Stephenson off to tough start at US Women's Open
Lexington's Lauren Stephenson shot a 5-over-par 77 in Thursday's opening round of the U.S. Women's Open at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif.
She was 14th among the field's 24 amateurs and tied for 118th with two golfers still on the course late Thursday.
Mirim Lee became the fifth golfer to shoot a round of 8-under par at a U.S. Women's Open, making 10 birdies on the way to a 64 and the first-round lead.
Stephenson is coming off an outstanding freshman season at Clemson University, where she qualifed for the NCAA Championship. She intends to transfer to Alabama next season.
She has competed against the best in the junior ranks, earned a berth in the U.S. Amateur prior to her junior year at Lexington High, and found time to finish fifth and earn All-State honors in the Class 4A boys’ state tournament during her senior year in high school.
On Thursday, she was 7-over through 16 holes, but her first two birdies of the day, at Nos. 17 and 18, gave her some momentum heading into Friday's second round.
The second round will be carried on Fox Sports from 3 to 8 p.m. Stephenson tees off at 8:55 a.m. local time, 11:55 a.m. Eastern.
This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 11:56 PM with the headline "Stephenson off to tough start at US Women's Open."