DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — Cindy Ha shot a 5-under-par 67 for the first-round lead Monday at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.
The 17-year-old Ha, from Demarest, New Jersey, had seven birdies and two bogeys on the 6,169-yard, par-72 Home Course. It’s her third appearance in the tournament.
Last year’s girls junior champion Gabriella Then was one stroke back. She was followed at 69 by Annie Park, a member of the victorious American team in this year’s Curtis Cup and the co-medalist at the 2013 Public Links.
Park, 19, of Levittown, New York, also played in the World University Golf Championship in Switzerland this summer.
Aram Choi was tied with Park.
Lucy Li, the 11-year-old who played in last month’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst, that championship’s youngest qualifier, shot a 74.
“Everything was really solid,” said Ha, who will attend Vanderbilt this year. “Tee shots are really important here and I was hitting the fairways with pretty long drives, so I had wedges in. From there, just hitting them close and making the putts.”
Defending champion Lauren Diaz-Yi was at even-par 72.
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