Irish amateur golfer Aine Donegan made an impressive debut at the opening round of the US Women's Open. Despite the challenges she faced with her golf clubs, Donegan finished just one shot behind the joint leaders Xiyu Lin of China and Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea.
Arriving at Pebble Beach for her first LPGA Tour tournament, Donegan discovered that her clubs had not arrived and her driver was broken. PING provided her with a temporary set, including a driver that she decided to use for the tournament.
@united I am not happy with you. My clubs finally arrived to Pebble Beach for the @uswomensopen and my driver is destroyed pic.twitter.com/hF0kwMK7oz
— aine donegan (@DoneganAine) July 4, 2023
"It's like everything happens for a reason, the clubs were late and then the driver came and it was broken," she said. "All of a sudden I have no choice but to put this Ping driver in.
"Honestly I am delighted I did. The whole thing has been a bit surreal to be honest - nearly every five minutes it's like a pinch-me moment.
The 21-year-old started the back nine with consecutive bogeys but rallied with five birdies and a spectacular eagle from 96 yards on the 15th hole, ending with a 3-under 69 round.
A 3-under 69 opening round has Aine currently sitting tied for second with the final groups approaching the final holes. Check out what Aine had to say after a strong day one!
recap » https://t.co/bQmQLNlTgp
📺 @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/C2VvXU10eY— LSU Women's Golf (@LSUWomensGolf) July 7, 2023
"It wouldn't be the first time I started bogey-bogey. For me to come back then and finish how I finished and play the rest of the round, I'm really proud of myself for that," Donegan said.
Joining Donegan on 69 were fellow Irish player Leona Maguire - who birdied two of her final four holes - Nasa Hataoka of Japan, South Korea's Hae Ran Ryu and USA's Bailey Tardy and Allisen Corpuz.
