Cherry Hills Village – Annika Sorenstam overcame a shaky start to shoot even-par 71 in the first round of the U.S. Open today, keeping her right in the mix to win the third leg of the Grand Slam.
With about half the field still out on the course, Sorenstam was two strokes behind 2003 runner-up Angela Stanford and one behind Nicole Perrot, Young-A Yang and Liselotte Neumann.
Tied with Sorenstam at par were Sophie Gustafson, defending champ Meg Mallon and 17-year-old Morgan Pressel, who was at 5 under after eight holes, but couldn’t maintain the lead.
Sorenstam hit her first tee shot into the rough and made bogey then had to settle for par on the par-5 11th hole after hitting that tee shot into the rough, too. She said she was nervous as she began her quest to make it 3-for-3 in majors this year.
“U.S. Open. Lot of people. Tough golf course. I had a lot on my mind,” she said when asked to explain her early jitters.
At one point, she was five strokes behind Pressel, who birdied five of the first eight holes to surge to 5 under. Pressel, who in 2001 became the youngest girl to qualify for the Open at age 13, finished the round with a double-bogey and bogey and walked off the course in tears.
“I let it get away from myself a little,” she said later, conceding an even-par round in the U.S. Open wasn’t anything to get discouraged about.
Starting her round on the back nine, Sorenstam missed a variety of short putts – a 4-footer on No. 10, a 10-footer on No. 12, a 6-footer on No. 17 and another 4-footer that lipped out on No. 18 – en route to two bogeys and a birdie for a nine-hole score of 37.
She picked things up over her second nine, though, saving par with a beautiful sand shot on the par-5 fifth hole to shoot 1 under and finish the day at 71.
Coming into this week, Sorenstam had already won six times on tour this year, although Cherry Hills figured to be her most difficult test.
Those playing in the afternoon included Juli Inkster, Laura Davies and 15-year-old Michelle Wie, the most recognizable teenager in the field, though hardly guaranteed to be the best, as Pressel’s fast start showed.
