Wake Forest's Kupcho, Southern Cal the leaders after opening round in NCAA Championship

   It was almost an act of God that denied Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho, a junior from Westminster, Colo., the NCAA individual title a year at Rich Harvest Farms.

   Kupcho, the No. 3 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, was leading throughout the individual chase, which was reduced to 54 holes by the horrific weather that greeted the top players in women’s college golf in Sugar Grove, Ill. last spring.

   But a gust of wind on her 53^rd hole knocked down her approach and it ended up in the water. She ultimately had to settle for a tie for second, a nice finish, but not what Kupcho had in mind. She has played this entire season like somebody who wants to right a wrong.

   Kupcho, who will represent the Unites States against Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup Match next month at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., ripped off seven birdies and a closing eagle Friday as she opened the NCAA Championship with a course-record tying 7-under-par 65 at Karsten Creek Golf Club to take a three-shot lead in the battle for the individual title.

   Kupcho holed a 30-footer for that eagle on the last hole to complete her tour de force over the 6,328-yard, par-72 Karsten Creek layout.

   Meanwhile on the team side of things, Southern California, No. 6 in the latest Golfstat rankings, and its four fabulous freshmen, grabbed the lead with a 3-over 291 that gave the Trojans a one-shot lead over Alabama, which took the No. 1 ranking away from UCLA heading into the NCAA Championship. No. 3 UCLA, coming off victories in the Pac-12 Championship and a runnerup finish in the San Francisco Regional, was another two shots behind the Crimson Tide in third at 294.

   The 24-team field will be cut to 15 teams following Sunday’s third round and those 15 survivors will battle for eight spots in match play, which gets under way Tuesday.

   No. 16 Kent State is fourth at 8-over 296, two shots behind UCLA. ACC and Madison Regional champion Duke, ranked fourth, is another two shots behind Kent State in fifth at 10-over 298. No. 13 Northwestern, which lost to Arizona State in the Final Match at Rich Harvest Farms, is a shot behind the Blue Devils in sixth at 11-over 289.

   Louisville, which might be a tad underrated at No. 25, No. 9 Arizona, and No. 21 Florida State are tied for seventh at 13-over 301.

   There are some very good teams that did not get off to very good starts and have some work to do. No. 2 Arkansas, the Southeastern Conference champion and runaway winner of the Austin Regional, and San Francisco Regional winner Stanford, ranked fifth, are tied for 16^th at 20-over 308 to name two.

   But somehow at the top of the heap is Southern Cal. The Trojans lost arguably their best and certainly their most experienced player when junior Robynn Rhee earned herself an LPGA Tour card by finishing tied for fifth in the Final Stage of Qualifying School during the midseason break.

   No problem. With Jennifer Chang, a freshman from Cary, N.C., and Alison Corpuz, the veteran of the group, a sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, both matching par with 72s, it was Andrea Gaston’s precocious bunch at the top of the leaderboard after Day 1 at Karsten Creek.

   There are so many good freshmen in Division I this season, maybe it’s fitting that a team with four freshman is leading the way. The even-par efforts by Chang and Corpuz left them in the group tied for 11^th in the individual standings as Karsten Creek played tough, at least for everybody not named Jennifer Kupcho.

   Amelia Garvey, a freshman from New Zealand, was a shot behind Chang and Corpuz at 1-over 73 in the group tied for 19^th. Gabriela Ruffels, a freshman from Australia, is among the group tied for 28^th at 2-over 74 and the Trojans were able to toss the 4-over 76 posted by Alyaa Abdulghany, a freshman from Newport Beach, Calif., that left her in the group tied for 51^st.

   Northwestern’s Janet Mao, a junior from Johns Creek, Ga., is the only player who could get anywhere near Kupcho as she carded a 4-under 68 and is alone in second place in the individual standings, three shots behind Kupcho.

   Georgia’s Jillian Hollis, a junior from Rocky River, Ohio and No. 25 in the Women’s WAGR, is another shot behind Mao in third after carding a 3-under 69. Hollis is competing as an individual.

   Alabama’s Cheyenne Knight, a junior from Aledo, Texas and No. 14 in the Women’s WAGR, heads a group of three players tied for fourth at 2-under 70. Joining her at that figure are Florida State’s Morgane Metraux, a senior from Switzerland, and Brigham Young’s Rose Huang, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii.

   Huang also has a 2-over 74 on the books for her Sunday round. She was allowed to play that round Thursday so she wouldn’t be forced to play Sunday. Pretty sure there is a religious criteria at work there. Huang is also competing as an individual.

   A couple of the top imports from Thailand head the list of four players tied for seventh at 1-under 71.

   UCLA’s Patty Tavatanakit, who might very well be at the head of that talented freshman class in Division I, is the No. 8 player in the Women’s WAGR. Tavatanakit is coming off individual titles in the Pac-12 Championship and the Stanford Regional. Kent State’s Pimnipa Panthong, a sophomore, is No. 12 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Joining them in the group tied for fourth at 1-under are Arizona’s Bianca Pagdanganan, a junior from the Philippines, and Houston’s Leonie Helm, a junior from Germany. Helm is also competing as an individual.