Editor’s note: Danielle Kang found herself in elite company for the first two rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open. She was the third golfer in the tournament’s marquee grouping alongside world No. 1 player Yani Tseng and defending Open champion Paula Creamer. Kang shot a 1-over-par 72, with three birdies, in the first round, tied with Creamer and one shot ahead of Tseng.
COLORADO SPRINGS — I still had a queasy feeling going to the second hole. (Tseng) is No. 1 in the world, and Paula is defending champion. I just wanted to learn what they do on the course during a round. Obviously, I want to play well, but I wanted to watch how they play, in tough situations how they do. They’re very patient and steady. They don’t make little mistakes. They make mistakes, but save them, save shots.
(Tseng) was talking to me about, ‘When are you going to turn pro?’ She was just being really nice. We were talking about how many siblings she has, a little sister, an older brother, and how old she was. It was really cool. I’m really talkative. For me to not talk, that is really hard, so for her to talk to me, that is really nice of her. (Creamer) is really focused, so I don’t want to bother her.
Half (of the gallery) was (cheering for) Creamer, half was Yani. People were yelling. I got a couple of shouts, so that was exciting.
I loved it, there were so many people. I wanted to take a picture, but I couldn’t take my phone out.
