She nearly made an ace on the 218-yard par-3 17th, and as the ball was rolling to the cup, it suddenly dawned on her that she wouldn’t be able to celebrate.

Such was the case for Alexandra Austin, who happens to be six months pregnant and competing at the 37th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, which kicked off Saturday from Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass.

“I hit 3-wood,” the insurance agent out of Fairfax, Va., recounted after her round. “It was almost going in. I was like, Oh that’d be great, and then I can’t drink.”

Austin was able to celebrate anyway (just without a few adult beverages), as she claimed the lead with a 2-under 70. That score may seem surprising as the low round of the day, but the original Donald Ross design showed its teeth on the first day of the championship, as she was the only player to shoot under par.

“If you don’t hit the green, it’s really hard to get up and down from the rough right around the greens,” the leader said. “It’s really thick so I think that causes a lot of trouble. That’s what caused my bogey [on the fourth hole].”

That was Austin’s only bogey of the day. She took advantage of her birdie opportunities and made three on the inward nine. Though she hasn’t been able to practice as much given the baby boy on the way, Austin has maintained a steady golf schedule over the past few months. Her most recent competitive event was the Virginia Women’s Open in June, where she finished in a tie for second.

As Austin describes, this particular championship is “extra special” given her January due date, but it’s far from a coming out party for her USGA career. Her fourth appearance in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, Austin made it to the quarterfinals last year at Stonewall Links in Elverson, Pa., and was a semifinalist in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball alongside Lauren Greenlief at Streamsong Resort (Blue Course) in Fort Meade, Fla.

Austin was joined near the top of the leader board by Kelsey Chugg – another player with USGA pedigree – who was runner-up at last year’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Chugg posted a score of 1-over-par 73 to once again find herself right in the mix. The three-time finalist won the 2017 edition of the championship at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas and was runner-up in 2018 at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Mo.

“I played really steady today,” said Chugg, who won the Utah Women’s Amateur in July for the sixth time. “It was nice to be back [at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur]. I am just trying to make it through to match play, so fairways and greens are the plan for tomorrow, too.” 

That seems like a solid plan for the championship’s 132 players, since birdies are at a premium on a course that yielded a 80.10 stroke average.

Speaking of birdies: Jacqueline Setas out of East Lansing, Mich., is the only one who can say that she made four birdies in a row today, as she kicked off her inward nine with scores of 3-3-3-3.

After starting on No. 9 (players are teeing off on No. 9 instead of No. 10 for ease of access), she made the turn and stuck a 48-degree wedge from 105 yards to a few inches on No. 1. She did the same on No. 2, but this time with a 58-degree wedge from 70 yards.

“I wish those would have fallen [for eagle],” Setas, a Performance Media Senior Consultant at Allstate, shared after the round. “On No. 3, I made a long putt, and then on No. 4 I putted with a hybrid from off the green and made that.”

At the end of the day, she looked up at the leader board and found herself sitting in solo second after an even-par 72. Her savvy play puts her in prime position to make a charge for medalist honors.

Four (Austin, Setas, Chugg and Taryn Walker) of the top six players on the leader board came from the morning wave of play. Shelly Stouffer and 2015 champion Lauren Greenlief shined from the afternoon wave, both firing 1-over-par 73.

“I played solid today,” said Greenlief, who works at Boston Consulting Group and is enjoying some home-town support from her colleagues. “I started out really well with a couple birdies out of the gate, hit my 3-wood well off the tee, hit a couple squirrely shots but was able to recover. You just have to be patient and be careful on the greens because they can be tricky.”

Stouffer, who won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur in July to get into the field, has been playing a steady amount of golf heading into the championship, teeing it up in the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship last week where she placed third. She then flew to Philadelphia and played Merion Golf Club, among others.

“[It] was fun, and I didn’t have to go home and work, so that was a good thing, too.”

What’s Next 

Round two will commence at 7:30 a.m. EDT. Admission is free, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

The stroke average in Round 1 was 80.10. The par-4 11th hole played as the most difficult, with a scoring average of 4.88, including just four birdies. The par-4 15th hole played as the easiest, but still yielded an over-par scoring average of 4.12.  

Tara Joy-Connelly, of Middleborough Mass., hit the opening tee shot on the first hole. The Massachusetts Golf Hall of Famer is playing in her 19th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, the most of any player in the field. She opened with a 10-over 82 and sits in T81 place.

Defending champion Kimberly Dinh was one of nine players to post a score of 4-over 76. Dinh, a senior research analyst at Dow Chemical, is looking to become the fourth player to win back-to-back U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur titles.

Alisa White, a senior operations manager for the USGA, shot a 5-over 77 and sits at T32 heading into round 2.  

Christina Parsells, of Bernardsville, N.J., made the only eagle of Round 1. The 2024 New Jersey Women’s Mid-Amateur champion hit a 212-yard hybrid to three feet for a 3 on the par-5 10th hole.  

Greenlief and Sabrina Coffman (3-over 75) led the field in greens in regulation during the first round, both hitting 16 of 18 greens.

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