North & South Women's Amateur: Three share early lead

Pinehurst continues to play host to some of the best amateur golfers in the nation. This week, the women take their shot. Tennessee junior Mikayla Bardwell leads the way alongside Vanderbilt’s Louise Yu and 16-year-old Megha Ganne. As all three carded 4-under 68s on Tuesday on Pinehurst No. 4 (Ganne on No. 2), Bardwell grabbed a photo of her card before handing it over to Tournament Coordinator Matt Nunez. Despite it being her first North & South Amateur, Bardwell was locked in. Going out and coming back in at 34, Bardwell jotted down just one bogey on the par-3 14th. With a scorecard fit for framing, Bardwell compared her goals which she had in her phone notes to her scorecard. “I was really excited to come to Pinehurst, and I really love this No. 4 course,” Bardwell told Pinehurst’s Alex Podlogar. “The shape of No. 4, it’s really a course where you have to know your lines, know exactly where you’re hitting it, and I feel really confident hitting my lines right now.” Louise Yu started hot on Tuesday, kicking off the tournament with three birdies on her first five holes. Taking a slight detour on No. 7, Yu made a double-bogey before making her fourth birdie of the front nine on No. 8. As she rolled over to the back nine, Yu played consistently with seven pars and two birdies to sit atop the leaderboard after day one. Having a ‘go-to’ yardage on the golf course is common. Whether it be laying up to hit a full wedge or having a favorite par-3, plenty of confidence can come in the form of a yardage. Megha Ganna was able to capitalize on consistency on Tuesday doing just that. “For some reason, on those holes, I just kept getting 106 for the yardage,” Ganne said. Seeing the number through her range finder on three consecutive holes (No. 11-13) at Pinehurst No. 2, Ganne made the most of the opportunities. “The first time, I hit it great,” she said. “Then I got to do it again. Thankfully, that shot kept working and that number kept showing up.” Ganne carded three of her five birdies over the three-hole stretch on her way to a three-way tie with 18-holes left to play before the event flips to match play. After the conclusion of play on Wednesday, the event will crown a medalist before trimming the field of 96 to 16 as the event will begin match play on Thursday. 26 players are either at or below par, setting up a mad dash for the 'Sweet 16' on Wednesday. Play resumes at 7:00 am EST.