SAMANTHA HEAD, KIRAN

MATHARU SURVIVE LPGA

PRE-Q SCHOOL CUT

Samantha Head survived the 36-hole cut with ease in joint 10th place on level par 144 as Na-Yeon Choi of South Korea carded a 70 in the second round on Wednesday to maintain the lead at the Venice LPGA Sectional Qualifying School at Plantation Golf and Country Club at Venice, Florida.
Samantha, pictured right, has had rounds of 71 and 73.

Former Curtis Cup player and English amateur champion last year, Kiran Matharu made it with nothing to spare - 74 and 76 for six-over-par 150 and a tie for 60th place. Seventy-three players with totals of 150 or better advanced to the third and fourth rounds on Thursday and Friday.
Choi, who led by one-shot after the first round, is now 7-under-par 137 entering Thursday's third round. She leads Angie Hill of Ohio, Anna Grzebien of Rhode Island and Leah Hart of Australia, who are each four-under-par 140 through two rounds.

LEADER AT SEVEN UNDER PAR

Choi, who played the 6,226-yard Panther Course, logged seven straight pars before a birdie on hole 8 to make the turn at one-under-par for the day. She made birdies on holes 13, 15 and 16 with bogies on holes 10 and 18 to move to 7-under-par (67-70=137) for the tournament.
“I didn't play as well as yesterday, but I tried to keep playing well,” said Choi. “So far, I've played well.”
The South Korean has won on the Korean LPGA Tour once in each of her four years on the tour, including a three-stroke victory two weeks ago at the Shinsegye Cup KLPGA Championship. She is currently fourth on the 2007 KLPGA money list after making the cut in all 12 of her starts this year with eight top-10 finishes.

“My experience on the KLPGA helps my confidence, but the golf courses in Korea compared to here are different; the grass, everything is different,” said the 19-year-old Choi. “I have played in some LPGA Tour events and it helped with experience. It helps me be confident.”
Hart, a two-year member of the Ladies European Tour, carded a bogey-free round of 5-under-par 67 (73-67=140). After starting on the 10th tee of the Panther Course, Hart made birdies on holes 15, 4, 6, 8 and 9, where she lipped out for eagle from 10 feet. Her 67 tied the tournament-low set by leader Choi during the first round.
“I played good golf today, didn't make any mistakes,” said the 26-year-old Hart, who has participated in the U.S. Women's Open on three separate occasions. “I hit 17 greens, and so although I had a good score, I left a lot out there. A lot of putts seemed to touch the hole but not fall in.”
Grzebien, the 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Golf individual champion, made birdies on holes 5 and 8 with a bogey on hole 9 to make the turn at 1-under for the day on the Bobcat Course. She rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt on hole 12 and also made birdie on 15 to finish the day at 3-under-par 69 (71-69=140).
“I hit the ball pretty well. It was a lot of fairways and greens,” said the 22-year-old Grzebien, a Duke graduate who also won three NCAA team championships at the school. “I'm going to try to go out there tomorrow and try to have fun and see how low I can go.”
Hill, who was one-shot off the lead after the first round, shot even-par 72 on Wednesday to remain in a tie for second place. The Ohio native, who started on the 10th tee of the 6,412-yard Bobcat Course, made birdies on holes 13 and 16 with bogeys on holes 12 and 14 to make the turn at even-par for the day. She made par on every hole on the back-nine to finish at 4-under par (68-72=140) through two rounds.
“It's always a different ball game on the second day – more adrenaline, more nerves,” said the 24-year-old Hill, who tied for leading qualifier honours last year in Venice (Florida). “I scrambled more than I did yesterday. I made everything inside 10 feet that I had to. Yesterday I gave myself more opportunities, today it was more of a grind.”
The final two rounds will be played on the Bobcat Course.
The top-30 players and ties at the end of 72 holes will advance to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., Nov. 28-Dec. 2.
The Venice qualifier is the second of the LPGA Tour's two sectional qualifying events in 2007. The first was at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., two weeks ago.
The top-30 finishers and ties from each qualifier join current LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their status and the players who finished sixth through 15th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

137 Na-Yen Choi (Kor) 67 70.

140 Angie Hill 68 72, Anna Grzebien 71 69, Leah Hart (Aus) 73 67.

Other scores:

143 Sandra Gal (Ger) (am) 72 71 (jt 6th).

144 Samantha Head (Eng) 71 73 (jt 10th).

146 Rachel Bailey (Aus) 70 76 (jt 146).

148 Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 74 74 (jt 46th).

150 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 74 76 (jt 60th).

+A total of 73 players with totals of 150 or better qualified for the third and fourth rounds.