First Impressions: 11 Y.O. Lucy Li Is In The (Pinehurst) House

Ron Kroichick followed 11-year old Lucy Li for her first U.S. Women's Open practice round and the phenom is coming into the media center later today.

But in the meantime, his thoughts, which included this:

**Some phenoms look older than their age — Michelle Wie, for example, was always taller than most girls her age. Li, barely 5 feet tall, looks 11 at the most. She could pass for 9, with her braces and colorful pigtails.

**Li has a smooth, rhythmic swing and hits the ball fairly straight. That said, her tee shot on No. 2 was at least 40 to 50 yards behind the drives of Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Hannah Pietila, the other players in her group. This will cause problems come Thursday, because it will be difficult to control long shots into Pinehurst’s tricky greens.