14-year-old amateur hopes to make Women’s Open cut
July 10, 2009
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP)—Even at 14 years old, just qualifying for the U.S. Women’sOpen has become routine for Alexis Thompson.
The teenager from Coral Gables, Fla., is in a position to improve on her twoprevious appearances in the national championship. She has a realistic chance ofmaking the cut after opening this year’s event with an even-par 71 at SauconValley Country Club on Thursday. That’s good enough for a tie for sixth.
Her solid play is likely just the next step in the maturation process ofsomeone who, as a 12-year-old in 2007, became the youngest player to qualify forthe Open. She also qualified last year, but the result was the same as theprevious year: failing to make the cut.
But this is a new year, and Thompson has new goals.
“I expect to do a lot better,” Thompson said. “Every year, I put my goalsa lot higher, so I just wanted to do well this year.”
And she has, posting her best first-round score after a 76 in ’07 and a 75in ’08.
She credits the improvement to experience.
“It’s a little more comfortable,” she said. The first two years I wasstill a little bit nervous, but this year I wasn’t as nervous.”
Thompson started her opening round quickly, with a birdie, but then bogeyedthree of the next four. She bounced back with two birdies and two pars to finishoff the front nine, and offset a bogey with a birdie on the back.
The teenager is confident she knows what it will take to make it to theweekend.
“I shouldn’t be nervous, I don’t think,” she said. “I’m just going to goout there and try to shoot even.
“I mean, pars are good out here. If I get some birdies, that would be justbonus.”
TOUGH HOLE: The most difficult hole in the first round was the 373-yard,par-4 third, a narrow dogleg hole lined with heavy rough that requires ashort-iron approach to a two-tiered green.
There were only seven birdies on the hole, that had a stroke average of4.806. Seventy-one players posted par, 45 bogeyed, 18 had double-bogey and therewere 14 others.
EYE ON THE FUTURES: Jean Reynolds has taken a roundabout route to contendingat the U.S. Women’s Open. The 24-year-old from Newman, Ga., shot a 2-under 69Thursday to tie for second with top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and 2007 championCristie Kerr, a stroke behind first-round leader Na Yeon Choi.
That’s pretty heady company for a Southern girl who had a solid juniorcareer, was recruited by the University of Georgia, then redshirted her freshmanyear before stepping away from the game for a time.
On the last hole of her first round, the two-time Futures Tour winner andits leading money winner had a chance for the Open lead, but she missed a birdieputt.
That didn’t dampen the rush.
“I was pretty nervous,” Reynolds said after a round that included fourbirdies and two bogeys. “It was a good feeling, but then again, coming in underthe radar and leading at the U.S. Open after the first round is prettyawesome.”
Reynolds is adamant that the Futures has prepared her for contending in thenational championship, and seeing 27 of her tour’s competitors in the field thisweek backs that up.
JUST SPECIAL: Former Women’s Open champion Laura Davies is making the mostof a special invite to Saucon Valley Country Club—with a distinct goal inmind.
Davies played the 6,740-yard layout in 1-over 72 in the opening round, andwas tied for sixth place.
Davies received a special exemption into the championship that extended herOpen run to 24 straight, dating to 1986. She was anxious about possibly havingto qualify this year and was glad to hear from the USGA.
The 45-year-old from Coventry, England, has made no secret of herappreciation of the Women’s Open.
“It’s probably, along with the British Open, the best tournament we play inwomen’s golf,” Davies said. “So, it’s just lovely to be here, have a chance toplay the great golf courses of America, which this is obviously one of them.
“And, I need a major win to get into the Hall of Fame. So, I’m trying to doa lot of stuff in one week.”
Davies won the 1987 Women’s Open, beating Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner inan 18-hole playoff for her first pro victory.
STREAKING: Two-time Women’s Open champ Juli Inkster made her 30th straightstart in the championship.
The winner of the 1999 and 2002 events opened with a first-round 7-over 78.
Inkster played in her first Women’s Open as an amateur in 1978 and finishedin a tie for 23rd.
The 31-time LPGA Tour winner has missed the cut in the Open the last twoyears.
DIVOTS: Defending champion Inbee Park opened with a 4-over 75, one strokebetter than 49-year-old Rosie Jones. … Sophie Gustafson played to the LehighValley area sports fans for the second straight day. The Swede sported a whitePhiladelphia Phillies cap with a red “P” in the opening round. A day earlier,she wore a red Phillies cap.
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