Updated at 4:29 p.m., Monday, July 23, 2007
Kimberly Kim's record-tying 62 leads at U.S. Girls Junior
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Former Big Island resident Kimberly Kim shot a record-tying 10-under-par 62 today to take a six-stroke lead after the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at Lakewood, Wash.Kim, who lives in Arizona, tied the Girls' Junior record set by Christina Kim in 2001 at the par-70 Indian Hills Country Club in Mission Hills, Kan.
Honolulu's Stephanie Kono shot a 69 in today's opening round and was tied for fifth.
The top 64 golfers after tomorrow's second round of stroke play advance to match play starting Wednesday. The 36-hole final is on Saturday.
Kim, 15, made 10 birdies, including on all four par 5s, but admitted she was worried she would lose her focus during the round.
"I have the attention span of a 5-year-old," she said in a story at the tournament's Web site. "I'll be putting for two minutes and I'll be kind of bored."
Kim, whose 62 was a personal best, made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4, 399-yard fourth hole to start her birdie parade.
Kim's said her expectations coming into the Girls' Junior were low.
"I was telling my dad that I've been hitting really bad and putting really bad, so don't expect anything," she said. "But today I played really good. I just played really solid the whole round. I don't know what it was, but everything just seemed to work out."
Kim had a bogey-free round that included four birdies on the first nine holes and six on the second nine, including three in a row on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes. She made a 6-footer for birdie on the par-5, 499-yard 18th hole to record her 10th birdie and put the round in the books.
Three players were tied for second at 68, including 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Mina Harigae, 17, of Monterey, Calif.
Elise Okada of Kahului, Maui, opened with a 72 and was tied for 25th. Honolulu's Cy Okino shot a 73 (T42), Ayaka Kaneko a 74 (T52) and Wailuku, Maui's Kyung Kim an 80 (T123).
In the boys' U.S. Junior Amateur in Augusta, Mo., Lorens Chan of Honolulu hot a 5-over 76 and was tied for 76th. Lihu'e, Kaua'i's T.J. Kua shot a 78 and was tied for 104th. The top 64 after tomorrow's second round of stroke play advance to match play tomorrow.
James White of Atlanta shot a 66 for a three-stroke lead at Boone Valley Golf Club.
Information from www.usgirlsjunior.org was used in this report.
