LSU junior Ingrid Lindblad and Latanna Stone put themselves in good position after the first round Thursday of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat.
The first two rounds are played on the Island and Bluff nines on Wednesday and Thursday before the top 30 players move to the final round which will be at the famed Augusta National Golf Club.
Lindblad posted a 1-under 71 to stand in a tie for third with two other golfers, while Stone finished with a birdie to get in at even par 72 and T6.
After the first day, the present cut number is 2-over par.
Lindblad was around the lead most of the day, starting on the second nine on hole 10 when she birdied the par 5 14th holes and the par 4 15th hole.
“The first one was like 15 feet, and the second one was like 23 feet,” Lindblad told the media after the round. “So those are just good reads and good speed. I had a lot of three-footers I made for par. I had good speed on the greens.”
Lindblad changed putters since playing the tournament last year from a blade to a mallet putter.
The native of Sweden missed a seven-footer for par on hole one (her 10th of the day) and a 10-footer on four, but got a birdie on hole 2 (her 11th) to get home in one-under.
“On these greens, like I feel, if you hit a good putt and you start it on the line you want to start it on, then you’re going to make it because the greens are so good that they’re not going to like jump out of the line or anything,” Lindblad said.
Stone started on the front nine and turned at 1-under par with birdies on the par 4 first and par 5 ninth with a bogey on the fourth hole. The Florida native bogeyed the 13th and 17th holes to go to +1 on the day, but birdied the par 5 18th hole to finish at even par and pick up several spots on the field.
“I was just going out there and having fun” Stone said to the media after the round. “I wasn’t expecting to make birdie on the first hole but it was a nice little treat to start off with. I was trying to play steady today. I felt like even par was a pretty good score out there. Toward the end of the round, it felt windier. Coming in on 18 it was blowing and I didn’t expect my five wood to carry that far, but it did and had a good birdie on the last hole.”
The co-leaders of the 72-player field are Benedetta Moresco from Ital and the University of Alabama and 16-year-old Anna Davis, who earned her invitation by winning the Girls Junior PGA Championship this past July. Both shot 2-under par 70s on Thursday.
Thursday’s second round will feature the first ever streaming broadcast from Champions Retreat called “Making The Cut.” The coverage will stream live on NBC Sports and Augusta National Women’s Amateur digital platforms Thursday at 1 p.m. CT. The two hours of coverage will feature holes 9 and 18 – and full coverage of a playoff, if necessary. Live scoring during the round can be found at www.anwagolf.com.
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