Rookie Mina Harigae leads by

nine shots in Futures Tour event

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE DURAMED FUTURES TOUR
MARION, Iowa: Early rain and late winds didn't faze first-round leader, rookie Mina Harigae of Monterey, California, as she increased her lead to NINE strokes during the second round of the $110,000 Ladies Titan Tire Challenge.
Harigae (67) has a two-day total of 131 (-13) on the Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion, Iowa, and carries a nine-shot cushion over Garrett Phillips (72) of St. Simons Island, Ga., currently at 4-under-par 140.
Harigae allowed for one bogey today, her first for the tournament, which came on the heels of back-to-back birdies. The lone bogey came on the 8th hole, following birdies on holes 6 and 7.
"I was a little disappointed with the bogey," said Harigae, who carded six birdies in today’s second round. "It was an easy chip, but I was bound to make a bogey at some point. I was due after my long 20-foot putt for birdie on No. 6."
Harigae is primed for a wire-to-wire win that represents her first professional victory. Her best finish to date on the Duramed Futures Tour was a second-place finish at the Impact Invitational, held in March in Daytona, Florida.
"It's hard not to think about tomorrow," concedes Harigae. "But I'm going to think of it as any other day. I need to keep making birdies as best I can, but you never know. Golf is strange."
Fellow rookie Phillips made a run early in the round, carding three birdies on the front nine. However, an error by her caddie on the 14th led to a two-stroke penalty.
"I was playing really well all day," said Phillips, who finished third individually at the 2008 NCAA Women's Golf Championship, while at the University of Georgia. "But then my caddie's finger touched the line and I put the penalty on myself. It really changed my pace."
In addition to the double-bogey on 14, Phillips recorded five birdies and one bogey on the 16th.
Sharing a tie for third at 3-under-par (141) are Kim Welch (72) of Sacramento, Calif., rookie Cindy LaCrosse (73) of Tampa, Fla., and Nontaya Srisawang (67) of Chiang Mai, Thailand. All three felt the afternoon's winds, which reached up to 20 mph and was a factor in their play.
"It wasn't as fun as yesterday," said Welch, who won her first tournament title last season, as well as The Golf Channel's “Big Break: Ka'anapali” series. "It was very windy, a completely different course, and I struggled a bit. On 12, I just missed an eagle, which I tapped in for birdie"
Welch also carded three additional birdies and four bogeys.
LaCrosse ended her day with the lowest score of the nine golfers making their professional debut in the inaugural Iowa event.
"The front nine was very windy," said LaCrosse, who was named the 2007 Big East Golfer of the Year, while at the University of Louisville. "It definitely calmed down by the back nine."
Srisawang ended the round sharing the low score of 5-under-par 67, with leader Harigae.
"I had a very lucky day," said Sriswang, who is a current member of the LPGA Tour. "When I woke up this morning, I noticed it was raining, so I just hoped it would stop by the afternoon. But we got the wind."
The morning round did get rain, which gradually cleared by early afternoon.
"I hate the rain; it's why I moved to Florida," said Benedikte Grotvedt, a Norwegian, who ended the day at 5-over-par. "We have a saying in Norway: 'There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes', which means you can't control the weather, but you can control how you prepare for it."
Seventy players made the 36-hole cut at 149 (+5).
Twenty-two players currently stand at even-par 144 or lower in the first two rounds.
NCAA Division 1 champion Maria Gonzalez, who turned pro after graduating from Purdue University, missed the cut on her pro debut. She comes from the bull-run Spanish city of Pamplona.
Northern Ireland's Brenda McLarnon from Belfast, a former US college circuit player, also missed the cut but a second Irish-born player in the field, last year's US Curtis Cup team player, Alison Walshe, easily made it through to the third and final round.
Sunday's final round of the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge, presented by KCRG and The Gazette, will begin at 7:50 a.m., off the first and 10th tees. The leaders will tee off at 9:40 a.m.
For scores and more information, visit duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: Showers in the morning then thundershowers developing during the afternoon hours.
High in the low 70s. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.
US Duramed Futures Tour Scoreboard
$110,000 LADIES TITAN TIRE CHALLENGE
Hunters Ridge Golf Course, Marion, Iowa
SECOND-ROUND SCORES
Par 144 (2x72) 6423yd
1 Mina Harigae (Monterey, Calif.) 64-67 - 131
2 Garrett Phillips (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 68-72 - 140
3 Kim Welch (Sacramento, Calif.) 69-72 - 141
3 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 68-73 - 141
3 Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 74-67 - 141
6 Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 72-70 - 142
6 Liz Janangelo (West Hartford, Conn.) 72-70 - 142
6 Whitney Myers (York. Pa.) 69-73 - 142
6 Ashley Knoll (The Woodlands, Texas) 69-73 - 142
10 Dewi Claire Schreefel (Diepenveen, Netherlands) 73-70 - 143
10 Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 73-70 - 143
10 Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.) 71-72 - 143
10 Melissa Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa) 70-73 - 143
10 Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 70-73 - 143
15 Pernilla Lindberg (Bollnas, Sweden) 72-72 - 144
15 Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, British Columbia) 71-73 - 144
15 Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) 71-73 - 144
15 Praewnapa Phol-Uayporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 71-73 - 144
15 Lisa Meldrum (Montreal, Quebec) 71-73 - 144
15 Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 71-73 - 144
15 Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 68-76 - 144
15 Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 74-70 - 144
23 Janell Howland (Boise, Idaho) 72-73 - 145
23 Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 73-72 - 145
23 Jean Reynolds (Newnan, Ga.) 73-72 - 145
23 Susan Nam (Edmonton, Alberta) 71-74 - 145
23 Tzu-Chi Lin (Taichung, Taiwan) 70-75 - 145
23 Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario) 70-75 - 145
23 Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 74-71 - 145
30 Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.) 76-70 - 146
30 Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.) 72-74 - 146
30 Misun Cho (Cheongju, South Korea) 72-74 - 146
30 Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.) 72-74 - 146
30 Camila Mori (Santiago, Chile) 72-74 - 146
30 Perry Swenson (Charlotte, N.C.) 73-73 - 146
30 Danah Ford (Indianapolis, Ind.) 73-73 - 146
30 Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.) 70-76 - 146
38 Lindsey Bergeon (Sarasota, Fla.) 76-71 - 147
38 Nicole Hage (Coral Springs, Fla.) 74-73 - 147
38 Yoora Kim (Seoul, South Korea) 72-75 - 147
38 Blair Lamb (Flat Rock, N.C.) 72-75 - 147
38 Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.) 73-74 - 147
38 Lee Ann Walker-Cooper (Southport, N.C.) 71-76 - 147
38 Pornanong Phatlum (Chaiyaphum, Thailand) 69-78 - 147
38 Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.) 69-78 - 147
38 Kimberly Goedecke (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) 74-73 - 147
47 Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.) 76-72 - 148
47 Sin Ah Ham (Seoul, South Korea) 76-72 - 148
47 Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 76-72 - 148
47 Onnarin Sattayabanphot (Bangkok, Thailand) 76-72 - 148
47 Maria Laura Elvira (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 75-73 - 148
47 Nicole Jeray (Berwyn, Ill.) 73-75 - 148
47 Taya Battistella (Bend, Ore.) 73-75 - 148
47 Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 73-75 - 148
47 Alejandra Shaw (Vina Del Mar, Chile) 73-75 - 148
47 Lauren Doughtie (Suffolk, Va.) 74-74 - 148
47 Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 74-74 - 148
47 Violeta Retamoza (Aguascalientes, Mexico) 74-74 - 148
59 Ashley Grier (Hagerstown, Md.) 75-74 - 149
59 Benedikte Grotvedt (Nesbru, Norway) 75-74 - 149
59 Jane Chin (Mission Viejo, Calif.) 74-75 - 149
59 Seo-Jae Lee (Seoul, South Korea) 72-77 - 149
59 Carol Robertson (Virginia Beach, Va.) 72-77 - 149
59 Gina Umeck (Redlands, Calif.) 72-77 - 149
59 Maggie Simons (Raleigh, N.C.) 72-77 - 149
59 Caroline Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) 71-78 - 149
59 Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico) 73-76 - 149
59 Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 70-79 - 149
59 Christine Cho (Kent, Wash.) 74-75 - 149
59 Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 74-75 - 149
MISSED THE CUT
Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) 76-74 - 150
Kim Augusta (Rumford, R.I.) 75-75 - 150
Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio) 75-75 - 150
Moon Su (Incheon, South Korea) 75-75 - 150
Lucy Nunn (Lawton, Okla.) 71-79 - 150
Samantha Troyanovich (am) (Grosse Pointe, Mich 73-77 - 150
Brenda McLarnon (Belfast, Ireland) 74-76 - 150
Cindy Lee-Pridgen (Sabah, Malaysia) 76-75 - 151
Stephanie Otteson (Wilson, N.C.) 77-74 - 151
Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, South Korea) 76-75 - 151
Rebecca Kim (Tigard, Ore.) 78-73 - 151
Devan Andersen (Guadalajara, Mexico) 75-76 - 151
Madeleine Holmblad (Stockholm, Sweden) 75-76 - 151
Courtney Mahon (Lee's Summit, Mo.) 72-79 - 151
Jennifer Ackerson (Dallas, Texas) 73-78 - 151
Mallory Hetzel (Summerville, S.C.) 71-80 - 151
Rak Kyung Oh (Seoul, South Korea) 74-77 - 151
Tiffany Prats (Williston, Fla.) 74-77 - 151
Song Yi Choi (Seoul, South Korea) 74-77 - 151
Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) 77-75 - 152
Sunny Park (Sydney, Australia) 77-75 - 152
Seema Sadekar (Toronto, Ontario) 78-74 - 152
Bridget Dwyer (Kailua, Hawaii) 79-73 - 152
Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 74-78 - 152
Michelle Jarman (Wilmington, N.C.) 74-78 - 152
Ulrika Ljungman-Smith (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 77-76 - 153
Hwanhee Lee (Las Vegas, Nev.) 76-77 - 153
Catherine Matranga (Fort Worth, Texas) 77-76 - 153
Sarah Lynn Sargent (Greer, S.C.) 76-77 - 153
Kristie Smith (Perth, Australia) 76-77 - 153
Maria Hernandez (Pamplona, Spain) 75-78 - 153
Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 73-80 - 153
Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.) 74-79 - 153
Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) 77-77 - 154
Amanda Mathis (Opelousas, La.) 76-78 - 154
Lilly Kobayashi (Santa Monica, Calif.) 76-78 - 154
Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 76-78 - 154
Selanee Henderson (Apple Valley, Calif.) 78-76 - 154
Chris Brady (Charlotte, N.C.) 75-79 - 154
Su A Kim (Seoul, South Korea) 75-79 - 154
Janice Olivencia (Caguas, Puerto Rico) 79-76 - 155
Kelly Froelich (Raizeux, France) 71-84 - 155
Lorraine Ballerano (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 78-78 - 156
Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 78-78 - 156
Stephanie Kim (a) (Orlando, Fla.) 75-81 - 156
Malinda Johnson (Eau Claire, Wis.) 75-81 - 156
Noon Huachai (Bangkok, Thailand) 75-81 - 156
Katie Miller (Jeannette, Pa.) 79-77 - 156
Marci Turner (Tompkinsville, Ky.) 80-76 - 156
Meghan Little (Sturgis, S.D.) 81-75 - 156
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 82-74 - 156
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 76-81 - 157
Stephanie Oukeo (Paris, France) 78-79 - 157
Carmen Bandea (Atlanta, Ga.) 75-82 - 157
Christine Boucher (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec) 81-76 - 157
Brittainy Klein (Henderson, Ky.) 77-81 - 158
Sam White (Potomac, Md.) 77-81 - 158
Katelynn Hogenson (am) (Muscatine, Iowa) 80-78 - 158
Sarah Olsen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 78-81 - 159
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 81-78 - 159
Amanda Costner (Claremore, Okla.) 78-82 - 160
Dana Bates (Thousand Palms, Calif.) 79-81 - 160
Alexandra Braga (Los Angeles, Calif.) 80-80 - 160
Sae Hee Son (Seoul, South Korea) 79-82 - 161
Jenny Hansen (Cairo, Neb.) 79-83 - 162
Moah Chang (Los Angeles, Calif.) 79-83 - 162
Juli Erekson (Mapleton, Utah) 77-87 - 164
Caroline Park (Seoul, South Korea) 75-89 - 164
Anastasia Kostina (Nakhabino, Russia) 79-85 - 164
Jill Frantz (Iowa City, Iowa) 81-83 - 164
Jae Oh (Je Ju, South Korea) 79-87 - 166
Kathryn O'Rourke (Holmes, N.Y.) 79-90 - 169
Withdrew:
Sookhee Baek (Altamonte Springs, Fla.)
Amber Prange (Noblesville, Ind.) WDI