KirkwoodGolf

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Pamela 71, Vikki 78 in Duramed
Championship in Ohio

Scots Pamela Feggans and Vikki Laing had scores of level par 71 and seven-over 78 respectively in the first round of the Duramed Championship, this weekend's event on the Duramed Futures Tour.
Pamela goes into the second round in a share of 29th place after halves of 33 and 38.
Vikki is down in a share of 130th place after halves of 40 and 38.
Brenda McLarnon from Belfast is sharing 138th place with an 80 (40-40).

Two share lead on seven-under 64

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY DURAMED FUTURES TOUR
Two-time tournament winner Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif., and second-year Tour pro Stephanie Otteson of Wilson, N.C., played their way into a share of the lead at seven-under-par 64 during Friday's opening round of the $110,000 Duramed Championship.
Kim and Otteson were one stroke shy of the course record 8-under-par 63, set in 1984, at The Golf Center in Kings Island, Ohio by LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan.
Under-par scores flooded the scoreboard as players took advantage of ideal weather and scoreable conditions of the par-71, 6,183-yard lay-out at the Grizzly Course designed by Jack Nicklaus. Forty-one players finished the round at under par or better.
The 18-year-old Kim won tournaments this year in Leawood, Kan., and Lake Geneva, Wis., in wire-to-wire fashion, holding the lead for six consecutive rounds. Sitting third on the season money list, Kim continued her torrid play, finishing with eight birdies and one bogey - a three-putt on her fourth hole.
Starting on the back nine, she ran off a string of six birdies on holes No. 14 through No. 1.
"I don't know where this is coming from," Kim said. "I didn't really feel like I had anything going last week. I'm just really lucky because God helped me again."
Kim made one change in her bag from last week's tournament in Decatur, Ill. She added a new TaylorMade Tour Burner driver. The second-year Tour pro hit all 12 fairways today and called her 23 putts a potential career-low total. Among her eight birdies, Kim holed out from a bunker and chipped in from the fringe.
"I definitely have less spin on the ball and the trajectory has been lower," said Kim of the new driver. "Overall, I think the ball is going a little bit farther. My approach shots weren't great today, but the putting was there and I didn't miss a fairway."
Otteson scattered eight birdies on her scorecard, crediting a tutorial from YES! Golf representative Glen Kirk for her first-round success. Kirk added weight to the grip of Otteson's "Tiffany" model putter and it translated into a personal-low round with 24 putts.
"This course really rewards good shots," Otteson said. "On average, I usually have about 32 putts per round. I kept leaving everything short and he (Glen) just moved my hands up a little bit and we worked on consistency."
Otteson's season surge continues after a 12th-place finish at the Tour's major championship in Decatur, Ill., last week. In 17 career events, her career-best finish was a tie for seventh at last year's CIGNA Golf Classic in Bloomfield, Conn. Today, the second-year pro's 20-foot eagle putt died just short of the cup on her 18th hole, leaving a tap-in for her final birdie.
"I came out very loose and relaxed because I've been struggling with worrying about results," Otteson said. "To be honest, I didn't feel as confident coming into this event as I did going into Decatur."
Among those in pursuit of Otteson and Kim is two-time Duramed FUTURES Tour winner and non-exempt LPGA Tour player Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario, 2007 LPGA Tour member Sophia Sheridan of Guadalajara, Mexico, and current top-five money winner Song Yi Choi of Seoul, South Korea, at 4-under-par 67.
The tradition-rich Golf Center at Kings Island brought a professional tournament back to the former home of the PGA Champions Tour's Kroger Classic and the LPGA Championship, which was held here for 12 years.
The 2007 edition of The Duramed Championship was held in Batavia, Ohio, at The Golf Club at Stonelick Hills.
Tee-times for second-round play were pushed ahead 20 minutes to 7:30 a.m. off the first and 10th tees as a precautionary measure against inclement weather. The leaders will tee off at 2 p.m.
Live radio coverage of the second round will stream from 3-5 p.m. EDT courtesy of Teamline, found on the real-time scoring page at www.duramedfuturestour.com or by visiting www.duramedchampionship.com.
Weather: Sunny with a high of 83 degrees. Winds light and variable throughout the day.

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