Lucy Li is quickly learning just how hard it is to play with the grown-ups.
Li, an 11-year-old from northern California who is the youngest qualifier in US Women’s Open history, is near the back of the pack after after posting a score of 78 (+8) in her first round in Pinehurst.
Sporting a patriotic shirt and skirt, Li opened the day with a double-bogey on the 10th hole, and recorded her first of two birdies nine holes later. She wound up with three bogeys, two double-bogeys and one triple-bogey on her card.
“It was a lot of fun. I kind of struggled today, but it was great,” Li said, pausing to lick her ice cream between answers. “I mean, it’s 8 over. It’s not bad. But I was 7 over in three holes, so that’s 1 over in 15 holes. So yeah, I just need to get rid of the big numbers.
“That’s what I was so happy about in my round: Because after I got doubles and triples, I was able to get it back. Like I made a good stretch of holes after the double on the first hole. And after the triple, I birdied No. 5. And I got a lot of pars after that.”
Along the way in a 5½-hour round, Li often plopped to the ground in the shade and sat until it was time to hit, one time munching from a cup of fruit.
“I normally sit down even more than that,” she said.
Stacy Lewis, the world’s No. 1 player, foresaw the struggles Li might have on a longer course, against tougher competition.
“I just like to see kids learn how to win before they come get beat up out here,” Lewis said before the tournament began. “If it was my kid, I wouldn’t let her play in the US Open qualifier at 11, but that’s just me.”
Lewis shot 67 to take an early two-shot lead on the field.
With AP