WOMEN'S GOLF First round produces unexpected leader

Teenager steals show on day one at U.S. Open
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (AP) -- A teenager is leading the U.S. Women's Open.
No, not that one.
Brittany Lincicome, an 18-year-old from Florida who just finished her last year of home school, watched kids younger than her play in Women's Open, nearly win on the LPGA Tour and even compete against the men. She knew she had just as much game but was willing to wait her turn.
Her time came Thursday in her first Open, a round that left her crying for joy and in a mild state of shock over a 5-under 66 that gave her a one-shot lead and matched the best score ever by an amateur.
"I birdied 10, and it went from there," she said. "I don't even know what happened."
She made short birdie putts on two of the next three holes, then hit the shot of her young life -- a chip 7-iron under the trees, the ball rolling onto the 15th green and slipping in the right side of the cup for an eagle. She shot 30 on the back nine, tying a Women's Open record.
Stealing headlines
And just like that, she stole the thunder from 14-year-old Michelle Wie and 17-year-old Paula Creamer, the most heralded girls among a record 16 teenagers at Orchards Golf Club.
Lincicome, a 6-foot blonde with a ponytail and easy smile, also put it on the pros.
Patricia Meunier-LeBouc, the '03 Kraft Nabisco champion with a 4-month-old daughter, birdied the final four holes for a 67, twice holing 25-foot putts.
Only five other players from the early starters broke par in a calm first round that turned nasty.
The round was suspended by three hours because of thunderstorms that swamped the Orchards. Seventy-five players were still on the course when it was too dark to continue.
Beth Daniel was at 3-under while Annika Sorenstam was 2-under with three holes left.
Not even the loud claps of thunder could shake Lincicome from this dream.
Everyone missed most of Lincicome's sterling back nine. They were all following Wie, who recovered from a double bogey on the par-3 fifth by hitting a 5-wood from 220 yards into 9 feet for eagle on her final hole for a 71.
"It could have been a lot worse today, and that eagle really got me on the right foot for tomorrow," she said.
Creamer, a senior-to-be who was second and 12th the last two weeks on the LPGA Tour, was 3-over through 10 holes but recovered for a 72.
Grace Park, who has finished first and third in the other two majors this year, and two-time Women's Open champion Juli Inkster were among those at even-par 71.
Defending champion Hilary Lunke showed plenty of heart. She was 4-over after four holes, about what everyone imagined from a short hitter on a course playing every bit of its 6,473 yards. But Lunke buckled down with birdies, and a bogey on the 18th hole left her with a respectable 72.
Teen surprise
Still, the day belonged to a teen who might soon be making headlines of her own.
"I figured that one of these days, if I proved myself, then people would notice who I was," she said. "I wasn't really worried. Michelle Wie and everyone gets way more press. But I figured if you play good here, then it will come to me."
Lincicome started playing as a kid when her father let her tag along at a lighted par 3 course in the Tampa Bay area, and it wasn't long before she started collecting trophies. On the junior circuit, she has a rivalry with Creamer, and both played on the Junior Solheim Cup team in Sweden last summer.
But in today's climate of kids taking on adults, Lincicome was patient. This was the first year she even tried to qualify for the Women's Open, and she was the co-medalist at Heathrow, Fla.
"I wanted to wait and make sure I was ready," she said. "I didn't want to come in and not be at the top of my game. And I would say I'm ready."