Lewis Off to Great Start in U.S. Women's Open; Li Shoots 78


Stacy Lewis fired a 3-under 67 to take the opening-round lead in the U.S. Women's Open Thursday. The championship follows the men's U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort's No. 2 Course in North Carolina's Sandhills. For the first time ever, the two majors are being played on the same course in back-to-back weeks.

Lewis, the No. 1-ranked player in women's golf, carded three birdies and 15 pars on the famed Donald Ross-designed layout. One stroke back is Michelle Wie, who carded five birdies and three bogeys for a 68. Wie's final birdie came on the par-4 18th to enter Friday's second round a shot behind Lewis. The 24-year-old Hawaiian hit 10 of 18 greens in regulation and needed only 26 putts Thursday.

Tied for third after 69s are Australians Katherine Kirk and amateur Minjee Lee, and South Korean So Yeon Ryu. The 23-year-old Ryu won the 2011 U.S. Women's Open in Colorado Springs on The Broadmoor's East Course.

Two other U.S. Women's Open champions - Karrie Webb (2000 and 2001) and Paula Creamer (2010) - opened with even-par 70s.

The first round was suspended at 7:12 p.m. ET due to inclement weather. Also at even-par are South Korea's Candie Kung (through 17 holes), American Mina Harigae (16 holes) and Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow (16). These players - along with many others further down the leaderboard - will complete their opening rounds before the start of the second round at 6:45 a.m. Friday.

Beginning the day on the 10th tee, the 29-year-old Lewis had two birdies on her front nine followed by another birdie - on the par-4 eighth (her 17th hole).

Lewis said her plan of placing herself in position to enter No. 2's domed, slick greens with precise iron approach shots paid off. "I knew that was a big thing coming into the week was control with the irons," said Lewis, a two-time winner this year with 10 career titles, including two majors.

"I think for the women, these fairways are pretty big for us, so I don't think we have to worry too much about missing fairways. But definitely into the greens the spots you're hitting them are really just small compared to the actual size. So I knew I needed control there and that's what I had today." (See below for Lewis's full post-round interview.)

There were many questions about how No. 2 would hold up so soon after the U.S. Open, won by Germany's Martin Kaymer by eight strokes. But Webb, a 41-time LPGA winner and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, said the course was just fine.

"The course is set up a little shorter than I think we would have expected," said the Queenslander. "There was quite a few up tees today, kept us on our toes. But it's getting hot out there and the greens are drying up. The ball actually, for me, the last few holes, has just gone for a mile. So it was hard - I hit a great shot into 17 and it just carried too far and went over the back.

"But, no, I think the course set up nicely. I think - I mean, I expected a few up tees, but I didn't expect both par-5s to be up today. And a couple of the par-4s that were up. So I'm happy - I mean, I think you had to shoot a good score the way the course was set up. If you didn't today, I think you'd be playing catch-up all week."

Lexi Thompson, who won the LPGA's first major - the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April - and was one of the pre-Open favorites, started with a 71 and is only four behind Lewis.

Other scores included a 71 by Juli Inkster. The 53-year-old, who has two U.S. Women's Open titles among her seven majors, was pleased with her outing. "I actually played pretty good," said the mother of two. "I drove the ball very well. I hit a lot of good iron shots. I putted it okay. Made some good par putts, four- or five-footers. I really only hit really one bad, bad shot. And that was on 16. I was between a 5-iron and a 4 rescue and I choked up on the 4 and hit it in the bunker. But overall I played pretty good."

Inbee Park, the defending U.S. Women's Open champion who Lewis recently supplanted atop the Rolex World Ranking, had a tougher time. The 26-year-old South Korean, who won in 2013 by four strokes at Sebonack Golf Club in New York, opened with a 6-over 76.

Park's two birdies weren't enough to offset four bogeys and two doubles, Park told reporters later that her off-day was "just a combination of everything. Just everything seems like just - I think earlier on in the round, just a couple of really important par putts just missed the hole. And some lip-outs and it just was not a nice day.

"But on this golf course you make a couple of mistakes, you can easily shoot a high number. Definitely don't want to do that tomorrow."

Sixth-grader Lucy Li, at 11 the youngest player ever to qualify for a U.S. Women's Open, recorded a respectable 78 (In 1967, Beverly Klass - at age 10 - was the youngest player to compete in the pre-qualifying Open era; Klass shot two 96s to miss the cut at The Homestead in Virginia.)

"I'm happy with how I played," said Wi, who wore a bright patriotic outfit festooned with the Stars and Stripes ("Because it's the U.S. Open. I like red, white and blue, too.")

"I mean, it's 8-over, it's not bad," Li added during her media session while eating ice cream. "But I was 7-over in three holes, so that's 1 over in 15 holes. I just need to get rid of the big numbers. … I learned that you've got to be patient. One shot at a time. Try to get rid of the big numbers. And, yeah, I learned a lot."

Li's playing partners, Catherine O'Donnell and Jessica Wallace - who shot 78 and 74, respectively, were impressed with the California youngster. "She's way better than I was expecting," said O'Donnell. "She's a great player. She hits it out there farther than I was expecting to. She hit it by me twice, I wasn't really happy about that. But, no, she's - I mean she's a joy to play with, too. Couldn't have been nicer. Very intelligent girl. And Jess and I just had a great time playing with her today."

"She is so mature for her age," added Wallace. "There were times when I felt more immature than she is. But just the way she handles herself on the golf course. She is mature beyond her years. I thought she handled herself really well out there. Her first U.S. Open, she's 11 years old. Who knows what people were expecting out of her this week? And I thought she played the course well. She's capable of playing well on this course. She hits the ball a good distance for an 11-year-old. So it was a pleasant surprise playing with her."

Germany's Sandra Gal - who was captured by photographers running onto the 18th green and squirting countryman Kaymer with water after he secured the Open title last Sunday - posted a 74.

For updated scores, visit http://www.usopen.com/women/en_US/scoring/index.html.

After signing for her 67, Lewis met with the media and discussed her fine day.

Q. How happy are you with your score?

STACY LEWIS: I'm very happy. It was such an easy day. I played really, really solid, other than I had to make a few par putts, I ran some putts by, got them above the hole. But other than that I didn't put myself in too bad of spots and made a few birdies, which was nice.

Q. We aren't going to hear the word "easy" used very often today. What was the key to that?

STACY LEWIS: The only thing that was easy about it was that I had a lot of tap-in pars. I wasn't struggling to make par all day. I was really hitting the shots I needed to hit. I was in control of how far I was hitting it. So that's what made it easy. The golf course wasn't easy, by any means. It's going to play hard the rest of the week. But the way it's set up today, if you hit good shots, you get rewarded.

Q. How much is that a testament of how well you're striking the ball today?

STACY LEWIS: I knew that was a big thing coming into the week was control with the irons. I think for the women, these fairways are pretty big for us, so I don't think we have to worry too much about missing fairways. But definitely into the greens the spots you're hitting them are really just small compared to the actual size. So I knew I needed control there and that's what I had today.

Q. Bogey-free on a golf course like this, that's got to be pretty impressive, for both weeks. How do you feel about that and how did it happen?

STACY LEWIS: Again, it was just playing solid. Coming into the week I knew par is never a bad score at a U.S. Open. So even if I had a couple of holes I had some 10, 15-footers I didn't make for birdie, instead of getting frustrated, I told myself it's an easy par, it's a U.S. Open, it's fine. So I really just stayed patient and stayed relaxed out there and hit, really, coming in, hit some really good iron shots coming in.

Q. You've already achieved a lot in your career already. How much of your work has geared to winning the U.S. Women's Open?

STACY LEWIS: I think everything I'm doing is geared towards majors in general. I think to win Majors you have to have control of the ball, you have to putt great, and you have to have control of your emotions. The last one, that's been the kicker for me the last few years, is control of my emotions. So that's something that I put a - moved at the top of the list for me this year. That, you know, if I do anything, I'm going to control that. And I did a really good job of that today.

Q. What kind of statement do you make: I'm the No. 1 player in the world, I'm 3-under after the first round, let's go?

STACY LEWIS: I don't know. I mean, I liked watching the men's last week because I think I played a lot - I like to hit a cut a lot like Kaymer does. So on a lot of those holes, it was cool to see the plan I had laid out in my head, he was kind of doing the same thing. So it was nice coming into the week, knowing that my plan was going to work on this golf course. I thought that somebody like the guys, somebody can run away with this. If you're hitting the ball well enough, you can definitely run away with it. At the same time you have to know par is a good number and keep grinding away.

Q. All great players reach a point where they know their career is going to be judged by major championships. Are you there now?

STACY LEWIS: Once you get one under your belt, it's contagious, you just want to win more and more. And a lot of times you're announced on a tee or introduced as how many Solheim Cups you've played on and how many majors you've won. Winning all of them is something I'd like to do some time down the road. I just have geared my game towards Majors. I love it when it's hard. I love it when you have to grind. I love it when you have to make to 8 and 10-footers for par. It suits me and my game.

Q. The birdie putts from five and seven were pretty close. Were those misreads and how close did you come to making those?

STACY LEWIS: The one on five was really close. That pin is a little goofy today. So I was actually pretty happy to get out of there with par. Hit a good putt there. 7, I just didn't play enough break on it. Just left it a little bit low. But, again, they're both tap-ins. Anytime you have a tap-in par on this course, you run to the next tee.

Q. Can you take us through club and yardage for your birdies.

STACY LEWIS: I knew you'd ask that. So I brought this. 16, I had 185 to the hole and I hit 5-iron to like six feet. And then 14, yeah, I had 125 to the hole and hit pitching wedge. And that was like 20 feet, 15, 20 feet down the hill. And then eight, I had 153 hole and hit 8-iron to about eight feet.

Q. You're No. 1 in putting, how is your form coming into this week?

STACY LEWIS: I think the more times I've won and the longer I've been out here, putting wins tournaments. You can hit it as good as you want, if you can't make a 10-footer, you're not going to win out here. Speed, lag putting, I think lag putting is kind of put on a premium this week. Putting, to me, is the most important part of the game.

Q. Greens faster today than Monday?

STACY LEWIS: No, speed was similar. There's a few hole locations you get above them and they're just lightning. The pin's on the front of 4 today, and I got above the hole there, and that was just crazy fast. And then on 6, I got up past the hole and that one was crazy fast down the hill. They're a really good speed, you just have to be careful on those downhill ones.

Q. (Inaudible.)

STACY LEWIS: Well, I was concerned about the collection areas, but I was never in them today, so I guess I avoided all the trouble.

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.