Webb Calls Round One Of Her Worst

Southern Pines, N.C. – Karrie Webb’s mindset coming into the 62^nd U.S. Women’s Open couldn’t have been much better.

Though she hadn’t registered a win in 2007, Webb had played consistently and posted a runner-up finish three weeks ago at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship. She was returning to the scene of her second consecutive U.S. Open title at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.

Karrie Webb finds the green on the par-3 13th hole. She eventually saved bogey. (Fred Vuich/USGA)

Just days ago the Hall of Famer expressed confidence in her swing, saying, in essence, that her last two months have been the best stretch in the last four to five years as far as mechanics. "The things I’ve been working on over the past two years have been something that come a little more naturally to me; I have an understanding of them. So I’m able to make corrections on my own," she said.

On Thursday at Pine Needles, Webb had trouble doing anything right and couldn’t correct what was going wrong, which was nearly everything. She couldn’t hit fairways, couldn’t find greens, and couldn’t make putts – the one part skill set that hadn’t been in synch with her otherwise sound game. The result was a shocking 12-over-par 83, by far her highest score in the Open.

She said she was not injured or sick. "I have no excuses," Webb, 32, said. "I’m not that kind of player. I shot 83."

Pressed for an explanation of how one of the pre-championship favorites could crash so thoroughly, Webb was direct about her confusion. "Do you think I had any idea I would shoot 83? It was a terrible round. I probably had one of the worst days of my career."

Webb managed to put just six tee balls in the fairway and hit only nine greens. She compounded her errors with too many putts, 37. Only once did she one-putt a green, and that was to save bogey on the par-3 13^th. Her day could have been summed on the 17^th fairway. She pulled her approach shot then buried her head in her hands immediately. The ball bounded into the greenside bunker.

She never made a birdie and her only highlight was three closing pars that kept her score from blowing even higher.

Since her victory at the 2001 U.S. Open at Pine Needles, Webb has 11 victories, including three of her seven major championships. But in the same time frame she hasn’t broken par in the U.S. Open and is a collective 62 over par in her last 17 rounds, counting Thursday’s struggles.

"I felt good coming in. I don’t know what happened," Webb said. "I just played bad from the start."