Kathryn Ha admitted she was all over the place as she played No. 8 at 色多多 Country Club鈥檚 Dogwood Course on Friday. It is the longest par-5 on the course at 492 yards, and missing the tight fairway off the tee can make the hole seem longer than it is.
The Salem High School senior knew how to manage each shot. It allowed her to be in position to save par with a 15-foot putt, and she calmly sank it to complete the up-and-down.
鈥淚t kind of propelled the momentum going forward,鈥 she said.
Ha
There weren鈥檛 many red figures in the girls 15-18 division to open the Scott Robertson Memorial.
Ha was the exemption.
The Vanderbilt signee made six birdies in a bogey-free round. She polished off her round of 6-under 65 with two birdies in her last three holes to take a five-shot lead into the second round.
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鈥淚鈥檓 really excited for the weekend. It鈥檚 a three-day tournament, so you can鈥檛 really win the tournament on the first day, however you could probably put yourself out of position on the first day,鈥 Ha said. 鈥淚 think my mindset of every round counts just as much, that鈥檚 how I鈥檓 going to move forward. Hopefully put together two more good rounds and that鈥檚 all you can do.鈥
Ha had already left the course when play was suspended at 3:15 p.m. because of inclement weather. The two-hour delay didn鈥檛 hamper Talon Dingledine once he returned to the course. He converted on an up-and-down on his final hole to finish his round at 4-under 67, putting him in first place in the boys 15-18 division.
鈥淚鈥檓 definitely happy how I did that,鈥 Dingledine said. 鈥淚 know that it sort of went right off the tee, but pretty easy par which I鈥檓 happy with it.鈥
Dingledine, a Monacan High senior and William & Mary signee, took the lead with a birdie at Dogwood No. 8 and two-putted to save par for the one-shot advantage over Virginia recruit Jager Pain.
Dingledine said he stayed loose during the delay by eating a couple slices of pizza and moving around under the covered portion of the patio.
Dingledine
鈥淚 made a definite focal point out here to just play smart golf,鈥 he said.
Pain held the lead for most of the day until Dingledine鈥檚 four-birdie, bogey-free back nine.
Pain was at 5 under after making three consecutive birdies at Nos. 11-14, but he dropped two shots with bogeys at Nos. 16 and 18.
鈥淚t was a lot of ups, a couple of downs at the end, but it was just a lot of smooth sailing,鈥 Pain said. 鈥淒idn鈥檛 really sink as many putts as I wanted start to finish, but the middle part of the round kind of carried the day, which was nice. Got off the tee pretty well and made a few putts here and there. It was good.鈥
Ha, meanwhile, didn鈥檛 have any issues throughout her round. She made four birdies after the turn on the Redbud Course.
鈥淚 made a couple of putts I did not think were going in,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what you kind of need to put together a good day. Luck was on my side.鈥
Amy Lee, a University of Texas recruit who is in a three-way tie for second at 1 under, also made four birdies without a bogey after the turn.
Virginia Tech recruit Raquel Walker and Honorine Nobuta Ferry are tied with Lee at 1 under.
Walker held an early lead at 2 under after her 10th hole of the first round. She had two bogeys and a double-bogey over the next four holes to drop to 2 over, but she rallied with three birdies over her final four holes to move back into red figures.
鈥淭here was a lot of up, a lot of down, but I stayed in there,鈥 Walker said. 鈥淚 think I was 3 under my last four holes, which was a good way to finish. Didn鈥檛 really give up on myself and just kept it going.鈥
Walker and Lord Botetourt sophomore Alisa Davidova were partners in the U.S. Women鈥檚 Amateur Four-Ball at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. The pair advanced out of stroke play, won their Round of 32 match and fell in the Round of 16.
鈥淚t was really good. It was my first USGA event, so that was a really good experience,鈥 Davidova said.
Davidova is in a six-way tie for 12th at 2 over after Friday鈥檚 first round.
鈥淥bviously starting with a double (bogey) wasn鈥檛 great, but I knew that there was many more holes to go,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 just kept my head up, continued playing golf and then on 6, I ended up making an eagle. That was also really nice. Pretty consistent golf. Greens are definitely a little bit interesting, but everything was good.鈥
Salem High sophomore Ashnoor Kaur posted three birdies and three bogeys on her way to even-par 71. She is tied for fifth with Eileen Park and Kentucky signee Maggie Carlson.
鈥淚 think it was a little bit windy, but not too bad,鈥 Kaur said. 鈥淚 think the course was playing really nice. The greens are a little bit slower than last year鈥檚, but still they鈥檙e rolling really good. Smooth and everything.鈥
The feel-good story of the first round is Megan Rodrigues, who flew from her hometown of Houston and secured the final spot in the girls 15-18 division field in Wednesday鈥檚 qualifier.
She is in a four-way tie for eighth at 1 over with Clemson commit Caroline Hawkins, North Carolina signee Grace Ridenour and Lucy Wang.
鈥淢y round was good. A little up and down. My driver was off,鈥 Rodrigues said. 鈥淥ther than that, I was saving par a lot.鈥
