Kim leads
women’s amateur

Hawaii's Ayaka Kaneko opens with
a 72 and Mari Chun shoots 80

ROSWELL, Ga. » In-Kyung Kim of Korea shot a 4-under-par 68 yesterday, tops in the opening round of medal play at the U.S. Women's Amateur.

Kim recently won the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship and is looking to pull off the rare double of winning the U.S. Girls' Junior and Amateur Championship in succession.

Sixty players posted scores of 75 or lower yesterday at Ansley Golf Club's Settindown Creek course in suburban Atlanta. After a second round of stroke play, the top 64 advance to match play, which starts tomorrow.

Tied at 69 were Duke-bound Amanda Blumenhurst, Ashley Knoll of Texas A&M and Lorraine Ballerano of North Carolina State.

Two Hawaii golfers are competing in the event, both finalists in this year's Jennie K. Wilson Invitational. Ayaka Kaneko, 15, of Honolulu is tied for 16th with 12 others after shooting a 72. Jennie K. champion Mari Chun, 17, of Pearl City is tied for 101st with 12 others after an 80. As it stands after the first round, the cut line is at 76.

Among those tied with Kaneko is 17-year-old Morgan Pressel, who was the runner-up in last month's U.S. Women's Open.

Calm conditions Monday afternoon produced lower scores than in the morning. Seven of the eight players who shot 70 or lower teed off after noon.

Pressel, who had a morning tee time, hit her second shot on the par-4 8th into a greenside hazard and took a double bogey. All three of her birdies came on par-5s, as she had a difficult day on Settindown Creek's testy greens.

"I couldn't putt and I made a couple of mistakes," Pressel said. "In qualifying, you're just trying to survive -- do nothing that can kill you and make birdies where available."

With fellow amateur Michelle Wie not competing after playing in LPGA events in Europe the past two weeks, Pressel is the most recognizable player in the field. She admits she enjoys the added attention.

"It's nice, I guess. I like the attention, and I like people coming out to watch me play. There's not as much attention on me as Michelle would have gotten if she was here, but hey," Pressel said.

Wie finished tied for second at the Evian Masters and was tied for third at the Women's British Open in her last two tournaments of the year.

Kim, 17, who has been attending the International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C., birdied three straight holes midway through her round.