Sea Island Women's Amateur: Laney Frye goes low in Round one to take lead

July 25, 2023 | by Kevin Price of AmateurGolf.com

Laney Frye shot 61 today (Back of the Range/Sea Island Women's Am)

Frye shot a bogey-free 9 under 61, which is the lowest round in the three year history of the Sea Island Women's Amateur.

Laney Frye holds the lead after round one Tuesday at the Sea Island Women’s Amateur, taking place on the Georgia coast.

Frye, set to be a senior at the University of Kentucky, fired a bogey-free 61 on the par-70 Seaside Course at the Sea Island Golf Club and will hold a 4-shot lead going into Wednesday’s-second round in the 54–hole championship.

Frye’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 15th hole, which moved her to 9-under-par for the day. She also had seven birdies in her first 14 holes.

Frye’s 61 is easily the lowest round on record in the Sea Island Women’s Amateur, which is in just its third year of existence. The previous low single-round score was the 65 posted by 2021 champion Hannah Levi in the opening round that year.

It’s not surprising to see the two-time All-American for the Wildcats in contention at Sea Island. Frye was the runner-up in this tournament each of the last two years.

Last July, Frye shot even-par 210 over the three rounds and finished two shots back of tourney winner Kayla Holden. On Tuesday, Holden, who is heading into her final season at Tennessee, shot 3-over 73 and is tied for 43rd.

In the opening round, only 18 players from the field of 84 shot even-par or better. There were 13 players who turned in a score under par.

The closest player to Frye after the first 18 holes was Ami Gianchandani, who carded a 5-under65 with six birdies and a bogey.

She played the last three years for Yale and was named the Ivy League Player of the Year twice in three seasons. She is set to play for Auburn this coming season as a graduate transfer.

Results: Sea Island Women's Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Morgan Ketchum	Winston-Salem, NC	500	69-69-63=201
2	Laney Frye	Lexington, KY	400	61-69-72=202
T3	Shannon Kennedy	Bloomfield Hills, MI	300	67-68-69=204
T3	Claire Vermette	St. Petersburg, FL	300	69-66-69=204
5	Mikayla Dubnik	Murrayville, GA	300	70-68-67=205

View full results for Sea Island Women's Amateur

About the Sea Island Women's Amateur

Sea Island Women's Amateur: Laney Frye goes low in Round one to take lead

Patterned after the highly successful Jones Cup Invitational tournaments at Sea Island and Ocean Forest Golf Club, which began in 2001, the Women’s Amateur follows the Jones Cup tradition of drawing the nation’s best female golfers to the world-class...