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.
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ABOUT THE Arizona Silver Belle Championship
Prominent amateur golf tournament for junior girls
and women 13 - 23 years of age who compete over
54 holes of stroke play. The field is flighted by age,
but the overall champion may come from any age
group.
Joanne Winter, one of 14 original
Master Professionals in the LPGA's Teaching and
Club
Professional Division, founded the Arizona Silver
Belle 1971. Winter was a noted athlete before
beginning her love affair with golf. She pitched with
the Racine Belles in the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League from 1943-50 and later
served as a consultant for the film, "A League Of
Their Own," which chronicled the women's league.
After retiring from the diamond, she turned to golf
and won the Arizona State Women's Championship
in
1962.
Entrants must provide a USGA Handicap
Index
of 15.0 or lower and supply a
resume of tournament scores and other
information as required by the golf
registration
system. The selection process is based
upon
this information and national ranking.
View Complete Tournament Information