Chun's 72 leads Hawai'i golfers at Public Links
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Mari Chun, a junior-to-be at Kamehameha Schools, shot even-par 72 yesterday to lead a group of 10 Hawai'i golfers after the first round of qualifying at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Palm Coast, Fla.
Chun, who had nines of 36-36 at the 6,068-yard Ocean Hammock Golf Club, is four strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth place.
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Michelle Wie, an incoming freshman at Punahou School, and Amanda Wilson, an incoming junior at Waia-kea High, each shot 73 and are tied for 12th.
The top 64 in the field of 143 after today's final round of stroke play will advance to the first round of match play tomorrow.
Beth Allen, an incoming senior at Cal State-Northridge and the Big West champion, shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead.
She birdied the four par 5s, ranging from a 3-inch putt at No. 6 to an 18-footer off the fringe at No. 10, to complete her best-ever competitive round.
Tina Miller, the Big East tournament co-champion from Miami, is second at 70.
Wie, 13, is playing in the Public LInks for the fourth time, having first qualified at the age of 10 in 1999.
She got off to a quick start, launching a 310-yard drive on the par-5 10th hole to set up a two-putt birdie, then added birdies at Nos. 11 and 14 to go to 3-under through five holes.
However, she three-putted for bogey at No. 17, double-bogeyed No. 18 after driving the ball near a bush on the right of the fairway, and double-bogeyed No. 5 after hitting her tee shot in the water.
Wie recovered with a birdie and three pars, making a 6-foot putt to save par at her last hole, the par-4 ninth.
"People expect a lot of me, but I'm not really listening to that," said Wie, who has also qualified for the U.S. Women's Open, the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Girls Junior. "I expect more out of myself than they could."
The other Hawai'i competitors and their first-round scores are: incoming Punahou eighth-grader Steph-anie Kono (76); incoming Hilo High senior Kira-Ann Murashige (78); incoming Baldwin High junior Jayna Shimomura (82); incoming Waiakea Intermediate seventh-grader Kimberly Kim (83); 1996 Baldwin High graduate Desiree Ting (86); incoming Kaua'i High senior Jennie Pleas (89), and Meilin Poai of Kapa'a, Kaua'i (91).
