With Azahara Muñoz and Carlota Ciganda in the top 10 (fifth and seventh, three and four strokes behind the leader, Mamiko Higa) after the first round, the US Women’s Open is having an unexpected protagonist: the American amateur Gina Kim. With her round of -5 she is in second place after the first 18 holes of the tournament, which is being played at the Country Club of Charleston, South Carolina. Kim, 19, carded the lowest round ever recorded by an amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open with a 66 yesterday.
Her round included six birdies, three bogeys and an eagle. She finished with an eagle-birdie, but nearly made it an eagle-over when her 3-wood shot from 217 yards nearly went in the hole.
Kim, a native of Chapell Hill, North Carolina, said, “The feeling is wonderful; this is something I dreamed of when I was a little girl.”
The amateur player, who attends Duke University, helped her Blue Devils team win the NCAA Women’s Championship just a couple of weeks ago.
Leave a Reply