Battle Of Ages: Jones, Song Lead Early
By Ken Klavon, USGA
North Plains, Ore. – The first round of the 58th U.S.
Women’s Open turned into a battle of ‘young’ versus old ‘old’ Thursday.
Rosie Jones, 43, along with 17-year-old amateur Aree Song, grabbed
the early lead at the 6509-yard par-71 Pumpkin Ridge Witch Hollow
Course at 1-under 70. Six players from the morning rounds were even
par. Annika Sorenstam bogeyed her final hole to post a 1-over 72
on a sunny but blustery day.
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| Annika Sorenstam finished on a downer, bogeying
the 18th hole to card a 1-over 72. (John Mummert/USGA) |
Defending champion Juli Inkster had an afternoon tee time.
Participating in her 22nd Women’s Open, the 43-year-old
Jones played defensive golf and it paid off. Two holes that went
for bogey and another for double bogey blemished an otherwise solid
round.
"There are lots of places for a wreck, especially for an old
lady like me," said Jones.
Her first ‘wreck’ happened after she carded a 32 on the back nine,
where she began her day. At 3 under, Jones used a 9-iron to send
her ball into a creek lining the par-4 3rd hole from
140 yards out.
Eventually she double bogeyed the hole, aggravated by the result
after taking a penalty.
"It just backfired on me," said Jones.
Jones, whose best Open finish was second in 1984, got off to a
sizzling start with birdies on her first three holes. By the par-3
15th, she was 4 under. The round was set up off hitting
15 of 18 greens in regulation.
Making a statement for the 14 teenagers in the field, Song had
the outright lead until bogeying the 502-yard par-5 18th,
her final hole. Her 5-iron approach had found a drain off the left
of the green, forcing her to chip on. When she couldn’t steer in
the 12-footer to save par, she grimaced.
Afterward, Song had little idea she was near the top.
"Am I tied for the lead?" she said. "That’s nice.
I’m a little bit surprised I guess."
She shouldn’t be. Along with her twin sister Naree, who is playing
this week, Song is accomplished amateur despite her age. In 1999
she won the U.S. Girls’ Junior at 13, the youngest ever to do so.
Then in 2000 she tied for 10th at the LPGA Nabisco Championship,
becoming the youngest amateur to finish in the top 10 of an LPGA
event. She followed that up by making it to the semifinal round
of that year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, losing 1 up to eventual champion
Marcy Newton.
Muddling through her first eight holes at 1 over, Song recorded
three consecutive birdies on Nos. 9 through 11 to go 2-under par
at that point.
Asked if she feels she can hang with the grizzled LPGA veterans,
Song said, "If you say so. I don’t know."
Laura Diaz tried to stay close, shooting even par. She was briefly
in the lead after making the turn at 3-under 32 before the bottom
fell out with a double bogey on the par-5 7th and bogey
on her final hole.
Diaz tied for seventh in last year’s Open at Prairie Dunes Country
Club after entering the third round with the lead.
"I always go out trying to make 18 birdies," said Diaz,
a top-10 finisher 10 times on the LPGA last year. "I think
the Open is the most roller-coaster golf you’ll ever see."
Sorenstam, a two-time winner of the Open, had a stretch of three
birdies on the 11th through 13th holes until
bogeying the 14th, a 394-yard par 4.
The birdie run may have ended at No. 13, but Sorenstam earned it.
Taking a 6-iron from 145 yards out, she hit a fade that hopped between
trees and a bunker. Miss-hitting would have been disastrous.
"To leave that hole with birdie," said Sorenstam, "I
would have been happy with par."
Overall, she pulled driver out five times, altering her strategy
because of windy conditions.
She finished the round on a sour note when a 30-yard chip landed
near the first cut of grass abutting the green and wouldn’t stop
rolling.
"You have to think from start to finish," said Sorenstam.
"You have to concentrate on every shot. You can’t even breathe."
Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him at kklavon@usga.org
with questions and comments.
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