SYMETRA TOUR (formerly FUTURES TOUR) SCOREBOARD

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE SCORES TO READ THE STORY LINES

 First-round scores Friday in the Symetra Tour's $150,000 Four Winds Invitational at the 6419-yard, par 36-36 - 72 Blackthorn Country Club, South Bend, Ind. (a-denotes amateur):
T1 Sara Hurwitch (Union, Ky.) 34-36 - 70
T1 Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio) 35-35 - 70
T1 Blair O'Neal (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 35-35 - 70
T1 Fiona Puyo (Epernay, France) 35-35 - 70
T5 Julia Boland (Tamworth, NSW, Australia) 37-34 - 71
T5 Kristie Smith (Perth, Australia) 36-35 - 71
T7 Alexandria Buelow (Palm City, Fla.) 36-36 - 72
T7 Joanna Coe (Mays Landing, N.J.) 36-36 - 72
T7 Amy Eneroth (Spokane, Wash.) 37-35 - 72
T7 Therese Koelbaek (Copenhagen, Denmark) 36-36 - 72
T7 Brianna Do (Lakewood, Calif.) 35-37 - 72
T7 Birdie Kim (Seoul, South Korea) 35-37 - 72
T7 Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 35-37 - 72
T7 Mi Hyang Lee (Incheon, South Korea) 35-37 - 72
T15 Nina Rodriguez (San Jose, Calif.) 35-38 - 73
Victoria Alimonda Lovelady (Sao Paulo, Brazil) 39-34 - 73
Mary Narzisi (Omaha, Neb.) 34-39 - 73
Saehee Son (Seoul, South Korea) 34-39 - 73
Jessica Speechley (Perth, Australia) 36-37 - 73
Juliana Murcia Ortiz (Bogota, Colombia) 35-38 - 73
Joy Trotter (Chino Hills, Calif.) 36-37 - 73
Jean Chua (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) 39-34 - 73
Sara Maude Juneau (Quebec, Canada) 36-37 - 73
Yu-Ling Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) 34-39 - 73
Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 37-36 - 73
Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 37-36 - 73
Kendall Dye (Edmond, Okla.) 34-39 - 73
Paz Echeverria (Santiago, Chile) 36-37 - 73
Rachel Connor (Manchester, England) 35-38 - 73
Alexandra Casi (East Palestine, Ohio) 38-35 - 73
Kendall Wright (Sugar Hill, Ga.) 38-35 - 73
32 Taylor Collins (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 37-37 - 74
Hye-Joo Han (Seoul, South Korea) 40-34 - 74
Nicole Vandermade (Brantford, ON Canada) 37-37 - 74
Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Jersey, Channel Islands UK) 38-36 - 74
Laura Martin (West Chester, Ohio) 34-40 - 74
Macarena Silva (Santiago, Chile) 37-37 - 74
Jessi Gebhardt (Bellingham, Wash.) 36-38 - 74
Misun Cho (Cheongju, South Korea) 37-37 - 74
Lauren Doughtie (Suffolk, Va.) 36-38 - 74
Emma Jandel (Dayton, Ohio) 36-38 - 74
Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 37-37 - 74
Sarah Brown (Whitehall, Pa.) 36-38 - 74
44 Ashley Medders-Barnes (Alma, Ga.) 37-38 - 75
Marina Alex (Wayne, N.J.) 39-36 - 75
Daniela Iacobelli (Viera, Fla.) 37-38 - 75
Jaclyn Sweeney (Bradenton, Fla.) 37-38 - 75
Ulrika Van-Niekerk (Cape Town, South Africa) 39-36 - 75
Natalie Sheary (West Hartford, Conn.) 37-38 - 75
Jessica Wallace (Langley, British Columbia) 38-37 - 75
Hannah Jun (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) 36-39 - 75
Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Mich.) 37-38 - 75
Thidapa Suwannapura (Bangkok, Thailand) 36-39 - 75
Britney Hamilton (Lake Orion, Mich.) 37-38 - 75 V
Victoria Park (Chungjoo, South Korea) 37-38 - 75
Nicole Smith (Riverside, Calif.) 39-36 - 75
Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) 37-38 - 75
Kimberly Kim (Hilo, Hawaii) 36-39 - 75
Rebecca Samuelsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) 35-40 - 75
Jackie Barenborg (Vero Beach, Fla.) 38-37 - 75
Aimee Neff (Carmel, Ind.) 37-38 - 75
62 Courtney Mahon (Lee's Summit, Mo.) 37-39 - 76
Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.) 36-40 - 76
Stefanie Kenoyer (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) 37-39 - 76
Alejandra Llaneza (Mexico City, Mexico) 37-39 - 76
Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 37-39 - 76
Jessy Tang (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 37-39 - 76
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 39-37 - 76
Alice H. Kim (Walnut, Calif.) 36-40 - 76
Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario) 35-41 - 76
Calle Nielson (Nashville, Tenn.) 39-37 - 76
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 38-38 - 76
Sue Kim (Langley, British Columbia) 35-41 - 76
Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) 37-39 - 76
Peiyun Chien (Pingtung, Taiwan) 40-36 - 76
Victoria Elizabeth (Dayton, Ohio) 39-37 - 76
Kristin Walla (Aspen, Colo.) 39-37 - 76
Selanee Henderson (Temecula, Calif.) 37-39 - 76
Kari Bellville (a) (Granger, Ind.) 38-38 - 76
Jennifer Hong (Granger, Ind.) 39-37 - 76
Laura Kueny (Whitehall, Mich.) 39-37 - 76
Cathryn Bristow (Auckland, New Zealand) 40-36 - 76
Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.) 39-37 - 76
Dawn Shockley (Estes Park, Colo.) 37-39 - 76
Marissa Steen (West Chester, Ohio) 37-39 - 76
Xyra Suyetsugu (Honolulu, Hawaii) 38-38 - 76
Allison Hanna (Portland, Ore.) 40-36 - 76
Courtney Massey (Gold Coast, Australia) 36-40 - 76 89
Lisa Meldrum (Montreal, Quebec) 39-38 - 77
Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario) 39-38 - 77
Jacey Chun (Seoul, South Korea) 38-39 - 77
Alexandra Braga (Pleasanton, Calif.) 40-37 - 77
Inhong Lim (Melbourne, Australia) 35-42 - 77
Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 40-37 - 77
Michelle Shin (Cape Coral, Fla.) 37-40 - 77
Britney Choy (Wahiawa, Hawaii) 39-38 - 77
Camilla Lennarth (Stockholm, Sweden) 39-38 - 77
Cara Freeman (Chandler, Arizona) 38-39 - 77
Nicole Jeray (Berwyn, Ill.) 37-40 - 77
Kristin Vincent (Burlington, N.C.) 35-42 - 77
Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 35-42 - 77
Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 40-37 - 77
Seul-Ki Park (Northbrook, Ill.) 37-40 - 77
Rhea Nair (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) 38-39 - 77
Tracy Stanford (Midland, Texas) 40-37 - 77
106 Tara Goedeken (Dodge City, Kan.) 41-37 - 78
Nikki Hadd (Crestview, Fla.) 43-35 - 78
Ginger Howard (Bradenton, Fla.) 39-39 - 78
Brittany Johnston (Akron, Ohio) 38-40 - 78
Sofia Gorelik (Tandil, Argentina) 39-39 - 78
Sofi Toccafondi (Del Viso, Argentina) 38-40 - 78
Emma De Groot (Coffs Harbour, Australia) 36-42 - 78
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 38-40 - 78
Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico) 38-40 - 78
Megan McChrystal (Stuart, Fla.) 39-39 - 78
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 39-39 - 78
Allison Duncan (Indianapolis, Ind.) 40-38 - 78
Carrie Riordan (Spring Valley, Ill.) 37-41 - 78
Dolores White (Lakeland, Fla.) 38-40 - 78
Rebecca Durham (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 38-40 - 78
Christabel Goh (Singapore, Singapore) 41-37 - 78
Jamie Hullett (Mesquite, Texas) 38-40 - 78
Ashley Tait (Littleton, Colo.) 38-40 - 78
Marina Choi (Los Angeles, Calif.) 38-40 - 78
125 Whitney Neuhauser (Charlottesville, Va.) 41-38 - 79
Kelly Jacques (Longmont, Colo.) 38-41 - 79
Eileen Vargas (Ibague, Colombia) 40-39 - 79
Stacey Miller (Bloomington, Ill.) 44-35 - 79
Benedikte Grotvedt (Nesbru, Norway) 40-39 - 79
Brittany Kelly (Fishers, Ind.) 42-37 - 79
Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash.) 39-40 - 79
Sydney Cox (Edmond, Okla.) 41-38 - 79
133 Anya Sarai Alvarez (Tulsa, Okla.) 40-40 - 80
Gloriana Soto (San Jose, Costa Rica) 39-41 - 80
Katie Kempter (Albuquerque, N.M.) 41-39 - 80
136 Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 41-40 - 81
Erica Moston (Belmont, Calif.) 40-41 - 81
Rachael Schmidt (Elk River, Minn.) 40-41 - 81
Jenny Kim (La Quinta, Calif.) 39-42 - 81
Jenna Pearson (Wheaton, Ill.) 42-39 - 81
Molly Aronsson (Shelburne, Vt.) 41-40 - 81 142
Martina Gavier (Cordoba, Argentina) 41-41 - 82
Abby Bools (Hickory, N.C.) 40-42 - 82
144 Ashley Sholer (Hamilton, Ontario) 43-40 - 83

 STORIES BEHIND THE SCORES

Four Players Hold a One-Shot Lead at Four Winds Invitational

Sara Hurwitch, Carling Coffing, Blair O’Neal and Fiona Puyo all handled the cold, windy and wet conditions at Blackthorn Golf Club on Friday and shot opening-rounds of 2-under 70’s to take a one-shot lead at the Four Winds Invitational. Temperatures in the low 50’s, scattered rain storms and wind gusts that reached up to 40 miles per hour played a role in some high scores in the first round, with only six players carding scores under par.

Hurwitch got off to a solid start on the day, opening up with three of her five birdies on the front nine. The Union, Ky. native’s five birdies was most of the leaders in the first round. Coffing had a boost to start her day after chipping in for birdie on the par 4 1^st and went on to card three more birdies on Nos. 6, 12 and 14. The Middletown, Ohio native admitted that after her birdie on No. 14, that a little luck was on her side today.

“On No. 14 I was behind that big tree in the fairway and I punched a three wood 220 yards to like three feet from the pin,” said Coffing. “It was better to be lucky than good today. We pulled off some incredible shots. I rolled in a 35-footer on No. 12 and then on six, was a par five and I almost got on in two and chipped it to about an inch.”

O’Neal was the only leader to card an eagle on the challenging course at Blackthorn and added two birdies to her card on Nos. 2 and 15. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native hit driver, five iron and sank a 30-foot putt on the par 5 No. 16 to go 3-under but bogeyed the 18^th to drop to 2-under

“I just played solid,” said O’Neal. “Just stayed one shot at a time and stayed positive. And stayed in the moment. That was my thought process coming out here.”

Puyo was the only leader to play her opening round in the afternoon wave, when most of the bad weather conditions were at their worst. The Epernay, France native started her day on the back nine carded three birdies with her lone bogey coming on No. 17. She said she’s looking forward to playing with the leader groups the rest of the weekend and thrives under pressure.

“I enjoy it,” said Puyo. “I play the best when I have to play each shot and the pressure is what drives me.”

The leading quartet has a one-shot lead over Australians Julia Boland and Kristie Smith who shot 1-under 71. Boland is currently ranked No. 6 in the Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year rankings while Smith is looking for her third-career victory and is currently No. 11 in the Volvik Race for the Card. Smith carded the only bogey-free round on Friday.

Meet the Four Winds Invitational Leaders:

Sara Hurwitch (-2): Hurwitch is in her third season on the Symetra Tour and has recorded a career-best finish T49 at the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge. The Union, Ky. native recorded two top-10 finishes during collegiate competition while at the University of Kentucky and the University of Central Florida and was named the 2007 Conference USA Women's Golf Freshman of the Year. She competed at the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship and finished third at the 2010 Kentucky Women's Open.

Carling Coffing (-2): Coffing is in her fifth season on the Symetra Tour and is looking to improve on her career-best T2 finish at the 2011 Ladies Titan Tire Challenge. She has a season-best T42 finish this year at the Northeast Delta Dental International and has made three cuts out of seven starts. She had an outstanding collegiate career at Ohio State University and was the Individual runner-up at the 2006 Big Ten Conference Women's Golf Championship. She was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference Second Team selection (2006, 2008) for the Buckeyes and was named the 2005 Freshman of the Year. She was the winner of Golf Channel’s Big Break: Sandals Resort series.

Blair O’Neal (-2): O’Neal, a nine-year pro, is in her first full season committed to the Symetra Tour, is playing for her first-career victory and trying to improve on her career-best T12 finish at the 2011 Island Resort Championship. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native played her collegiate golf at Arizona State University where she finished third at the 2000 Ping ASU Invitational and fourth individually at the 2003 Pac-10 Championship. She was a two-time contestant on Golf Channel’s Big Break and saw great success, finishing runner-up on the Prince Edward Island series and winning the Dominican Republic series.

Fiona Puyo (-2): Puyo, in her rookie season on the Symetra Tour, has struggled to find consistency in her first year but has seen some bright spots in 2012. She finished T10 at the Tate and Lyle Players Championship where she had the low round on Sunday after shooting a 7-under 65. The France native has seen success overseas and was the winner of the 2011 French Ladies Match Play Championship and the 2011 Grand Prix de la Nivelle. She played collegiately at the College of Charleston and took a job in finance after graduation before turning pro.

Volvik check-in: Players in the Volvik Race for the Card top-10 who were in action on Friday were found all over the leaderboard after 18 holes of play. None of the nine players finished under par but top-ranked Esther Choe sits in familiar territory, leading the group. She the Volvik ranked players after shooting an even-par 72 and is currently T9.
Results for the remaining top-10 are as follows: No. 6 Jean Chua and No. 10 Sara Maude Juneau: T16 (1-over par 73); No. 9 Lauren Doughtie: T32 (2-over par 74); No. 4 Nicole Smith and No. 5 Jaclyn Sweeney: T33 (3-over par 75); No. 2 Victoria Elizabeth and No. 8 Sara Brown T62 (4-over par 76); No. 7 Megan McChrystal: T107 (6-over 78).

Equal locals: Local exemptions Jennifer Hong and Kari Bellville fared well in their opening rounds at Blackthorn, both shooting 4-over 76 and sit six shots off the lead. Hong, who is a Symetra Tour member and a Granger, Ind. native carded two birdies and six bogeys on the day while Bellville, an amateur and rising junior at nearby Penn High School, saw no birdies but two bogeys on both the front and back nine. Bellville said her experience has been great so far and that she was pleased with her first appearance in a professional event.

‘It was amazing,” said Bellville. “The girls I played with are so talented and I tried to keep up. I thought I played strong and kept my cool so I’m really happy with how I played today. Four-over wasn’t really that bad considering the conditions. I think I lost it on the last two holes.”

Bellville is fortunate to have her coach, Mark Hamilton, on the bag this weekend and his advice on club selection with heavy winds was beneficial.

“He really helped me today with that,” said Bellville. “I probably would have made a few inconsistent shots if it wasn’t for him. Especially his knowledge for the course and everything.”

Bellville has the hometown rooting for her and said she was a little jittery heading to the first tee on Friday.

“I definitely had butterflies going off the first tee but as soon as I hit my tee shot and landed in the fairway like every other practice round, they flew away.” 

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame: Symetra Tour professionals Sofie Andersson and Kristin Vincent took advantage of their time in South Bend on Thursday to receive a personal tour of the University of Notre Dame campus by Visit South Bend personnel. Andersson and Vincent learned the history behind the prominent and scenic college and visited notable moments and buildings on campus. They made stops at the Golden Dome, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Hesburgh Library (home of Touchdown Jesus) and several of the state-of-the-art athletic facilities, home to the Fighting Irish sports teams.

Neat Tweet…goes to Daniela Iacobelli who snapped one of the many signs in the South Bend area welcoming the Symetra Tour and its players to the community

“This is what makes us happy at tournaments @ROAD2LPGA” --@DIac1127

Quotable: Co-leader Carling Coffing on her fiancé caddying for her for the first time today…

“My fiancé (John Nolan) was caddying for me for the first time. We just stayed relaxed and stayed cool and did a good job at taking it one shot at a time, whether it was cold or windy on that specific shot. He did really well. He lined me up. Sometimes it took him two or three moves to get me but it was so great having him on the bag. He picked the perfect line on No. 18 and I made it. If I had missed there would have been no kiss.”