Rising Auburn sophomore Cydney Clanton and former Tiger Nicole Hage began play at the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday at the par 73, 6,789-yard Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. 

Clanton is tied for 95th after shooting a 4-over 77. She opened with a birdie on 10 and shot back-to-back even par on 11 and 12. She carded her first of six bogeys on 13, before going even on 14. Clanton would see another bogey on 15, but rebounded nicely with a birdie on 16. She finished the back nine at 2-over after shooting a bogey on 18. Clanton fired another bogey on 1, 4 and 8 and closed out the day with a birdie on 9. 

Hage is tied for 124th after shooting 6-over 79. She started off the back nine with a birdie on 11, but fired consecutive bogeys on 14 and 15. She went even par the rest of the back nine to finish at 2-over. Three straight bogeys or worse on 2-4 put her at 6-over and another bogey on 7 had her at 7-over. Hage closed out the day with a birdie on 9. 

Hage, a Coral Springs, Fla., native, will tee off No. 1 at 9:12 a.m. Friday with Aiko Yoshida (Japan) and Jessica Korda (Czech Republic). Concord, N.C., native Clanton will tee off No. 1 at 2:20 p.m. with Chieko Amanuma (Japan) and Ashely Simon (South Africa). 

Clanton’s teammate, sophomore Candace Schepperle, is caddying for her at the tournament, while Hage’s father is acting as her caddy just months after suffering a heart attack. 

Ji Young Oh of Korea and American Pat Hurst are tied for the lead at 6-under 67.  Korean Song-Hee Kim is third after shooting 5-under 68.  Thirty-two players shot under par today. 

The 72-hole event will see the field of 156 trimmed to the lowest 60 and ties, plus anyone within 10 strokes of the leader following the second round.  All rounds of the tournament can be viewed live on http://www.uswomensopen.com. 

ESPN (Channel 28 in Lee County) will have live coverage on Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. NBC (Channels 12 and 13 in Lee County) will broadcast live on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.

The U.S. Women’s Open began in 1946 and is the longest-running event on the LPGA tour. The Interlachen Country Club is the longest course in Women’s Open history. It is one of four major LPGA championships. The official web site is http://www.2008uswomensopen.com.