PINE NEEDLES, N.C. — LSU junior Meredith Duncan shot a 6-over par 76 on day one of the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championships to stand in a tie for 93rd place in the 150-player open held at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.
Duncan, a Second-Team All-American, finished seventh among the 21 amateurs who qualified for the 56th-annual event, including 12-year-old Morgan Pressel who shot a 7-over 77.
The Shreveport native struggled on the first 11 holes she played — after starting on the back nine — recording seven bogies to go along with a birdie on the par-4 367-yard No. 11 on the difficult par-70 course. She settled in on her second nine, paring the final seven holes she played.
She will tee off at 6:50 a.m. CDT in Friday’s second round.
Cindy Figg-Currier and A.J. Eathorne lead the tournament at 3-under 67. Longtime LPGA pro Juli Inkster, Jill McGill and Mi Hyun Kim of Korea are tied for third at 2-under. There are nine players under par through one round.
The highest-placing amateur was Stanford senior and First-Team All-American Stephanie Keever, who shot 1-under 69 to tie for sixth place.
Duncan qualified based on her second-place finish at the United States Women’s Open sectional qualifier at the Shady Oaks Country Club in Dallas on May 15.
Eighty-five vacancies into the U.S. Women’s Open were filled as qualifying tournaments concluded last Tuesday.
Former Lady Tigers and LPGA tour winners Jenny Lidback and Jackie Gallagher-Smith were also in this year’s Open field. Gallagher-Smith shot 3-over 73 to stand in a tie for 44th place, while Lidbeck shot 4-over 74 for a 66th-place tie.