Katie Lu Grabs One-Shot Lead at 4th New Jersey Women's Open
SUMMIT, N.J. –– Riding the momentum of a victory earlier this season on the ANNIKA Women's All Pro Tour, former New Jersey Women's Amateur champion and current professional Katie Lu carded a 3-under-par 69 Tuesday to seize a one-shot lead after the opening round of the 4th New Jersey Women's Open at Canoe Brook Country Club.
Lu, 23, carded a 3-under-par 69 to take a one-shot lead into Wednesday's final round, overtaking fellow professional Ami Gianchandani, who held the clubhouse lead for much of the afternoon after posting a 2-under-par 70.
The pair will be among the final groups when the championship concludes Wednesday, with the first tee times beginning at 8 a.m.
Fresh off a victory earlier this season on the ANNIKA Women's All Pro Tour, Lu relied on patience and precision around the rain-softened North Course. The 2022 New Jersey Women's Amateur champion created scoring opportunities throughout the day before closing with a lengthy birdie putt on her final hole to claim the outright lead.
"I kind of had to adjust, especially after the practice round," Lu said. "It was definitely a lot firmer when I played, so today I had a couple wedges that were spinning like crazy. I had to adapt to that, but other than that I was just giving myself good opportunities. It was more boring golf—nothing crazy happened."
The softened conditions encouraged Lu to attack when opportunities presented themselves.
"There were a couple pins out there that were definitely a big green light," Lu said. "When I had a wedge in my hand, I was trying to be more aggressive, trust the yardage and trust that the greens were soft enough. I hit some good shots and finally made a putt outside 10 feet on my last hole, so that felt really good."
After making the transition to the professional ranks in 2024, Lu said her victory at the Coke Dr. Pepper Open earlier this year has provided valuable confidence.
"Professional golf has definitely been an adjustment after college golf, and I'm still trying to figure things out," Lu said. "Winning on the ANNIKA Tour was a big confidence booster. Everyone out there is so good, no matter what level you're at, so it definitely helped and gave me good momentum."
One shot behind, Gianchandani, 26, continued her strong history in the championship with a steady 2-under-par 70. The former two-time New Jersey Women's Amateur champion played bogey-free over her opening nine holes before making consecutive birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to move into red figures for the day.
"Today was all about steady golf," Gianchandani said. "I kept it in the fairway pretty much all day and only missed a couple of greens. Even when I did, I picked good targets and was able to get up and down."
After opening with pars across the board, Gianchandani finally found her rhythm late in the round.
"I was due for a birdie all day," she said. "The birdie on seven was a nice surprise because, in my mind, that's one of the harder holes out here. I was just thinking, hit a solid shot on the green, make par and move on.
"Then on eight, I definitely was thinking about birdie. It's a par 5 and not quite reachable for me today, but I hit a really good 3-wood up there, had a good look at the chip and an easy birdie tap-in."
Gianchandani credited the wet conditions with making approach shots more predictable despite slower greens.
"It's decently wet out there today, which made putting a little bit difficult," Gianchandani said. "But everything else was a little bit easier, a little more predictable, especially with the irons coming into the greens."
Looking ahead to the final round, Gianchandani expects the field to be even more comfortable on Canoe Brook's North Course.
"People are going to know the course and the conditions better tomorrow," she said. "I'm just going to come out even stronger, play my best and hopefully that's enough."
While the professionals occupied the top two spots on the leaderboard, Claire Lu and Alyssa Roland led the amateur contingent after matching rounds of 1-under-par 71. Roland enters the final round with momentum after a runner-up finish at last week's 13th New Jersey Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at Upper Montclair Country Club.
The second and final round of the 4th New Jersey Women's Open begins Wednesday at 8 a.m. at Canoe Brook Country Club, where the champion will be crowned following 36 holes of stroke play.
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