AUGUSTA, Ga. – Kaleigh Telfer doesn't get nervous often. The Auburn sophomore has played in her fair share of golf tournaments over the years. But the nerves kicked in a little Wednesday when she teed off at the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur.
Those nerves quickly disappeared, though, as Telfer locked in and opened the tournament with a 69 (-3) in the first round. She's currently third on the leaderboard, one shot behind the leaders.
"It is a big event," Telfer said after the round. "Obviously I felt the pressure a little bit. I just went through my routine this morning. I felt the nerves on the first tee, but once that tee shot was over it was all good."
Telfer went bogey free on the front nine with a pair of birdies. She added two more birdies on the back nine, including one on her last hole of the round, and made just one bogey on the day. The first-round 69 matched her career low at Auburn, which she hit three times in the fall.
Auburn associate head coach Andrew Pratt, Telfer's caddie for the tournament, was impressed with how the sophomore played in the opening round.
"She was 100 percent committed on all of her shots, which we've been working on," Pratt said. "Her commitment level was extremely high today. She drove the ball very well, which she hasn't been driving it great in the last couple weeks. But she really drove it well today. And then she just hit a lot of greens. The last 14 holes, she probably missed one or two greens.
"So she drove it well, hit a lot of greens and then her putting was really good. Her speed control was probably the best I've seen it. She just really managed her game well."
After teeing off with the last group Wednesday, Telfer will be first to tee off in Thursday's second round. Her group will begin play at 8 a.m. CT.
Telfer, who is currently third, needs to remain in the top 30 to make the cut and advance to Saturday's final round, which will be played at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club. All 72 players in the field will play a practice round at the famous course on Friday.