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Kinney has strong first day in the U.S. Amateur The Associated Press PORTLAND � Medford�s Tai Kinney has positioned herself to make the cut after the opening round of stroke play Monday at the U.S. Women�s Amateur Championship. Kinney, 17, is in a 15-way tie for 34th place after shooting a 7-over-par 78 in the first of two stroke-play qualifying rounds at 6,242-yard Waverley Country Club. The top 64 players after today advance to the match-play portion of the tournament, which begins Wednesday. The semifinals are slated for Friday, with a 36-hole championship match Saturday. Kinney had a strong front nine with a 37, then finished with a 41 on the back side of the par-71 layout. Angela Stanford led the field with a 3-under-par 68. Leigh Anne Hardin and Candy Hannenmann were second at 69, and Aree Wongluekiet, Candie Kung, Hilary Homeyer and Jessica Belskis were tied for fourth. "I liked my swing thoughts," Stanford said. "I�m just trying to hit the ball well and get my putts rolling." Those thoughts, the 22-year-old Stanford said, include setup, tempo, arm position and head position � a mental checklist before each shot. If Stanford can run down the list smoothly, she hits well. If her mind gets clogged up, she doesn�t. Stanford shook off a three-putt bogey at No. 2 and went on to birdie Nos. 4, 5, 10, 14 and 15 before bogeying No. 16. "When I�m into it, it just kind of flows," Stanford said. Stanford, of Saginaw, Texas, has played well since last winter when she was selected to the Curtis Cup team. In June, she helped the U.S. team beat the Britain-Ireland team in England. It was the first victory on foreign soil since 1984. "I felt like from mid-January on, I was just on cloud 9," said Stanford, a four-time All-American at Texas Christian University. "Being selected for the Curtis Cup team makes you believe you can play with the best." Hardin, who will be a freshman at Duke in the fall, recovered from a three-putt bogey at No. 1 and birdied Nos. 6, 7 and 18, where she hit a 6-iron within an inch of the hole. The 1998 U.S. girls junior champion said she plays golf with a point-guard mentality. "The pressure is the same," said Hardin, an 18-year-old native of Martinsville, Ind. "Whether it�s a free throw in the last seconds or a three-foot putt, if you knock it in, it�s good. If not, there isn�t anything to do about it but go on." Wongluekiet, the 1999 U.S. girls junior champion, is the youngest player in the tournament. Wongluekiet, who played in the final group at this year�s LPGA Nabisco Championship, had the day�s only eagle at the par-5 fifth hole. Her second shot was on the fringe and she converted a 50-foot putt. "I played quite solid all day," she said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA