Pelaez Shines in Opening Round of Augusta National Women’s Amateur

AUGUSTA, Ga.  –  South Carolina women’s golf senior Ana Pelaez sits in a tie for second after finishing her opening round at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Wednesday. Play was suspended in the afternoon due to weather. 

Pelaez notched a pair of birdies on her front nine and finished with a 1-under 71. Sophomore Pauline Roussin Bouchard finished her round before the suspension, carding a 3-over 75. Freshman Paula Kirner made it through 12 holes before play was called off for the afternoon, she sits at 3-over. Senior Pimnipa Panthong is through 15 holes in her opening round, she’s at 8-over. 

“I feel pretty good,” Pelaez said after the round. “I think I could have had a couple more birdies,
but I also feel I could have had a couple more bogeys out there. I’d say it’s a pretty good start for the tournament.” 

“It was a tough day for me today,” Roussin-Bouchard said of her opening round. “I really handled the par 5s really, really badly. I lost a couple shots on that. Then I mean, it was tough out there with the wind and all that. I enjoyed playing, but it’s a little bit frustrating to finish by a bogey on the par 5.”

Play in the opening round is set to resume tomorrow, along with the second round at Champions Retreat. The top 30 on the leaderboard make the cut for the final round, set for Saturday. All participants get to play in the practice round at Augusta National on Friday, with Saturday’s final round also being played at Augusta National.