Lucy Li, the 11-year-old sixth grader who competed among the world's best female golfers Thursday, made a beeline for ice cream right after her history making round at the U.S. Women's Open.
While Li's eight-over 78 at Pinehurst, North Carolina, leaves her on the edge of making the cut at the major LPGA golf tournament, the links prodigy continued to impress everyone she encountered with her poise and the way she
bounced back from mistakes, according to ESPN.
"She's way better than I was expecting," Catherine O'Donnell, 24, who was paired with Li in the first round, told ESPNW.com. "I was really looking forward to it. I was interested to see how she was going to play. It was like playing with another pro. She's a joy to play with too."
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And if impressing her fellow golfers was not enough, here is the analytical way she broke down her first round on the big stage to the media after her play: "I'm happy with how I played. I mean, it's 8 over. It's not bad. But I was 7-over in three holes, so that's 1 over in 15 holes. I just need to get rid of those big numbers."
Li proved to be more than just a novelty sideshow, missing only one fairway while rarely
getting out of position, according to The Associated Press. Despite the three poor holes, she managed to post the same score as Jessica Korda, who has won two tournaments this year; O'Donnell; and four-time LPGA winner Natalie Gulbis, noted the AP.
"She's so much more mature than I could possibly imagine," Jessica Wallace, who also played in Li's group, told the wire agency. "She's a lot better than people thought. She's very capable on this golf course. She played like she belongs out here. And it was a real pleasure."
Now that she made history by actually playing in U.S. Women's Open, Li will chase history again on Friday trying to become the youngest to make the cut. That record belongs to then 13-year-old Marlene Bauer, who played in 1947. Bauer, whose married name is Hagge, went on to become one of founders of the LPGA Tour.
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