KIRKWOOD, Mo. (June 27, 2023) – Birdies can be tough to come by on the undulating fairways and greens of Greenbriar Hills Country Club outside of St. Louis.
On a hot, windy afternoon, Lilly DeNunzio made four of them to post a 2-under 69 and take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the 96th Women’s Western Junior.
After recording birdies on two of her first five holes, the BYU commit’s momentum stalled with bogeys on Nos. 7 and 10. She recovered quickly, playing her final seven holes in 2-under par to finish in red figures.
The Henderson, Nevada, native did it without even thinking about her score.
“I usually just do a little three-hole match between me and the course,” DeNunzio said. “I think I played the course pretty well.”
She played the par-71 layout better than anyone else on Tuesday. DeNunzio was the only player in the field of 78 to break par as the wind picked up later in the day.
“It was pretty nice to get out and play early in the morning before it gets real tough,” DeNunzio said. "The rough and wind can make it hard to get closer to the pin even with a wedge in hand.”
Four players trail DeNunzio by two shots after 18 holes of stroke play.
Kennedy Swedick, a 16-year-old from Albany, New York, matched DeNunzio’s birdie total with four of her own. Swedick – the winner of the 2022 New York State Women’s Amateur Championship – was 2-under through 14 holes before bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 brought her back to even.
After her opening round, Swedick said she feels confident in her gameplan going into the final round of stroke-play qualifying on Wednesday.
“It’s a tough golf course that requires you to hit the fairway,” Swedick said. “I’m going to be patient and not always pull driver in order to get that first shot in play and have a good line to the green. There are birdies out there – you just have to put yourself in position.”
Playing in her first Women’s Western Junior, Lisa Herman – a 15-year-old from Jenks, Oklahoma – employed Swedick's fairway-first mentality on Tuesday. Herman made 14 pars to go with two bogeys and two birdies, good for an even-par 71.
“I wasn’t really trying to force anything, and I knew that if I stayed calm the birdies would come eventually,” Herman said. “I was just taking the easy iron shot instead of doing something that could possibly get me into danger.”
Joining Swedick and Herman in the tie for second are Taryn Cagle, of San Clemente, California, and Mingyu Zhang, of Beijing, China. Cagle, 16, started strong by making birdies on three of her first six holes before a 2-over back nine. Zhang, 16, recorded three birdies and three bogeys in her 71.
C.A. Carter – a 16-year-old from Lexington, Kentucky – is in sixth place at 1-over after carding a 72.
Four players are tied in seventh at 2-over, including Yetong Qian, of China; Sayers Allen, of Spring Branch, Texas; Jessica Jolly, of Rockford, Michigan; and Kathryn DeLoach, of Athens, Georgia.
Wednesday will feature an additional 18 holes of stroke-play qualifying before the field of 78 is cut to the low 16 players for match play. The winner this week will join past champions like Nancy Lopez, Candie Kung, Cristie Kerr and Grace Park and receive an exemption into the 2023 Women’s Western Amateur at White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville, Illinois, in July.
Attendance and parking at the Women’s Western Junior are free.
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