By Phillip Howley

Edina, Minn. – The U.S. Women’s Open may just be a Bizarro World Women’s Open on Friday.

For those who aren’t familiar with Superman comic book nostalgia, Bizarro World is where everything is opposite of what it would be in the regular world. You know, new is old, left is right, "yes" is "no."

This is not to suggest the Women’s Open will become a Men’s Open in the second round. But for the purposes of the leader board at Interlachen Country Club, "up" may well become "down."

Of the 32 cards surprisingly colored in red during Thursday’s opening round, 22 were the product of morning tee times. Or, to put it in Bizarro World-like terms, the early worms – or the early women – got the birds.

Helen Alfredsson was among those who found an A.M. start to her liking. "It didn’t play as fast as I thought it would," said Alfredsson, who posted a 3-under 70 and took the rest of the day off. Alfredsson’s fellow competitor, Laura Davies, also had a 70.

"But I looked at some of the scores (early in the afternoon)," she added, "and now it’s playing fast again. That’s the good thing about being in the morning. But we get it in the afternoon tomorrow."

Some were caught off guard by the receptiveness of the greens, the user-friendly nature of the Donald Ross design. Lorena Ochoa, winner of two of the last three LPGA majors, finished with an even-par 73. Under normal Women’s Open parameters, par is reason to be proud.

But as she put away the clubs late Thursday morning, the world’s No. 1 player was thinking about what might have been.

"They put some water on (the greens) last night and I was surprised," Ochoa said. "I think that I couldn’t … I didn’t play aggressive enough at this time."

The morning scoring was so prevalent, Ochoa said she missed out. "I was just disappointed that it was not me," she added, "because [the course] was playing fairly easy in the morning. For sure, I could have finished two or three under par and I could be in better position. But … I think it will come back."

After her early trip, Minnesota native Hillary Lunke could see the low morning numbers coming.

"The wind is not really a factor, so far no rain," said Lunke, who came in with a 74. "So the ball is still going a pretty good distance. You’re hitting short irons in to the greens and if you’re hitting the ball well, you can really score out here."

But in championship golf, what goes around comes around, at least when it concerns starting times. In Friday’s Bizarro World Women’s Open, those who had morning tee times for the first round will have afternoon starts for the second round. Early will be late, those who are up could come down.

However, there is a caveat. Everything else at Interlachen could be drastically different, as well.

Thunderstorms were in the forecast for the Minneapolis area, both Thursday night and Friday. At the same time, the USGA setup could be considerably altered for round two. For instance, the par-5 second played as the easiest hole on the course on Thursday (slightly more than 4.6 strokes).

But the first-round tee markers were set at the extreme front of the back teeing ground, with the hole playing 453 yards. Those tees were set a little farther back on Friday, so scoring might go up. Truth is, what goes around may never come around again this week.

"I know that this was probably just one day of kindness," said Alfredsson.

Catriona Matthew, another first-round 70 shooter, agreed. The Women’s Open on Friday, and the rest of the week, may be a much different place.

"I still think if you’re around even par, you won’t be far [from the lead]," Matthew said. "I think the course will just get more difficult as the week goes on."

You may not recognize the second round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Things might just get Bizarro.

Phillip Hawley is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on usga.org.