Sports: She's barely a teenager, yet Pressel impresses

She's barely a teenager, yet Pressel impresses

By BOB HARIG

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. -- There were tears in her eyes, which perhaps could be expected of a 13-year-old who stood in front of a large media contingent after what was an emotional experience for a seventh-grader.

Morgan Pressel sounded frustrated, perhaps unable to grasp the enormity of her accomplishment. A 77 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open was certainly no shame.

And neither was the nifty 8-iron approach shot she hit to 8 feet from 143 yards at the 18th hole, where she calmly rolled in the 8-foot birdie putt. It was one of just 17 birdies at the hole for the day.

"That was a relief," Pressel said. "I was happy I had a birdie on the last hole. It made me feel good, that maybe I can play better (today). I hope I have a better ball-striking round."

She might have been a bit hard on herself. The scoring average for the day was 74.538 and her score would be good enough to make the cut because she was within 10 shots of leaders Cindy Figg-Currier and A.J. Eathorne. Proven LPGA players such as Joan Pitcock, Kathryn Marshall, Donna Andrews, Mary Beth Zimmerman and Nancy Scranton were unable to do better. In all, she beat 20 pros.

Pressel, who is from Boca Raton and won a sectional qualifier by shooting 70 in West Palm Beach two weeks ago, received Tiger Woods-like coverage by ESPN. A good number of her shots were there for all the world to see.

"I'm very proud of her," said her father, Mike Pressel, who moved his family from Tampa five years ago before she took up golf. "There's only nine of the best players in the world under par. To be 7 over is a tremendous accomplishment."

THAT WAS EXPECTED: Brenda Corrie Kuehn got a pleasant surprise when she stepped onto the first tee.

"Another pregnant woman!" she said.

Joining Kuehn, who is eight months pregnant, in the threesome was Jennifer Greggain, a pro from Puyallup, Wash., who played despite being five months pregnant. Both shot 9-over-par 79 in the first round.

Give the U.S. Golf Association credit for having a good sense of humor.

But Kuehn, an amateur, has received more attention since she qualified for the tournament two weeks ago.

"I was very nervous," she said. "I knew everyone was going to ask what the pregnant woman shot. I had a bad start and you'd think I'd get tired, but I played better at the end. It took me a while to get going."

Kuehn, 36, who has won numerous amateur titles and played on the 1996 and 1998 U.S. Curtis Cup teams, said her game is not the same, for obvious reasons.

"I've lost a lot of flexibility and I can't go after it as hard as I'd like," she said. "I don't hit the ball as far and I hit it a lot lower."

DAVIES DOWN: Laura Davies is struggling. The 1987 U.S. Women's Open champion, who has 19 LPGA Tour titles and numerous others around the world, has missed four cuts in nine tournaments this year and has not shot in the 60s since March. After getting to 2 under through eight holes, Davies played the last 10 at 7 over, including double bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes. She shot 75.