Amanda Blumenherst grabs an early lead in Kia Classic Championship - Golf news
Amanda Blumenherst with an amazing flurry of birdies in the first round is now leading the leaderboard in the Kia Classic Championship at the Industry Hills Golf Club the Pacific Palms Hotel and Conference Centre, in the City of Industry.
The 24-year-old Blumenherst, also the winner of 2008 US Women’s Amateur title and a three times National player of the Year at Duke, is looking for her first professional title in the tournament.
Amanda carded no less than nine birdies in the opening round closing with a 7-under for 66 at the 6700 yards, par 73 course, played at both Babe and Ike courses (9 holes each).
"The fairways are extremely soft right now, and so are the greens," Blumenherst said. "So it's playing a lot longer than it says on the card, which actually suits me because I'm one of the longer ball strikers out there."
A sturdy Blumenherst looked in great control of her game starting with three straight pars with a birdie at the fourth. She slid back with a bogey on the fifth. She quickly got 2-under with consecutive birdies at the sixth and seventh
and then again on 10 and 12th before she stumbled on a bogey at the 13th. She pulled in four consecutive birdies to close the round.
Germany’s Sandra Gal also shined on the course with seven birdie putts and a bogey to close on 6-under for 67, right behind Blumenherst. "I went off to a good start, and then in the middle of the round I faltered a little bit," Gal
said.
Michelle Wie finished off 5-under for 68 for the third place with seven birdies and two bogeys. Wie vowed to strike back, "It's a tough course," Wie said. "You've got to be patient out there and hopefully tomorrow do the same thing
and hopefully have a couple more birdies."
World Number One, Yani Tseng scored 2-under for 71, while Hee Kyung Seo, the defending champion, ended up with 4-over for 77. Australian Karrie Webb, who is in the best form of her career coming with two consecutive wins, scored one
under for 72. Webb would be the first woman to win three consecutive LPGA titles, if she is successful.
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