Maria Jose Uribe said she plays better under pressure and proved that Thursday. (Hunter Martin/USGA)

By Phillip Howley

Edina, Minn. – For most teenagers, playing alongside the No. 1 star in women’s professional golf might be a little intimidating. For most amateurs, playing alongside the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion might be imposing.

For Maria Jose Uribe, playing in the first round of the Women’s Open alongside Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr was a walk in the park, a good walk, that is.

And, with all due apologies to Mark Twain, there was nothing spoiled about it. "I love the crowd," said Uribe, 18. "I love to have people giving me energy and stuff. Even if it’s not for me, the people are still there and, I don’t know, it was just fun.

"And I love to play with Lorena, it was a great experience for me. And it’s just simple, simple golf. Nothing different than a Saturday round with your folks at home."

Uribe’s observation, and her attitude, goes a long way in explaining why she is the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, why she plans to become the first amateur in history to play all four professional majors in a season. The approach also helps explain how the native of Bucaramanga, Colombia fired a 4-under-par 69 while playing with her idol, Ochoa.

"There are two people that I admire the most in golf, Lorena and Tiger (Woods)," Uribe said. "So definitely, Lorena, is more someone I can look to because she’s Latin and she’s like one of the couple of Latin people out here. So definitely, I look forward to being like her. I’m trying to."

Ochoa was equally impressed with her young playing partner. "I enjoyed the round almost like her," said Ochoa, who had a par-73 while Kerr carded a 1-under 72.

"I was laughing and it was just nice and easy to watch her play," Ochoa added. "She seemed very relaxed. I gave congratulations to her and her coach and her family. It’s great to play next to here and I’m sure she will be here in the future."

Uribe will be a sophomore at UCLA in the fall, and she speaks fairly fluent English. Ochoa, who has worked to improve her English dramatically in recent years, teased her fellow competitor about it as they walked up the 18^th fairway.

"I was so bad when I first came out when I was in college and she seems like she’s got it down," said Ochoa, 26. "I was giving her a hard time about that. Then we were talking about how she always talks to the ball in Spanish. I told her that eventually she will talk to the ball in English because that is something that happens with me."

Whatever dialect Uribe was using to talk to her ball during the opening round at Interlachen Country Club, it was working. At the scorer’s table, it translated into six birdies and two bogeys. And on the course, it was punctuated with fist pumps and plenty of emotion.

"I don’t really think about that," said Uribe, who tied for 58^th at the Kraft Nabisco earlier this year. "They just come from the body. Maybe it’s the Latin fire that they say, or I don’t know what it is. You don’t really think, ‘I’m going to do those things.’ They just come around."

The animation carries over off the course. Uribe has a reputation for showing a few moves on the dance floor, as well. "I love to dance," said Uribe. "I used to be a ballet dancer when I was younger, before I started playing golf. "

But don’t be misled. It’s easy to look like you’re having fun when you shoot 69 at a USGA championship. Uribe is enjoying herself, to be sure, but she is not taking this championship lightly.

"Yes, I like to have fun," Uribe said. "And I will have fun after this for sure. But right now, it’s just like staying focused and practice, and rest. It’s a long week and I’m really serious about the tournament. Don’t get me wrong - that I’m just out there having fun and stuff."

The week certainly promises to be longer than Uribe’s previous U.S. Women’s Open weeks. In both 2006 and 2007, she made it to the championship but missed the cut. Perhaps she wasn’t mentally strong enough yet.

After outplaying Ochoa and Kerr in the first round at Interlachen, it is evident she has matured.

"I would say my confidence has improved, definitely," Uribe said. "I knew that I could play under pressure after the U.S. Amateur. Maybe that gave me the opportunity to play in the other two majors (this year), gave me the ability to practice, to know what to practice for in these majors, and prepare myself for the U.S. Open."

Uribe isn’t just prepared to play this week. With her confidence and relaxed manner, she might be just prepared to win.

Phillip Howley is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.uswomensopen.com.