Jodi Ewart ties for fifth place in pro debut on Futures Tour

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, June 6, 2010 - Second-year Duramed Futures Tour professional Christine Song of Fullerton, Calif., claimed her first professional title Sunday at the $110,000 Ladies Titan Tire Challenge, presented by KCRG and The Gazette. Song (67) finished the tournament at 11-under-par (205).
"I had a slow start this morning," said Song, who earned her LPGA card following the 2009 Duramed FUTURES Tour season. "I didn't make any birdies until nine. On 10, I just wanted to get it close and it pulled in. That was a huge momentum boast."
Even with the new momentum, Song wasn't aware she was in position to win until she saw the leaderboard from the 17th tee.
"I knew I had to stay calm but I started thinking too much," admitted Song. "Seventeen is a tough hole and I didn't want to hit it into the hazard."
Not only did Song miss the hazard but she went on to birdie 17 and 18, which she hit from 35 yards, and jumped for joy as the crowd cheered.
"I wasn't expecting it to go in, so I got really excited," said Song.
With her first professional win now out of the way, Song is focused on the next few weeks.
"It feels really good," said the teenager, who turns 19 on June 14. "I'm excited for the next few weeks. Hopefully I can win next week as a birthday present to myself."
Whitney Wade (68) of Glasgow, Kentucky, stayed pretty consistent throughout the tournament but more than made up for it at the end with an eagle on 18.
"I definitely finished well," said Wade, who advanced from tied for 19 to a tie for second. "I wanted to climb. I missed a nine-foot putt on 18 yesterday so I just wanted to come out here today and get some confidence going."
Wade shared the tie for second with Mo Martin (69) of Altadena, Calif., and Hannah Jun of San Diego (72) at 5-under-par (211).
England's Jodi Ewart (75), making her pro debut, came into today's final round tied for first with Song. However after a tough back nine she slipped to a tie for fifth at 3-under-par (213). Ewart was joined by Tiffany Joh (69) of San Diego, Nicole Smith (70) of Riverside, Calif., Ryann O'Toole (72) of San Clemente, Calif., and Pornanong Phatlum (72) of Chaiyaphum, Thailand.
"I played very similar to yesterday on the front nine," said Ewart, who was making her professional debut. "I wasn't nervous but I just made terrible shots on the back nine. I couldn’t get anything to drop all day. I was very disappointed that I bogeyed the last three holes, but overall it's good."
The next stop for the Duramed FUTURES Tour will be the Teva Championship in Mason, Ohio, June 11-13.
Weather: Mostly sunny with increasing winds with temperatures in the upper 70s. Winds NW at 15 to 20 mph.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
1 Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 69-69-67 - 205 $15,400
T2 Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.) 71-72-68 - 211 $8,152
T2Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 73-69-69 - 211 $8,152
T2 Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 69-70-72 - 211 $8,152
T5 Tiffany Joh (San Diego, Calif.) 71-73-69 - 213 $3,132
T5 Nicole Smith (Riverside, Calif.) 71-72-70 - 213 $3,132
T5 Ryann O'Toole (San Clemente, Calif.) 71-70-72 - 213 $3,132
T5Pornanong Phatlum (Chaiyaphum, Thailand) 72-69-72 - 213 $3,132
T5Jodi Ewart (North Yorkshire, England) 68-70-75 - 213 $3,132
T10 Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 73-71-71 - 215 $1,850
T10 Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, South Korea) 73-69-73 - 215 $1,850
T12 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 75-70-71 - 216 $1,289
Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 71-74-71 - 216 $1,289
Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 72-73-71 - 216 $1,289
Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 75-69-72 - 216 $1,289
Jane Rah (Torrance, Calif.) 71-72-73 - 216 $1,289
Sarah-Jane Smith (Queensland, Australia) 72-70-74 - 216 $1,289
Leanne Bowditch (Queensland, Australia) 72-69-75 - 216 $1,289
Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) 70-69-77 - 216 $1,289

T20 Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 74-74-69 - 217 $945
Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 74-73-70 - 217 $945
Jenny Shin (Torrance, Calif.) 73-73-71 - 217 $945
Bree Arthur (Brisbane, Australia) 69-74-74 - 217 $945
Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico) 71-71-75 - 217 $945
Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.) 73-69-75 - 217 $945

T26 Angela Oh (Maple Shade, N.J.) 75-72-71 - 218 $888
Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 72-70-76 - 218 $888
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 71-69-78 - 218 $888

T29 Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio) 77-71-71 - 219 $855
Garrett Phillips (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 75-69-75 - 219 $855
Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) 73-69-77 - 219 $855

T32 Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario) 75-73-72 - 220 $829
Kristen Simpson (Norfolk, Va.) 74-71-75 - 220 $829
Lucy Nunn (Lawton, Okla.) 70-74-76 - 220 $829

T35 Victoria Alimonda (Sao Paulo, Brazil) 75-73-73 - 221 $792
Yoora Kim (Seoul, South Korea) 73-73-75 - 221 $792
Amelia Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) 77-69-75 - 221 $792
Kitty Hwang (Guayaquil, Ecuador) 73-72-76 - 221 $792
Dewi Claire Schreefel (Diepenveen, Netherland74-70-77 - 221 $792
Tzu-Chi Lin (Taichung, Taiwan) 73-71-77 - 221 $792
Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 70-73-78 - 221 $792

T42 Ayaka Kaneko (Honolulu, Hawaii) 77-72-73 - 222 $754
Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.) 76-71-75 - 222 $754
Chelsea Curtis (New Seabury, Mass.) 68-78-76 - 222 $754
Carolina Llano (Medellin, Colombia) 72-74-76 - 222 $754
Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) 72-70-80 - 222 $754
Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 72-70-80 - 222 $754

T48 Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 75-74-74 - 223 $721
Hanna Kang (Seoul, South Korea) 73-75-75 - 223 $721
Carrie Riordan (Spring Valley, Ill.) 72-75-76 - 223 $721
Alexandra Braga (Los Angeles, Calif.) 73-73-77 - 223 $721
Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 71-74-78 - 223 $721
Camila Mori (Santiago, Chile) 76-69-78 - 223 $721

T54 Meredith Duncan (Shreveport, La.) 74-75-75 - 224 $700
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 74-74-76 - 224 $700
Simone DeSouza (Trujillo, Peru) 74-73-77 - 224 $700

T57 Julia Potter (Granger, Ind.) 74-75-76 - 225 $685
Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 74-71-80 - 225 $685
Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) 72-73-80 - 225 $685
Malinda Johnson (Eau Claire, Wis.) 72-69-84 - 225 $685

T61 Jenny Lee (Simi Valley, Calif.) 74-72-80 - 226 $672
Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio) 74-71-81 - 226 $672

T63 Taryn Durham (Glasgow, Ky.) 76-73-78 - 227 $662
Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) 75-73-79 - 227 $662
Sae Hee Son (Seoul, South Korea) 73-73-81 - 227 $662

T66 Kim Augusta (Rumford, R.I.) 75-74-80 - 229 $653
Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) 77-72-80 - 229 $653

T68 Carmen Bandea (Atlanta, Ga.) 72-77-81 - 230 $645
Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 74-75-81 - 230 $645
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 75-72-83 - 230 $645

71 Emma Calderone (Toronto, Ontario) 72-75-84 - 231 $641

72 Kirby Dreher (Fort St. John, Canada) 71-78-85 - 234 $640