DURAMED FUTURES TOUR REPORT
Brenda from Belfast up with leaderswith a 70 on a toasty Texas day
By LISA D MICKEY
lisa@duramedfuturestour.com
SAN ANTONIO, Texas. - Six players jammed the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the inaugural Texas Hill Country Classic.
On a sunny and toasty Texas day, the sextet of Lindsey Bergeon of Sarasota, Fla., Sofie Andersson of Angelholm, Sweden, Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., Janice Olivencia of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Haeji Kang of Seoul, South Korea, and Allison Hanna-Williams of Portland, Ore., shared the lead after 18 holes with a score of three-under-par 69 at The Dominion Country Club.
Bergeon was the first to crack 70 for the lead this morning and made up with her putter what she lacked off the tee. Needing only 24 putts, the self-described "short hitter" capitalized on her secondary shots and converted for birdies with the flat stick.
"I am short off the tee, so I had a lot of long irons and fairway woods, but I hit them close," said the rookie, who was a four-time All-American at Florida Southern College. "And my birdie putts were all within 10 feet."
The highlight in the rookie's round was an eagle-2 on the par-4 sixth hole. She hit driver on the 370-yard hole, then used a 7-iron from 138 yards to watch the ball take two hops and disappear into the cup, holing out for the eagle.
Andersson, who has wrestled with her driver for weeks, visited a San Antonio Edwin Watts store on Monday and spent nearly two hours in the store hitting drivers on their launch monitor. When she walked out, it was with the purchase of an Adams Golf Speedline driver in her hand, which she credited today for a confidence boost off the tee.
"I had two O.B.s [out-of-bounds shots] in the last few tournaments and I needed something new mentally and physically," said Andersson, who still had a round that included eight birdies, two double-bogeys and one bogey. "Even today, after each of the double-bogeys, I came right back with two birdies, so it feels great to shoot a number like that."
Former LPGA Tour member Jenny Gleason hit 16 greens today and carded four birdies and one bogey for her share of the lead. A two-time winner on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the Floridian capitalized on her putting proficiency on Bermuda-grass greens.
So did Kang, 18, who played most of her junior golf in hot and sunny Australia before arriving in the United States as a rookie last year. Kang, a winner on the 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour, pounced on the longer holes, playing three under on three of the course's four par-5 holes.
"My wedges were really good today," said Kang, an LPGA Tour member who has played in three LPGA tournaments this year while bouncing back and forth between the LPGA and Duramed FUTURES Tour. "I just have to play my normal golf [on Saturday] because if I think I'm a leader, it makes me nervous."
While Kang felt at home in the heat, Olivencia, a University of Texas graduate and resident of Austin, Texas, was all smiles after her four-birdie, one-bogey performance today.
"It just feels like home," said Olivenica, who needed only 27 putts today. "I'm excited that I got a good round in. I've been working hard for this. It just takes patience."
And patient is what Hanna-Williams has been ever since moving on to the LPGA Tour following her first season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2004 right out of Ohio State University. A solid collegiate player, Hanna-Williams has spent the last four years laboring on the LPGA, waiting to win.
"These greens are true and I'm just trying to expect to make my birdie putts," said Hanna-Williams, who carded five birdies and two bogeys in today's first round. "You have to have that confidence on these putts because that's what the best players in the world do."
Five players are tied one shot back at two-under-par 70. They are: Jennifer Ackerson of Dallas, Brenda McLarnon (pictured above) from Belfast, Dana Ford of Indianapolis, Misun Cho of Cheongju, South Korea, and Aimee Cho of Orlando, Fla.
A total of 25 players finished at even-par 72 or better in Friday's first round of the $125,000 event.
For scores and more information, visit http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/.
Weather: Mostly sunny with temperatures in the high 80s and afternoon wind between 12-15 mph.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas. - Six players jammed the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the inaugural Texas Hill Country Classic.
On a sunny and toasty Texas day, the sextet of Lindsey Bergeon of Sarasota, Fla., Sofie Andersson of Angelholm, Sweden, Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., Janice Olivencia of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Haeji Kang of Seoul, South Korea, and Allison Hanna-Williams of Portland, Ore., shared the lead after 18 holes with a score of three-under-par 69 at The Dominion Country Club.
Bergeon was the first to crack 70 for the lead this morning and made up with her putter what she lacked off the tee. Needing only 24 putts, the self-described "short hitter" capitalized on her secondary shots and converted for birdies with the flat stick.
"I am short off the tee, so I had a lot of long irons and fairway woods, but I hit them close," said the rookie, who was a four-time All-American at Florida Southern College. "And my birdie putts were all within 10 feet."
The highlight in the rookie's round was an eagle-2 on the par-4 sixth hole. She hit driver on the 370-yard hole, then used a 7-iron from 138 yards to watch the ball take two hops and disappear into the cup, holing out for the eagle.
Andersson, who has wrestled with her driver for weeks, visited a San Antonio Edwin Watts store on Monday and spent nearly two hours in the store hitting drivers on their launch monitor. When she walked out, it was with the purchase of an Adams Golf Speedline driver in her hand, which she credited today for a confidence boost off the tee.
"I had two O.B.s [out-of-bounds shots] in the last few tournaments and I needed something new mentally and physically," said Andersson, who still had a round that included eight birdies, two double-bogeys and one bogey. "Even today, after each of the double-bogeys, I came right back with two birdies, so it feels great to shoot a number like that."
Former LPGA Tour member Jenny Gleason hit 16 greens today and carded four birdies and one bogey for her share of the lead. A two-time winner on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the Floridian capitalized on her putting proficiency on Bermuda-grass greens.
So did Kang, 18, who played most of her junior golf in hot and sunny Australia before arriving in the United States as a rookie last year. Kang, a winner on the 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour, pounced on the longer holes, playing three under on three of the course's four par-5 holes.
"My wedges were really good today," said Kang, an LPGA Tour member who has played in three LPGA tournaments this year while bouncing back and forth between the LPGA and Duramed FUTURES Tour. "I just have to play my normal golf [on Saturday] because if I think I'm a leader, it makes me nervous."
While Kang felt at home in the heat, Olivencia, a University of Texas graduate and resident of Austin, Texas, was all smiles after her four-birdie, one-bogey performance today.
"It just feels like home," said Olivenica, who needed only 27 putts today. "I'm excited that I got a good round in. I've been working hard for this. It just takes patience."
And patient is what Hanna-Williams has been ever since moving on to the LPGA Tour following her first season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2004 right out of Ohio State University. A solid collegiate player, Hanna-Williams has spent the last four years laboring on the LPGA, waiting to win.
"These greens are true and I'm just trying to expect to make my birdie putts," said Hanna-Williams, who carded five birdies and two bogeys in today's first round. "You have to have that confidence on these putts because that's what the best players in the world do."
Five players are tied one shot back at two-under-par 70. They are: Jennifer Ackerson of Dallas, Brenda McLarnon (pictured above) from Belfast, Dana Ford of Indianapolis, Misun Cho of Cheongju, South Korea, and Aimee Cho of Orlando, Fla.
A total of 25 players finished at even-par 72 or better in Friday's first round of the $125,000 event.
For scores and more information, visit http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/.
Weather: Mostly sunny with temperatures in the high 80s and afternoon wind between 12-15 mph.
Labels: FUTURES TOUR
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