US Women's Open golf leader Ingrid Lindblad, paired with Annika Sorenstam, sets amateur 18-hole scoring record

SOUTHERN PINES — Annika Sorenstam may be the star Swede in the field at the 77th US Women's Open golf tournament, but it was a younger amateur who was the story of Thursday's opening round at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.

Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad, who competes for LSU, shot a 6-under-par 65 to claim the first-round lead until Mina Harigae went ahead by a stroke on her late afternoon finish. Lindblad birdied seven of the final 15 holes she played to produce the lowest 18-hole score by an amateur in US Women's Open history.

The 2020 Southeastern Conference player of the year said putting was the key to her success on the 6,638-yard Pine Needles layout.

"I hit a few shots close to the pin, and my putter was great today,'' Lindblad said. "I made a few par saves and I made a few putts for birdies. It worked from fairway to green.''

The previous record was 66, held by Carol Simple Thompson (1994), Brittany Lincicome (2004) and Gina Kim (2019).

It's not unusual for amateurs to be at the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard in the early rounds. Megha Ganne shared the first-round lead with Mel Reid last year at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

But only once has an amateur won the event. Catherine Lacoste earned that distinction with a two-stroke victory in the 1967 Open at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia.

Lindblad, who won the SEC individual championship in April, said her opening-round performance was made more special due to her playing partners, both of whom are former US Open champions. So Yeon Ryu of Korea was the 2011 champion, while 51-year-old Sorenstam is a three-time winner, including the 1996 tournament at Pine Needles.

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Playing with Sorenstam had Lindblad pinching herself at times.

"When I saw I was playing with her I was like, in shock,'' Lindblad said. "I was like, 'This cannot be true.' Then, on the first tee I had her scorecard. I was like, 'I have Annika's scorecard in my hand.' It was really cool. We had fun out there.''

Sorenstam, who finished at 3-over par, was impressed by Lindblad's performance.

"She was fearless and fun to watch,'' Sorenstam said. "It was so nice to see. We talk about growing the game of golf and seeing the next generation of girls. For her to come out here and play so solid, and we had some good conversations, you can see that women's golf is in good hands.''

The two will be paired again in Friday's second round, starting at 2:35 p.m. on the first hole.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Ingrid Lindblad US Women's Open golf 2022 amateur record