Hurst’s late birdie earns a share of U.S. Open lead

Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr struggled.

EDINA, Minn. (AP) — Gathering clouds gave way to sunshine, the first of many surprises Thursday in a U.S. Women’s Open that didn’t go the way anyone expected, least of all Pat Hurst.

Her day had a happy ending, one last birdie for a 6-under 67 and a share of the lead with Ji Young Oh.

Annika Sorenstam twice made back-to-back bogeys and wound up with a 75, her highest first-round score in a Women’s Open since she opened with a 76 in 1992 at Oakmont when she was a 22-year-old amateur.

Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr, who have combined to win three of the last four LPGA majors, played alongside an 18-year-old freshman at UCLA and couldn’t keep up. Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia, the Women’s Amateur champion, showed passion and fist pumps and hardly any fear on her way to a 4-under 69 that kept the gallery riveted.

Michelle Wie even got in on the act.

One minute she looked like she was on the road to recovery, the next minute she crashed to a quintuple-bogey 9 at the turn that sent her to an 81, the second straight year she failed to break 80 in the opening round.

“It was just one bad hole. And it’s a U.S. Open,” Wie said. “It will bite you in the butt.”

Hurst was chewing herself out early in the round, never imagining she would have anything to smile about in the late afternoon sun over Interlachen. She missed yet another short putt — the very reason she hasn’t made a cut since the last week in May — and began complaining to her caddie about a vicious cycle she couldn’t shake.

“I was whining,” she said. “I was being a golfer.”

Hurst rolled in a 35-foot birdie out of nowhere that kicked off a stretch of 6 under through seven holes. She looked over at her caddie with surprise and mock disgust, then kept right on rolling.

“It just turned it all around right there,” she said.

She birdied the 16th hole, reached the par-5 18th in two with a 3-wood for a two-putt birdie, then took advantage on the consecutive par 5s on the front nine. Hurst hit a slight fade with her 7-wood up the hill to a right hole location on the par-5 second and made a 15-foot eagle, then capped off her big run with a sand wedge to another elevated green that stopped 10 feet away.

Before a gallery that grew quickly — they were waiting for Sorenstam, who was playing behind her — Hurst hit an 8-iron that hopped onto the fringe, rolled along the bowl-shaped green and settled 3 feet away for one final birdie and her lowest round ever in the Open.

“There was never a point where I felt like I was going to go low,” said Hurst, whose previous best round was a 69.

Song-Hee Kim was another shot back after a 68, while Louise Friberg, Ji-Yai Shin and Uribe were at 69. Laura Davies, who won the Open in 1987 and needs one more major to get into the World Golf Hall of Fame, was among those at 70.