Four Ladies Share First Round Lead At Sweetgrass
HARRIS---Aimee Neff (Carmel, Ind.), Courtney Massey (Gold Coast, Australia), Laura Martin (West Chester, Ohio) and Michelle Shin (Cape Coral, Fla.) all share the lead after 18 holes of play at the Island Resort Championship. The quartet shot 2-under par 70s to take a one-shot lead over a group of five players that sit at 1-under par. Massey got off to a solid start in her opening round, carding three of her four birdies on the front nine and added another on the par 4 No. 14. Martin came out of the gate slow and posted both of her bogeys within the first three holes on Nos. 1 and 3 but followed them up with birdie and par saves on Nos. 2 and 4. She went on to play a bogey-free back nine and carded four birdies on the day. Shin started her day on No. 10 and shot even par on her first nine holes with no red on her scorecard. But some lengthy drives on the back nine put her in position to get birdies on Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 9. Her two bogeys came back to back on the par 5 No. 6 and par 3 No. 7. See the leaderboard HERE, and check this link for more updates Saturday. All four co-leaders are looking to capture their first-career victories on the Symetra Tour this week in Harris. TOUGH DAY FOR MARQUETTE'S SAINT-ONGE---Carley Saint-Onge didn’t have exactly the start she had been hoping for in her second appearance at the Island Resort Championship. Saint-Onge was disappointed in her opening-round 13-over par 85 but said she always enjoys playing in front of a crowd and representing the U.P. Saint-Onge missed the cut in last year’s event and wants to replicate her performance on day two and hopefully post a low score in the second round. “I proved myself last year that I could bounced back and shot even par so I’m hoping to do that tomorrow. I’ve prepared as well as I could to get here, now I just have to go out there and do it.” Saint-Onge started her day on No. 10 and had a tough time on the back nine and posted three-consecutive double bogeys on Nos. 14-16. “I started off pretty rough but gained a little momentum after the turn and played my best through that stretch of three through seven which I think are the hardest holes out here,” said Saint-Onge. “Dealing with conditions, I think it played really hard out there. Of course I wish I had a better day and better start.” Saint-Onge said it was a highlight being paired with Kelly Jacques and Nina Rodriguez, both former Big Break contestants. “It was cool,” said Saint-Onge. “I played with Nina in a practice round so I met her before. I like to see their games and see how they manage a course that I’ve been playing on for a long time.” NEFF GETS GOOD NEWS----Neff received one of the most exciting phone calls of her life as she was getting shuttled to the driving range at Sweetgrass Golf Club on Thursday. Neff didn’t recognize the number, but answered any way and for good reason. She had been positioned high on the alternate list for the U.S. Women’s Open Championship after a solid performance in her sectional qualifying at Big Foot Country Club in Fontana, Wisconsin back in May. Neff has been trying to mentally prepare for one of golf’s biggest stages, but not even knowing if she’ll really get the chance at it. “My mindset was that I would go there and prepare like I was going to play in the tournament, just to be in the mindset that I wouldn’t be so shocked that if I found out the day before,” said Neff. “I’m glad I’m playing this week because I think sometimes when you just take off too much time, it would be too much thinking about it.” These stories courtesy of the Symetra Tour. CLICK HERE to read more. |