Cherry Hills Village – When golfers refer to the U.S. Women’s Open as a marathon, they might not only be talking about the need for patience.
To those teeing off in the afternoon, Thursday’s opening round must have felt like a survival test: a 6-hour-plus survival test with play suspended twice because of the threat of severe weather.
“You have to be patient in any U.S. Women’s Open, and on a day like this you have to be even more patient,” said Lorie Kane, who shot a 3-over-par 74 in the afternoon and felt fortunate to be in one of the last groups to finish.
Beginning at 2:23 p.m., play was suspended the first time for 1 hour and 15 minutes because of a threat of lightning. None of the 26 groups, precisely half the field, had finished its round when play was stopped.
The horn blew again at 7:10 p.m., suspending play. The completion of the first round finally was postponed at 7:30, and all players were called off the course. Sixteen threesomes must complete their first round today, beginning at 7 a.m., the same time that the second round will begin.
Michelle Wie, the 15-year-old amateur phenom from Hawaii, stands 1-under par, and just one stroke off the lead, with three holes left to play in her opening round.
Wie said the first weather delay helped to calm her down. After play resumed, she rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 3.
“It felt good; I was just happy to get back out there,” Wie said. “I just need to make a lot of birdies and play consistently under par. We’ll see tomorrow.”
Karine Icher, a native of France living in Switzerland, has four holes remaining in her first round. She’s a co-leader at 2-under par.
“I’m just going to try to keep it going,” Icher said. “You know it’s going to be the same tomorrow, but it’s the same for every player, so you just try to focus on the golf.
“But it’s tough when you can’t finish the first round.”
Kane said she has watched The International on television and had braced herself for weather delays.
“It’s my first visit to Denver, but I guess this is normal weather here,” Kane said. “I have to commend the USGA because they got us off the course before anything bad happened.”
Kane said she always thinks about spectators during rounds plagued by inclement weather.
“It’s easy to get the players off the course, but it’s a little tougher to get the gallery off the course,” she said.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
