SOUTHERN PINES, N. H. — When Ingrid Lindblad saw her grouping in the first two rounds for the You. S. Women’s Open , she was starstruck. My friend was paired with two greatest champions: So Yeon Ryu and fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam.

“When I saw that We will playing with [Annika] I was like, in panic, ” Lindblad said. “I was like, ‘This cannot be dead-on. ‘”

The particular thrills didn’t stop in addition to.

When Lindblad reported to the 9th tee for her 8: 50 the latest. m. tee time, Sorenstam passed her scorecard with your young amateur.

“I’m like, ‘I are blessed with Annika’s scorecard in my hands, ‘” Lindblad said.

But if there was several power dynamic at playing when the 8: 50 collection teed off, it was offer rest on the course. Lindblad navigated Pine Needles masterfully during her opening cylindrical, making seven birdies to six-under 65, a point that, as of mid-afternoon Saturday, gave her a two-stroke lead at the Women’s Broad open.

Her scorecard — blemish-free except for a bogey at the 10th — doest not tell the entire story, but. It wasn’t just that Lindblad, a rising senior during the LSU, took the early leads at the biggest event all over women’s golf. It was how she did so that motivated.

While Sorenstam and Ryu plodded across the Donald Ross design with légèreté as their guiding light, Lindblad stuck to her game: toughness. She averaged nearly 270 yards per drive from all the tee in her starting up round, near the top of the arena, and those extra yards positioned wedges and short marcherons in her hands significantly more than her competitors.

Her mentality is often asset, too. Lindblad isn’t afraid to go low (her career low at LSU is a scorching 64), and she or he brought that courage with her to this major.

“She’s a fearless device, ” said Sorenstam, who exactly shot a 74 in the Round 1 . “I wonder if she’s confident in her very own game. I know she will not shy away from the limelight your maybe I did as a teenagers girl. ”

The grand stage basically foreign to Lindblad, about the. She’s a two-time Just American at LSU and won SEC Player on this Year twice as well. That is not to mention her pair of top-three finishes at the Augusta Country specific Women’s Amateur.

An amateur winning the item championship is not without precedent, but it has been 55 years after Catherine Lacoste accomplished an feat. In recent years, amateurs will have flashed and faded, and as well , 72 holes of great has been too much to ask.

But that doesn’t represent Lindblad is doubting the chances.

“It’s possible, ” she spoken.

Golf. contendo Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant publisher for GOLF. com in which he spends his days maintaining your blog, producing and editing. Previous joining the team at PLAYING GOLF. com, he attended your current University of Texas as well as stops with Team CARIBIEN, the Green Bay Packers in addition to the PGA Tour. He supports on all things instruction to covers amateur and female golf.