ZealousGolfer.com

The amateur has been absent from the top of leaderboards in the U.S. Open for quite some time in the men's golf world. However, an astounding performance by a Colombian amateur in the U.S. Women's Open has put a different class of golfer in contention.

Maria Jose Uribe finished in a tie for fourth place at four under par after the tournament's initial 18 holes. Uribe, who quickly found massive grounds surrounding her as she played, is currently a student at UCLA. Despite being relatively untested at this point in her career, Uribe claimed, “I like to play under pressure, so I was looking forward to it and I knew that I was going to play good today.”

Pat Hurst, who finished at 6 under par after an eagle on Interlachen Country Club's second hole, is tied for first with Ji Young Oh of South Korea. Oh, who made over $148,000 on the LPGA Tour in 2007 as a rookie, has not yet captured an LPGA Tour title.

Lorena Ochoa finished in a tie for 33rd at even par with three birdies and three bogies during the day. Last year's champion, Cristie Kerr, is far back in a tie for 21st at one under par.

13 year old Alexis Thompson, after a 2 over par front nine, played the back nine at even par to finish at +2 after 18 holes. However, the 13 year old Thompson is currently tied with Annika Sorenstam (pictured in the upper left), who struggled on Thursday with four bogies.

Michelle Wie (pictured right) is fighting to stay out of last after an 8 over par round. Wie is currently in a tie for 146th out of the 156 players in the field. Despite being only one over par after 8 holes, a 9 on the ninth hole, a 379 yard par four, led to her high score of 81.