Two Season Winners Share Opening Lead In Gettysburg

GETTYSBURG, Pa., Aug. 24, 2007 – One of the first and one of the last players to complete today’s opening round of the $100,000 Gettysburg Championship grabbed a share of the lead. Rookies Violeta Retamoza of Aguascalientes, Mexico and Taylor Leon of Dallas both carded rounds of five-under-par 67.

Retamoza played in the first group this morning and Leon was among those chasing the setting sun this afternoon at The Links At Gettysburg. Perhaps more importantly, each player is now chasing another win in this week’s next-to-last tournament of the 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour season.

Retamoza kicked off her round with a start of birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie in her first five holes, which made the Mexican wonder what kind of round such a roller-coaster beginning would produce.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s going to be a long day’ with no pars on the first five holes,” said Retamoza, who has won once this year and currently is ranked No. 6 on the season money list. “I didn’t hit my driver very well, but my irons were good and my putting has been good for a few weeks now. Today, I tried to keep calm.”

The Mexican calmly hit 15 greens in regulation and needed only 27 putts on the
6,425-yard course – an already long-playing tract that had received three inches of rain earlier in the week. With fairways still saturated, lift-clean-and-place conditions were utilized, allowing players to wipe away mud.

Retamoza finished the day with eight birdies and three bogeys and even more incentive to potentially win one of the Tour’s last two events.

“I don’t have anything to lose and I’m just here to play golf,” she said. “I’m trying to put myself in a good position. It’s just the first day and a lot of things can happen.”

Already a two-time winner in six starts, Leon was wickedly accurate today in a bogey-free round in which she missed only one fairway, hit 14 greens in regulation and rolled in 27 putts for her five-birdie round. The Texan rolled in birdie putts from one to 40 feet and got up and down for par on the 18th. The course’s wet greens seemingly suited her iron striking just fine by day’s end.

“It’s still a little wet, but I like to fire at pins, so it’s like ‘just give me the yardage’ and I’m going for it,” said Leon, now 12th on the Tour’s money list. “I figured somebody would shoot really well today and I’m excited to be in the lead again.”

Within sniffing distance of the lead is two-time season winner Seo-Jae Lee of Seoul, Korea, who carded a four-under-par score of 68 to climb into second place. Lee also was bogey-free, hit 17 greens in regulation and made the most of a poor day of putting.

“The greens were fast today and many times I saved par when it looked like three putts,” said Lee, who is ranked No. 4 on the Tour’s season money list. “I hit my putts too hard, but my driver was good and I hit every fairway.”

Lee had only one birdie on the front nine, but birdied three of her last five holes for a strong finish.

“I know the last two tournaments are really important and I feel pressure,” she said. “But it’s good pressure and I am happy [about the] first round.”

Finishing the first round at two-under-par 70 was the trio of Vikki Laing of Musselburgh, Scotland, Marcela Leon of Monterrey, Mexico and Charlotte Campbell of Heathrow, Fla.

Laing’s round featured three consecutive birdies on holes 3, 4 and 5, and on the back, one birdie and two three-putt bogeys. The pair of three-putts was partly due to putting speed and partly due to a lot of activity on wet greens for the last few days.

“The greens are speeding up as it dries out and they are in awesome shape,” said Laing, still seeking her first professional win. “They are receptive, but there are a lot of pitch marks out there.”

Marcela Leon (no relation to Taylor) birdied the last three holes from 15 feet, three feet, and 18 feet, respectively, to become one of two Mexican players among today’s top six finishers.

“Violeta is much younger than me, but I know she’s a good player and she’s having a good year,” said Leon. “You have to pull for your people. We are not that many.”

Rookie Campbell admitted that after a season of rocky starts and seven missed cuts in the last 13 tournaments, she finally found a way to be patient today. Campbell said she convinced herself that The Links At Gettysburg reminded her of her home course, Heathrow Country Club, outside Orlando. That mindset helped her to card three birdies and one bogey in her round.

“There is a lot of water, it’s long and you have to be accurate on this golf course,” said Campbell, a former two-time NCAA Division II champion and four-time Division II Player of the Year while at Rollins College (Fla.). “And this year is kind of like my freshman year in college. I didn’t do anything until nationals that year, and then I won. And this week, I guess I waited until my 14th event to do something.”

Five players, including 2007 tournament winner Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif., carded rounds of one-under-par 71. A total of 22 players turned in scores of even-par 72 or better.

The second round of this week’s 54-hole event will begin Saturday at 8 a.m., off the first and 10th tees. The leaders will tee off at 2:20 p.m.

For scores and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Weather: Overcast, humid and hazy. High temperature of 89 degrees with winds around 6 mph.

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour at (717) 359-4132 and at lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.