Southern Utah University golfer Poy Prasurtwong made six birdies in a seven-hole stretch Monday, taking the first-round lead in the 113th Women’s State Amateur with a 4-under-par 68 at Logan Country Club.
A senior from Thailand, Prasurtwong started her round on the back nine and was 2 over when she came to No. 17, playing as a par-5 this week. She birdied the last two holes on that side and added four more birdies on the first five holes of the front nine on her way to a three-stroke lead over Lone Peak High School graduate Kerstin Fotu.
After Tuesday's round, the field will be reduced to 16 golfers for match play, scheduled Wednesday and Thursday.
Prasurtwong is a three-time All-Big Sky Conference honoree, having made the first team as a freshman, the second team as a sophomore and the third team as a junior.
Fotu posted four birdies, one bogey and one double bogey. She was the first-round leader in the recent Utah Women’s Stroke Play tournament at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway, where she finished in a tie for second place.
BYU golfer Anna Kennedy is third at 74. Naomi Soifua, Kennedy's college teammate and partner in winning the Utah Women's Four-Ball in June, posted a 78 in an adventurous round that included two birdies and four double bogeys. Soifua was the State Am runner-up to Kelsey Chugg at age 13 in 2012, when the event was last held in Logan. No former winners are entered this week, with Chugg and others having various commitments.
Grace Summerhays, who made the 64-player field for match play in the recent State Amateur, will have to improve to reach that stage Tuesday. The 15-year-old Summerhays made two double bogeys in posting an 80 and is tied for 19th place.
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
68 – Poy Prasurtwong.
71 – Kerstin Fotu.
74 – Anna Kennedy.
75 – Morgan Bentley.
76 – Launa Wilson, Tara Oglesby, Abbey Porter, Emma Johnson.
77 – Emma Winfree, Taitum Beck.
78 – Bailey Henley, Cristiana Ciasca, Kyla Smith, Tayllore Ward, Ivane Helias, Naomi Soifua.
79 – Cora Mickelsen, Carissa Graft.
80 – Cassie Campos, Laura Gerner, Lauren Taylor, Halle Parkin, Hannah Gleason, Grace Summerhays.
