few holes where I was ‘2-under-par,’ and may or may not make it, forgetting that I was actually 3-under[-par],” Serbin said.
Serbin said she tries her best not to look at the scores. It’s a mind game she plays on herself, pretending to be in scenarios, such as having a sense of trailing when she’s actually in the front of the pack.
“Don’t get on some high horse and split the switch, and then you end up making a bunch of bogies,” she said. “That’s where I kind of tricked myself, which worked out I guess.”
Serbin was a four-time MVP of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League in girls’ golf under legendary coach Rich Hager. She also earned all-league first team honors on the girls’ soccer team during her junior year at Scotts Valley.
After redshirting her freshman year, Serbin—who at the time had the surname Brumbaugh—joined the San Jose State University women’s golf team in 2008.
She won the 2012 Mountain View Collegiate and posted eight top-20 finishes in her career, including a pair of third-place finishes at the Mountain West Conference championships.
Following a successful collegiate career, Serbin turned pro and played on the Symetra Tour—now called the Epson Tour. She had one victory on the SunCoast Pro Golf Tour at Forest Lake Golf Club in Ocoee, Fla.
The former Falcons star was slowly making a name for herself until a non-golf injury in 2016 prevented her from swinging the club.
“It was not an easy fix,” she said.
Serbin tore the tendon that connects the hip to the quad. The official wording is complete avulsion involving the direct head of the proximal rectus femoris tendon at the anterior-inferior iliac spine.
Serbin said at times it felt like she had no hip flexor. She couldn’t lift her leg and it didn’t pull back hard enough to where she could have surgery, meaning the tendon had to heal on its own. It took six months before she could do physical therapy.
“It was a very frustrating time. But I took it as my sign that maybe professional golf isn’t for me,” she said.
Serbin attempted a return to school, but instead she began working in the corporate world. It wasn’t until late 2020 after her close friend and golf buddy, Greg Auer, convinced Serbin to hit the links again.
“I think that part was pretty easy to be honest. Jen and I have played this game our whole lives and it’s a part of who we are,” Auer said. “I think the hardest part for me is once you’re kind of done competing, there was no reason to play.”
Auer, 34, was a member of the Santa Cruz High boys’ golf team, but he would always run into Serbin at local tournaments. Both of them took some serious time away from the game and then the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
A little more than one year later, Serbin petitioned for her amateur status in March 2021.
“I think for her and I, once we got the clubs back in our hands, we remembered how much we loved the game, and how easy it was to play,” Auer said.
Getting back into the swing of things was challenging, yet it didn’t take too long before she was playing decent golf again.
Serbin took second at the 2nd NCGA Women’s Mid-Amateur tournament at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach shortly after her return in 2022.
Despite the fast success, her biggest frustration was not being able to stay consistent whether it was practicing or competing in tournaments.
In June, Serbin tied for seventh in the 4th NCGA Women’s Mid-Amateur tournament, and tied for sixth in the 20th NCGA Women’s and Senior Women’s Am. Both events took place at Poppy Hills Golf Course.
Serbin then competed in the Sacramento Valley Women’s Amateur tourney at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento on July 13-14.
“She is an impressive player to watch as far as what she can do with the golf ball,” Auer said. “So just for her to be at home on a golf course, again, is really what it comes down to. It’s where we find peace, it’s where we find some therapy.”
Serbin isn’t sure how far this new journey will take her. At the moment, she’s just enjoying the ride and aiming to stay more active in the golf world.
“I didn’t give myself time to forget how to play golf, I think that helps. I just gotta keep that up,” she said.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Jennifer Serbin joined the San Jose State University women’s golf team in 2010, which is incorrect. Serbin joined the team in 2008 and played in her first tournament in 2010.
