HANOVER — Dana Harrity made four birdies to put herself in a familiar position, atop the leaderboard, on the first day of the New Hampshire Women's Golf Association Championship.

The 14-time winner caught fire midway through the opening round, sinking long birdie putts on the 11th and 12th holes at Hanover Country Club Tuesday morning. Harrity, a member at Abenaqui Country Club in Rye, carded a one-over 72 and took a four-stroke lead entering the second day of the state amateur tournament.

Past champions Andrea Morrell (76) of Derryfield Country Club in Manchester and Chelsea Demers (77) of Bretwood Golf Course in Keene will join Harrity in today's lead group, which tees off at 10:50 a.m. The 54-hole stroke play tourney concludes Thursday.

Harrity played in her first tournament of the summer yet felt comfortable on a hilly layout with fast-yet-true greens. She sank her first birdie putt on No. 9 and charged to the front of the field.

► NHWGA Championship first-round scores

“I hit it pretty well. I was lucky. I made a bunch of bogeys but ended up making some long putts on 11 and 12. That makes up for a lot,” said Harrity, aiming for her first title since 2008. “It's only the first day. It's just nice to get it going.”

Morrell, the 2007 state champion, avoided danger until the par-four 16th. Her approach shot bounced over an elevated green, virtually rolling off a cliff, but the steady veteran recovered nicely after taking a penalty drop. Morrell feathered a blind chip shot to within 6 feet of the pin and sank the putt for bogey.

“If you're not careful, the big numbers add up quick out here,” Morrell said. “I'm happy where I am. I could have done a little better and a lot worse. It's still anybody's game.”

Four golfers are six strokes behind Harrity, including Abenaqui's Tracy Marshall, who surprised herself with a seven-over 78. The 20-year-old is tied for fourth along with Watt, Cortney Tilley of Atkinson Country Club and Mindy Inglis-Reid from Plausawa Valley Country Club of Pembroke. Marshall, a former member of the Exeter High boys' golf team, notched a solid score without the benefit of a single birdie.

“I was shocked by my score. I'm excited to be there (in the top five). I've never really been in the top five. Hopefully I'll handle it well,” said Marshall, who finished eighth overall last year. “It's a good course. It's a challenge. Definitely taking one shot at a time is something that helped me today.”

Rising star Lauren Thibodeau of Windham Country Club, a two-time state junior champion at age 12, battled her way to a score of 86. She is tied for 22nd place.

On Hanover's second most-difficult hole, the par-four 10th, Thibodeau stuck her 112-yard approach to within two feet of the hole. She drained the birdie putt for her top highlight of the day.

“Today wasn't the best, but I'm glad I had fun. You can't have a good round every day. At least I had that one good shot and made the birdie,” said Thibodeau, who played in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, N.C., over the weekend, placing eighth overall and fifth among Americans.

- - - - - - - -

Kevin Gray may be reached at kgray@unionleader.com.