If anyone on the Futures Golf Tour had a right to make that statement after the first round of the Salisbury Classic Thursday afternoon, it was Eunice Choi.

You could say Choi has become the forgotten star of the Tour, and that’s saying something, considering she is currently the leading money winner.

But that’s what names like Jenny Chausiriporn and Grace Park can do. They can take over the curiosity of the fans and media.

This week is a perfect example. The fans who made it out to Salisbury Country Club were all asking, ‘‘Where’s Grace Park? Has Chausiriporn come by here?’’

Meanwhile Choi played in relative obscurity, shooting an even-par 71 and staying in the hunt for her second Tour title of the season.

But make no mistake about it. There is no jealousy from the leading money winner.

‘‘Those two joining us is really good for the Tour,’’ said Choi. ‘‘Having them out here is great. I know both of them personally and they’re both really nice.’’

Chausiriporn smiled when asked how it felt to be the Tour’s instant star.

‘‘It’s neat to know I’ve added a little bit more recognition to the Tour,’’ the Duke graduate said after her first-day round of 73. ‘‘Then again, there’s a lot of great ladies out here that have represented the Tour well.’’

Chausiriporn played solid golf but she had her down moments as well, like the double-bogey on her 16th hole.

‘‘The Donald Ross design got me,’’ she laughed.

Both Park, who was two-under going into today’s round, and Chausiriporn made their names at the U.S. Women’s Open in the past two years. In 1998, Chausiriporn forced a playoff before losing to Se Ri Pak. In 1999, Park tied for eighth, breaking the amateur record score.

There are plenty of other accolades from their amateur careers. Both began playing on the Futures Tour after the U.S. Open.

For Choi, it was a good amateur career at UCLA, where she finished 17th in the NCAAs and was ranked first in NCAA putting. But on paper, it was nothing like the other two.

The pressure of being Chausiriporn or Park is one thing. But the pressure of being the leading money winner with an automatic berth on the LPGA Tour is another.

And Choi admits she has been thinking too much about No. 1.

‘‘I feel it,’’ Choi said. ‘‘I keep telling myself, ‘I have to stay No. 1.’ But you really can’t do that. The last four tournaments have not been good for me.’’

So Choi used the expertise of two outside forces to play a good round Thursday: her coach and a teen-age caddy from Salisbury, Todd Lawson.

First, the teacher.

‘‘He told me not to think about anything but hitting greens, making putts and lowering my statistics,’’ she said.

Second, the caddy.

Lawson, who recently signed with Catawba College, was in a pro-am Wednesday a group ahead of Choi. She asked another teenager to caddy for her on Thursday but he declined, mentioning Lawson, the club pro’s son.

‘‘I play better with a caddy,’’ she said. ‘‘With putts, I’ve just been second-guessing myself. I don’t have an exact spot where I’m 100 percent sure. But if I have a local guy caddying for me and showing me where to hit it, I won’t have to think.’’

Lawson made an immediate impact. Choi birdied the first hole.

On the seventh, she asked Lawson what he would hit on her approach to the green. He said a 9-iron. So she pulled out a 7 and laid the ball two feet from the hole for another birdie.

‘‘I knew I would have to hit it hard and I went after it,’’ Choi said of one of the round’s best shots. ‘‘I hit it solid.’’

But ask her about consistency and a good golf game and she simply shrugs.

‘‘There are moments where I just have it – the short game, the shots. Then, I’ll lose it. It will come back one day and go the next.’’

It came back in the one tournament that really counted: the PaineWebber Classic, which had the largest first-place payout on the Tour: $9,000. It vaulted her into a $3,000-lead going into this week. But Choi has been on a roller coaster ride since that victory, finishing 44th, 6th, 35th, 40th and 28th.

‘‘I’m focused a lot more now that I’m on Tour,’’ Choi said, ‘‘This is my career.’’

A career that could take a major step next year.

‘‘The Futures Tour is wonderful,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s a good stepping stone. All of the girls are really good.’’

Some are just more well-known – for now.