Early errors in title defense

SOUTH HADLEY -- Tylar Lunke had seen his wife this nervous before -- on the 18th green of last year's playoff of the US Women's Open.

History will show that Hilary Lunke came through that situation beautifully, her birdie putt giving her a stunning win in the national championship at Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains, Ore.

So the caddie/husband was hardly surprised to see his wife calm the nerves early in yesterday's first round and not shoot herself out of the proceedings at The Orchards Golf Club. Starting bogey, double bogey, par, bogey, she was 4 over and seemingly heading downward when she reversed her fortunes with five birdies over the next 14 holes to shoot 1-over 72.

"I think it's a testimony to her," said Tylar. "She was nervous and she normally isn't nervous. But this is just a different feeling this year."

Last year, she was unheralded and not expected to win. This year, though she's been struggling to score well, Lunke is the defending champ and admittedly under a microscope. Having missed the cut six times in 11 starts hasn't made life easier, so when her defense stumbled badly, "there was a lot of self-talk going on out there," she said.

Enter the calming voice of her caddie. Or was it her husband? Tylar smiled and shrugged his shoulders. In either role, he did what he thought he had to do.

"She hit a clanky shot into No. 5 and was upset. I said, `Look, we're on the green. We're in the US Open and if you're on the green, you take that,' " said Tylar.

He wasn't taking credit, but Hilary played in 3 under the rest of the way, birdies at Nos. 9, 10, 13, 14, and 17 and bogeys at the 16th and 18th holes.

"That's her," he said. "She won't quit."

Rude awakening

When she returns at 7 this morning to complete Round 1, Annika Sorenstam will be 2 under. That's the good news. The bad? She'll take on the toughest stretch of the course -- the par-4 16th, par-3 17th, and par-4 18th. "That will wake me up," said Sorenstam, who turned in 2-under 34, bogeyed the 10th, but birdied the par-5 13th . . . Se Ri Pak bogeyed both par 5s on the front, but birdies on three of four holes heading out on the back got her to 1 under through 13 . . . Of the 16 amateurs in the field, 11 completed their rounds. Brittany Lincicome, of course, posted a clubhouse-leading 66 and Michelle Wie was at par 71. Paula Creamer rolled a 10-foot birdie try over the left lip and settled for a 72, while four amateurs shot 74s -- Kim Shin, Jane Park, Amie Cochran, and Erica Blasberg, who reportedly will announce that she will turn pro after the tournament . . . As proof these youngsters are not just here to soak in the experience, Creamer expressed disappointment with her round. "I played better than what the score showed," she said. "I bogeyed the par-5 ninth and you just can't bogey par 5s." Her problems can be traced to her youthful exuberance, for the 17-year-old on several occasions took aim at tough pins. "When you're out there with an 8-iron in your hand, it's hard not to go at the pin," she said. "But that's me. I'm a pretty aggressive player."

Rare birds

As expected, the par-4 16th played toughest, with a field average of 4.560. Normally a par 5, the 439-yard bear has a creek running in front of the green, so many of the women have chosen to lay up if they don't drive it well. Two who handled it OK were Juli Inkster and Natalie Gulbis, authors of the only birdies in the morning draw . . . It took only half the field 18 holes to record nine eagles -- six at the par-5 13th, which was playing easiest (4.594). There was one at the par-5 third (Liz Earley), one at the par-5 ninth (Wie), and one at the par-4 15th (Lincicome) . . . In last year's US Women's Open playoff, Lunke shot 70 to beat Angela Stanford (71) and Kelly Robbins (73). Paired together in Round 1 -- courtesy of the USGA's sense of humor -- Lunke outplayed them again. She shot 72, while Robbins signed for 74 and Stanford for 76.

Below average day

The average age of the field is 28.15 and one of those who is quite a bit below that number is Briana Vega of North Andover. At 22, her first experience in the Open didn't go as well as she had hoped, her round of 81 a combination of nerves and bad shots. She acknowledges she made a mistake on her sixth hole, the 15th. Just 1 over at the time, she knocked her approach to 10 feet and got ahead of herself. "Before I hit it, I said, `This is a good opportunity to birdie.' But it was a downhill putt and it wasn't the time to be aggressive." She ran it 7 feet by and ended up four-putting for a double bogey. "I hope it's a learning experience," said Vega, who will graduate from North Carolina State after one more semester, then pursue a pro golf career . . . Melrose native Michelle Bell had one birdie in her round of 78.