CHANDLER, Ariz. (Dec. 28, 2013) - Krystal Quihuis, one of the top young players from Southern Arizona, shot a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday to take the lead after the first round of the prestigious 43rd annual Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship presented by the AB Farrington Foundation.
Quihuis, a senior at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, leads by one shot over Arizona State University golfer Mikayla Harmon in the three-day tourney for female golfers from ages 13 to 23at the Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz.
"I just try to stay consistent," said Quihuis, who has committed to the University of Arizona. "This course is great if you play it the way you want to but it can be hard if you are not consistent with your shots. Today is a great day but there are two more days left so anything can happen."
Quihuis was the model of consistency, with a bogey-free round and six birdies, three on each side, including one on 18 to get to 6-under.
"I just try to keep it down the middle, try make the putts, if they come my way then they fall in," Quihuis said.
Harmon, who was a standout at Chandler's Hamilton High School, went 4-under on her back nine to get to 5-under 67 on Saturday, good for second place after one round. Allisen Corpuz, of Honolulu, shot a 4-under 68 to stand in third place. Lisbeth Brooks, of Waunakee, Wisc., a sophomore at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., was one of two golfers at 3-under 69 along with Taylor Yoshitake of Los Angeles, a senior at Cal-Poly.
At 2-under 70 going into the second round are Lydia Choi of Beverly Hills, Calif., Simin Feng of Windermere, Fla., Mariel Galdiano of Pearl City, Hawaii, and Anna Zhou of Palo Alto, Calif.
A field of 112, including many top-ranked junior golfers, teed off Saturday to begin the 54-hole tournament that concludes on Sunday.
The Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship is a 54-hole stroke play event -- 18 holes over three days. This year, there will be a cut after the first two rounds to the low 70 scores and ties, with at least half of the golfers in each age bracket playing the final round. The Silver Belle is unique in that there are both age division winners and an overall champion after the three days of competition. Points earned from the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship go toward players' World Amateur Golf Ranking.
ABOUT THE
Arizona Silver Belle Championship
​Founded in 1971 by Joanne Winter, LPGA, the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship was to encourage competition in golf for young women amateur golfers under the age of 24. Today, it is nationally recognized and included in the major golf rankings, including AmateurGolf.com. This tournament qualifies for AJGA Performance-Based Entry. Entrants must be younger than 24 years old as of December 28. All applicants 14 years and younger will be reviewed as one group and will compete for the Overall Champion title and within the '14 and Under' age division.
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