Emma Shen Cards 5-under 67 to lead 96th Women's Amateur Championship; Kate Granahan Paces 8th Mid-Amateur Championship
RUMSON, N.J. - Emma Shen fired a 5-under par 67 to pace a packed leaderboard after the opening round at the 96th New Jersey State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship Tuesday at Rumson Country Club. Ami Gianchandani (-3) of Watchung Valley Golf Club trails the leader by two, carding a 3-under par 69 in her opening round.
Defending champion Eunice Kim sits alone in third place after shooting 2-under par. The top-16 players after 36 holes will qualify for the match play portion of the event.
“I was able to find a lot of fairways and I wedged it pretty close and I putted well,” Shen, who made seven birdies, said. “I’m just staying patient and enjoying the moment.”
Round 1 Women’s Amateur leader Emma Shen of @EdgewoodCountry gets it done today with a fiery 5-under 67! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cm9N9KjS70
— NJSGA (@NJSGA1900) July 27, 2021
Gianchandani, 21, birdied five of her first 11 holes, and finished with seven consecutive pars to shoot 69.
“The key was no blow-ups, no big mistakes," explained Gianchandani. "It was two-or-three missed greens all day, so it was a lot of steady golf.”
Kate Granahan of Upper Montclair Country Club shot a 3-under par 69 to grab a six-stroke lead in the 8th NJSGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, taking place alongside the Women’s Amateur at Rumson. Granahan birdied her final four holes to separate herself from the pack. The low 36-hole stroke play score at the mid-amateur level will be crowned champion.
“I put a lot of my irons close,” Granahan said. “My putter wasn’t too hot today, but if you get the ball close enough to the hole, sometimes you make birdies.”
Granahan, 27, holds a six-stroke advantage over 2020 NJSGA Women’s Player of the Year Samantha Perrotta (+3). Kelsey Solan (+4) and Lisa Coe (+4) share third place with 18 holes remaining in the quest for the 8th Mid-Amateur championship.
“The thought process is the same,” Granahan said about holding the overnight lead. “Every round you have to go through your process. It’s going to be a fun round tomorrow, but for myself, it’s about me going through the process, getting lots of sleep tonight, making sure I eat enough food for the rest of the day, and starting all over again tomorrow.”
Coverage of the 96th Women's Amateur & 8th Mid-Amateur Championships will be available at NJSGA.org, where live scoring, news, and recaps will be featured throughout the week. Fans and players can also follow the organization on its social media outlets at Facebook.com/njsga1900, @NJSGA1900 on Twitter and @njsga1900 on Instagram.
