PEBBLE BEACH (Calif.) — Aine Donnen’s fiasco with the missing club turned out to be a fairytale silver lining at the 78th U.S. Women’s Open. Aine Donegan’s journey from the Vagliano trophy in Scotland to Dublin, then San Francisco via Newark was the epicenter for travel nightmares during the last two weeks.
Donegan was a rising junior from LSU who arrived in San Francisco 30 hours after leaving. Her clubs were not there. Airport staff assured her that they would be delivered the following day. The 21-year old played her first round of practice at Pebble Beach Golf Links using a set of Ping clubs that were a gift.
Donegan usually plays Ping irons. However, she found that she was hitting a Ping driver so effectively during practice, she suggested to her coach/caddy, Gary Madden that she could put it into play.
When Donegan’s clubs arrived, the driver head of her car was completely broken.
@united You make me angry. 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 stopped us from thinking about which driver to use. Donegan said, “We had one option then.”
“Honestly, I’m glad I did.” “It’s as if everything happens for a purpose. The clubs arrived late, the driver was broken and I had no choice but to use this Ping.”
The driver was responsible for the 96 yard shot Donegan made on the 15th hole, which she aced to erase the two bogeys that she had made on Nos. The 10th and 11th holes. She had a stellar debut at the U.S. Open thanks to the reset. She was in fact the leader early on at 4 under, but a late bogey dropped to 3-under 69. This left her one shot behind the leader Xiyu Lin.
Donegan said, “I knew I was going to hit a good shot when I made it.” The ball bounced and bounced and spun back, then it dropped in. “I have my family and a few Irish here who live in America, and a big scream by all the Irish people.”
Donegan, one of three amateurs who are in the top five at the halfway point of the day on a day where many of the best players of the world had a difficult time, is one of those. World No. World No.1 Jin Young Ko scored 79, while world no.2 Nelly Korda shot 74. Nelly Korda, shot 74.
Bernadetta, a former Alabama star who won a sectional playoff to qualify for Pebble, shot a 70 in the first round and is tied with USC’s Amari, who holds fifth place. Moresco claimed that her putter was “on fire” on Thursday.
She said, “I was nervous on my first hole.” “But this is my third major so I have already experienced it and I feel in the right place for the first. “I’m glad about it as I’m trying to become professional soon.”
Avery grabbed headlines in Texas earlier this year when she made it to the final round of the Chevron Championship without having played a single practice round. Avery finished 45th at the LPGA’s first major after helping the Trojans to win the Pac 12 Conference Championship earlier that week.
Avery is making his second USWO debut.
Avery said, “It is so surreal.” Avery played Pebble Beach on Monday for the first. “I find myself looking out at the ocean on every hole and appreciating that I am even here. Playing the U.S. Open is even more special.”
Rose Zhang, a newly-minted professional who was the betting favorite this week, received much attention, but her former Stanford teammates Kelly Xu, and Sadie Englemann, were given a special award on Thursday. Xu took the first tee-shot at 7 a.m. off No. Englemann was the first to tee off at No.
“I nearly started crying on the very first tee,” Xu said. It was amazing. “I don’t know how to describe it.”
