Stacy Lewis Leads the Charge after First Round of U.S. Women’s Open
Stacy Lewis is proving she’s up for a major challenge. Despite a rain delay the American was able to finish her first round at the U.S. Women’s Open with a 3-under 67.
The world number one heads into today’s second round one stroke ahead of fellow American Michelle Wie, with a further 30 golfers still needing to finish their first rounds today as a result of Thursday’s weather suspension.
Lewis’ bogey-free opener at Pinehurst No. 2 has set the 29-year-old up for a good start as she looks towards capturing her third major title and her first U.S. Open.
“Once you get one under your belt, it's contagious,” Lewis said yesterday. “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.”
So is Lewis gearing up to mimic Martin Kaymer’s victory of leading every round? Today’s 18 holes will give us a better picture but many are already speculating that if she can perform similar to yesterday’s golf, Lewis might just have it in the bag.
With Juli Inkster commenting that, “Stacy's playing unbelievable. I don't know that anybody can catch her.”
Another impressive story coming out of Pinehurst is that of 11-year-old Lucy Li, the youngest player to ever qualify for a U.S. Women’s Open. While some, including Lewis, have expressed concern over her age and readiness for such a tournament other have welcomed the golfer’s involvement.
With golfing legend Laura Davies stating, “…I don't think anything bad can come out of it because she's too young to worry about the pressure.” Adding, “She's just having fun. She's got a week off school. It's perfect.”
Li’s first round score of 8-over 78 might prove difficult to make the weekend’s cut, but the young golfer seems to be enjoying her time at Pinehurst. Finishing up day one of her first major with an ice cream.
“I kind of struggled, but it was great,” Li said afterwards. “It's not bad, but I was seven over in three holes, so that's one over in 15 holes. So I just need to get rid of the big numbers.”
Take a look at the young golf prodigy in a Tweet from the LPGA below. We can’t wait to see what day two brings!
