Older, wiser and all of 14, Mariel Galdiano qualified for her second U.S. Women’s Open on Monday.

She was 12 when she qualified for the first and it took until last year for her to realize just how remarkable it all was.

"This past year it’s been hitting me kind of hard," Galdiano said. "I qualified when I was 12. … I feel like I’m more mature than I was before. Now I feel more confident about my shots. I know how I want to hit them."

The Punahou freshman, who won the state high school championship earlier this month, eagled out of the bunker on the final hole to win the sectional qualifier by two shots.

Galdiano was the only golfer to shoot par (72) in the morning round at hot, steamy and startlingly serene Waialae Country Club.

She continued to hit her approaches close and made the turn at 2 under in the afternoon. Galdiano dropped another eagle on the front nine, when she "skulled my 3-wood 4 feet below the pin" at the fourth. She parred everything else.

At that stage, she was five up on the field of 33 — a group so large Hawaii was close to getting a second qualifying spot.

Then golf reality hit. A bunker got in the way at the 10th and her ball hooked into the water on the 11th, leaving her 1 over.

Bogey at the 13th and another double bogey two holes later brought her back to the field.

"On the back nine, it got kinda rough," Galdiano understated. "For six holes I struggled. Fortunately, on 16 I got a birdie, so I was just like, ‘OK, take it home.’ "

She hit it to 4 feet at the par-3 16th. On the final hole (477-yard par-5), she hammered her drive and "tweaked" her approach shot from 178 yards out into the left bunker.

Galdiano jumped in, splashed the ball out and it died in the cup, giving her a 73. It left her two shots clear of freshman teammate Allisen Corpuz (74-73) and 34-year-old Japanese pro Yuka Kuriyama (75-72).

The 13-year JLPGA Tour veteran won the first alternate slot when she sank a 6-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole.

Kuriyama, from Osaka, finished as second alternate in Hawaii three years ago.

Corpuz, who turned 15 in March, has known Galdiano since they were in Ko Olina’s junior golf program at age 6. Their games and personalities have blossomed together.

Corpuz captured two U.S. Kids World Championships, then won the State Women’s Match Play and qualified for the Hawaii Pearl Open — an $80,000 full-field men’s event — at 11.

In 2010, Galdiano began to take on open events. She was second at the 2010 state women’s match and stroke play events, then birdied the last hole to win the U.S. Women’s Open qualifier less than a year later.

When her accomplishment finally hit her — another year later — she couldn’t wait to get back to the Open.

Now she will. Galdiano turns 15 two days before the Open begins, June 27 at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

For the past year, all she has been thinking about is "going back, and doing better because I didn’t do as well as I wanted to."

She shot 77-73 and missed the cut. She swears the experience has kept her from being nervous ever since.

How would Galdiano explain just what this means?

"It is the biggest tournament for women’s golf," she said. "When you tell people that, maybe they will understand, but most of my friends don’t. That’s OK."

The women played Waialae from the white tees (6,465 yards). Former LPGA player Kimberly Kim, from Hilo, was fourth after rounds of 75-74, and 2011 state high school champion Eimi Koga (75-75—150) took fifth.

Japan’s Mina Nakayama, who won at Waialae last year, finished another shot back. Aneka Seumanutafa (80-72), 12, and Malia Nam (80-74), 13, both finished in the top 15.