JERSEY CITY, NJ. — Two-time NCAA champion Rose Zhang made her specialist debut Thursday on the LPGA Tour, a good opening round in the Mizuho Americas Open

The. 20-year-old out of Stanford who dominated the women’s amateur rankings for more than two years shot a 2-under 70 at Liberty National in the shadow of New York. The Californian was 5 photographs off the lead held by Lauren Hartlage, who shot a career-best 65

Aditi. Ashok, the first participant from India on the tour, was at sixty seven in a tournament where the focus shifted to Zhang last weekend with her announcement she was turning pro

Atthaya. Thitikul of Thailand and Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland had 68s

Ayaka. Furue, coming off a loss to Pajaree Anannarukarn on Sunday in last of the match play event in Las Vegas, was at 69 with Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Emma Talley, Cheyenne Knight, Grace Kim and Yuka Saso

Zhang. did not dominate in her first round as a seasoned however she confirmed enough, making 5 birdies and three bogeys on a day her putter did not help her. She hit fairways and greens in a round on a course that features a par three played with the Statue of Liberty staring golfers in the face

„This. was absolutely a round that could have been better, and that kind of gets me excited to work on more and to develop my video game even further,“ mentioned Zhang, who was among 14 gamers at 2 underneath. „I felt like I left a couple photographs out there, and I think there is a lot of room for improvement“

There. have been also some photographs that have been nice. On the par-5 13th, she chipped in from 29 yards, coming from below the hole and having the ball cross the size of the green earlier than falling in the hole

The. folks following her group adored it. It was what they anticipated from the participant who has won back-to-back Annika Awards as the ideal college player, and who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April

Her. eight wins this season tied Tiger Woods for the most by a Stanford participant in school history, and her 12 wins in 20 college begins are a school record

„I. do not really have to think about different people’s expectations,“ Zhang mentioned. „Like I mentioned before, I think of it as a praise that they think I’m succesful of more. But on the total level, I think I have folks that simply desire me to do the ideal I can and they push me to be better“

Zhang. will want to be greater if Hartlage continues enjoying as good as she did on Thursday

Starting. on par-5 10th, Hartlage ignited her career-best round by hitting her second shot to within a foot and making eagle. She added 5 more birdies over the last 17 holes, including it was good to play good after struggling in her last 4 events

„I. feel like no one really expects me to be at the top, and it is kind of fun simply being able to simply play with some of the ideal in the world and see how I rank,“ mentioned Hartlage, a 25-year-old who has two top-10 finishes since joining the tour last year

Ashok,. who has two prime 5 finishes in her last three events, is two photographs behind Hartlage after a bogey-free round

„I. simply know that if I play good 4 days, then I’ll have a pretty good chance,“ Ashok said

Thitikul. has two wins and 21 top-10 finishes since joining the tour last year. The 20-year-old had 5 birdies and bogey and she was the only participant in the prime 4 who played in the afternoon, when the wind picked up

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