Louisiana Pelican Classic

LAFAYETTE, La., April 19, 2008 – Not a cloud filled the sky as highly-touted rookie Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., carved out eight birdies and emerged as the leader of the third annual Louisiana Pelican Classic in second-round play Saturday.

Hurst had the low round of the day and set a tournament record with an 8-under par 64. She was one stroke better than Janell Howland and Kim Welch’s round of 65, set last year in Lafayette. At 134 (-10), Hurst has a four-stroke advantage going into Sunday’s final round as the chase for a share of the $85,000 purse continued to intensify.

The 2007 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year continues to build on an already impressive start to her career, having already finished 26th at the season-opening Bright House Networks Open and placing in a tie for 11th at the AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational two weeks ago in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Hurst made birdie in front of a crowd assembled at the ninth hole and continued to make the turn with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11. She remained steady throughout the day with four birdies on the front and four birdies on the back.

Her calm and collected presence on the course stemmed in part from a visit to Augusta, Ga., to watch The Masters last week with her mother, Koko.

“I went to watch how the players played and saw how careful they look at every shot,” Hurst said. “My mom and I talk about how every shot counts and learning from what I saw from the pros, I tried to stay in the moment.”

She attributed her record-breaking round to a quick start that included birdies on three of the four par-5 opportunities. Hurst drained several long putts, including a 30-footer on the 10th hole, but put herself in good position all day from the tee.

For Hurst, it was a personal-best score, quickly disregarding a 62 she shot in high school.

“It was a career low in a tournament that really mattered,” Hurst said with a smile.

After enduring a round of choppy winds and rainfall on Friday, the field was able to enjoy abundant sunshine and a light afternoon breeze. Low scores continued to come through and the leaderboard underwent some shuffling.

First-day leaders Pamela Feggans (71) of Patna, Scotland, and M.J. Hur (71) of Seoul, South Korea, both finished the day in red numbers at 1-under par to sit in a tie for second at 138 (-6), four strokes behind Hurst.

It was an unfortunate turn of events for Rachel Newren-Harmon of Salt Lake City, Utah, who thought she had a seven-birdie round of 65 (-7). Newren-Harmon would have been tied for second with Hur and Feggans, but was disqualified for an accidental reporting of the wrong score on the 11^th hole after realizing the mistake when her round was over.

Eighty-three players made the 36-hole cut at 149 (+5).

Tee-times for Sunday’s final round at The Wetlands in Lafayette will begin at 8 a.m., off the first tee only. The leaders will tee off at 12:30 p.m.

For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Weather: Sunny with a high temperature of 82 degrees and winds blowing SW at 8 mph.

Conference Championship Corner

Collegiate conference championships are in full swing, marking the culmination of a long season with sights set on the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship in Albuquerque, N.M. The Duramed FUTURES Tour is well-represented by schools from across the nation that are pursuing postseason hardware against the top collegiate competition.

The University of Florida, represented on the Duramed FUTURES Tour by Andrea VanderLende this week in Lafayette, holds a five-stroke lead over Arkansas after two days of the Southeastern Conference Championship in Loudon, Tenn. VanderLende was just in Gainesville, Fla., last week to practice and is excited about the Gators’ postseason chances.

“It’s good to see it all come together for them,” said VanderLende, who played four years for Florida. “They’ve had some really good teams and it’s never really materialized for them, but I’m really excited for what they could do.”

VanderLende remains in close contact with UF freshman Jessica Yadloczky, ranked 15th nationally, and finished tied for 19th in last year’s Louisiana Pelican Classic competing as an amateur. Yadloczky was a member of the 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour.

Former All-American Jenny Suh, a rookie on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, hoped her Alabama Crimson Tide would pick it up at the SEC Championship prior to teeing off. Suh and many other players still display head covers of their alma mater’s mascot with pride.

AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational champion Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky., was on hand to watch her former Virginia Cavaliers take an early lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in Daytona Beach, but defending national champion Duke pulled even on day two. The Blue Devils are represented by 2003 grad Kristina (Engstrom) Tucker, who jumped up the leaderboard into a three-way tie for fourth this week in Lafayette with a 5-under 67.

Unfortunately, no players on Tour played at the University of New Mexico, this year’s Mountain West Conference champions. New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, however, has five members on the roster this season.

Alvarez Embracing Roles On and Off the Course

Mexican rookie Lili Alvarez of Durango has enjoyed the role of media darling to local newspaper and television stations this week because of her college days at nearby Tulane University. Alvarez was on site to do a public service announcement with Tanya Dergal that will be aired on the Spanish channel Telemundo to promote the Jalapeno Classic next week in McAllen, Texas. She is also anxiously awaiting the Mexican media in El Paso.

“I think it’s part of the process,” Alvarez said. “I think it’s part of being a professional golfer and you have to embrace it. I have to portray a message that reflects my country, the (Duramed FUTURES) Tour and myself in the appropriate light.”

Alvarez also found red numbers on the course, at 1-under par with a round of 71 today. She pulled into a 17th-place tie and has a two-day total of 143 (-1).

“I played so well, I hit the ball very well and I hit every fairway,” Alvarez said. “I hit 15 greens and left myself a ton of birdie opportunities. Unfortunately, I could not putt.”

Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-274-7096, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.