North Carolina's McKim sets early pace for girls

With Courtney McKim leading the way, the first trio of girls off the tee Tuesday in the American Junior Golf Association's Dalhousie Junior Championship set a quick pace over its final nine holes.

McKim was steady throughout the day en route to a 1-under-par 71 that gave her the lead after the first round of the three-day tournament. Playing partner Bonnie Hu closed with a 33 over her final nine holes and stood two strokes back, while Valentina Fontaine played her final nine in even par and also ranks among the leaders.

The trio was a combined 4-under par on holes 1 through 9 after playing 7-over on its first nine holes.

"On hole 8, we made the checkpoint by, like, 4 seconds," McKim said, "and then I don't know what happened. We sped up and I don't know if the group behind us fell behind.

"It helps when you're hitting greens and you're not off the green where you have to walk up and look and come back and try to get it up and down."

Beginning with McKim's birdie on No. 18 that brought her back to even for the day, the trio took off both in scoring and pace. They were about a hole ahead of the group behind them before needing to pause for a ruling on McKim's lie on No. 3, where she ended up with a bogey, and then sped off again. They were playing on the green on No. 7, their 16th hole of the day, in about 4 hours, while a group of girls ahead of them was in the fairway for their ninth hole in 2 hours, 20 minutes.

They finished in 4 hours, 24 minutes, while the final girls groups were on the course for more than 4:40.

McKim, after the bogey on No. 3 to offset the birdie on No. 1, added a birdie on No. 5 and par on the rest.

"I was just trying to make pars," she said. "However you can make par is what you need to do. I stuck a few shots close enough to make some birdies."

McKim, from Raleigh, N.C., last year finished 10th in the tournament with rounds of 78, 87 and 80. She had three birdies all week.

"Well, I made the cut," she said, looking back on last year. "I had to qualify last year [with a 78] and I didn't have to this year, so that's good.

"My game is at a higher level now, and I'm able to have a higher execution level at this distance, whereas last year I was coming along."

The keys to her improvement?

"Lots of play, lots of putting and a lot of practice," she said. "Try to get better everyday and try to make each minute you practice count."

Fontaine and Hu got better with every hole, and McKim noticed.

"Fontaine had a bunch of birdie putts that just didn't go in," McKim said. "Hu had a really good back nine. It was just impressive to watch."

Fontaine, from Hilton Head Island, S.C., posted par on every hole on the back nine.

Hu, one of eight Californians in the field, had birdies on Nos. 1, 6, 8 and 9 with a bogey on No. 4.

"On my first nine, I couldn't hit onto the green, which was really frustrating," Hu said. "And then I couldn't get up and down either. I haven't had 40 on nine holes in quite a while.

"The back nine was great because I actually hit the greens."

Summar Roachell of Conway, Ark., stands in second place, one stroke behind McKim and one ahead of Hu. She also shot better on the front nine (34) than the back nine (38).

Californians Elizabeth Doty and Lauren Salazar are tied at 74, while Becca Goodman of Tennessee is tied with Fontaine in sixth place.

Hu wasn't particularly hung up on the standings at this point.

"It's a three-day tournament," she said.

ABOVE: Valentina Fontaine, of South Carolina, waited her turn to putt as her playing partners played their shots on the fourth hole. (AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com) LEFT: Bonnie Hu held the flag on the fourth hole as the others in her group putted Tuesday during the Dalhousie Junior Championship. [Order this photo]

Girls leader Courtney McKim watched her approach shot to the the fourth hole. McKim shot an opening-round 71 for a one-shot lead.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com [Order this photo]