Thai Suthavee Springs First-Round Surprise

New York, United States: Suthavee Chanachai didn’t know what to expect from her first-ever round in a USGA championship on Monday. The 23-year-old from Thailand, who graduated in May from New Mexico State, hadn’t even tried to qualify before filing an application earlier this spring for the 121st US Women’s Amateur Championship at Westchester Country Club.

Suthavee carried the momentum from shooting 69 in her qualifier to Westchester Country Club, firing a three-under-par 69 on the West Course to grab the first-round lead. Her five-birdie, two-bogey performance left the two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year one stroke clear of five players.

Of the other Asia-Pacific participants, fellow-Thai Kan Bunnabodee returned a 72, followed by China’s Sophie Guo Yixian (73) and Michelle Zhang Yunxuan (74), Chinese Taipei’s Hou Yu-chiang (74) and Malaysian Alyaa Abdulghany (74).

Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Tsai-ching and Malaysian Audrey Tan both carded 75s, while Australian Grace Kim signed for a 76.

Among a large group on 77 were Japan’s Tsubasa Kajitani, winner of April’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Chinese Taipei trio of Huang Ting-hsuan, An Ho-yu and Hsu Huai-chien, Australian Emily Mahar, China’s Cindy Kou Xin and Vietnam’s Hanako Kawasaki.

Also needing to improve on their day-one performances are Tomi Arejola and Rianne Mikhaela Malixi from the Philippines, Australian Makensie Toole and China’s Lan Bowen. All had 78s.

Since graduating with a degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management, Suthavee, who missed the cut in the 2019 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, has spent the summer working at New Mexico State’s golf course to save money for a pending professional career.

In fact, her only competitive round before Monday was the qualifier at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 30. After this week’s US Women’s Amateur, she hopes to make a run through LPGA Tour Q-School, which begins on August 15 in Rancho Mirage, California.

“No, not at all,” said Suthavee, asked if she had high pre-championship expectations. “That’s not my goal. The goal is basically focusing on the process. I don’t want to put expectations out there. If I play good, I play good. If I play bad, I play bad. It’s golf.”

There was plenty of good golf on Monday. Suthavee said all five of her birdies were from 15 feet and in. Consecutive birdies on the fourth and fifth – her 13th and 14th holes, as she started on 10 – pushed her briefly to four-under before she gave back one stroke on the 324-yard seventh, a hole with one of the most challenging green complexes on the course.

“I’m just happy to be able to roll some putts in and then I have my friend [Seth Abrahmson] on my bag, too, so it’s pretty fun today,” said Suthavee, whose older sister, Suteera, also played at New Mexico State from 2007-11.

The field of 156 players was greeted with a chamber-of-commerce day with bright sunshine and comfortable temperatures in the 70s with little humidity. But winds that gusted as high as 14 miles per hour created a challenge, along with the undulating green complexes of the Walter Travis design that was an annual PGA Tour stop for more than 40 years and the host site of the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Aneka Seumanutafa had an additional challenge. She was practicing at her Maryland club on Saturday when she was alerted that a spot in the field had become available due to a last-minute withdrawal. The first alternate from the Dayton, Ohio qualifier and rising Ohio State junior eagerly accepted, and was among the group who posted 70s on Monday.

Seumanutafa, who has qualified for match play in all three of her previous US Women’s Amateur starts, left Emmitsburg in Maryland at 5 am on Sunday and following the four-hour ride, had more than enough time to familiarise herself with the championship layout.

“It really means a lot,” said Seumanutafa, whose first US Women’s Amateur appearance came six years ago as a 14-year-old. “Getting that call I was just shocked. I was so excited.”

Joining Seumanutafa with 70s were Anna Morgan, runner-up in last month’s Women’s North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No 2, Hailey Borja, Brooke Seay and rising high school senior Bridget Ma.

Seay, a rising junior at Stanford University, is making her sixth start in the championship, the most of any competitor.

Seven players posted one-under 71s, including 2020 quarter-finalist Riley Smyth and 2020 Women’s North & South Amateur champion Rachel Kuehn.

Defending champion Rose Zhang, who is number one in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, opened with a one-over-par 73. Zhang, who won the US Girls’ Junior last month, is bidding for a third USGA title in the past 12 months.