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Hurst Eagles 18, Leads By Two Shots As Second-Round Closes
McAllen, Texas, April 27, 2008 – Rookie Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., broke a three-way tie for first place with an eagle on the 18th hole as second-round play of the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic concluded on Sunday morning. Lightning suspended the remaining portion of second-round play on Saturday and players had to rise early for a 7:30 a.m. start.
Players woke up as early as 4 a.m. to limber up at the Palm View Golf Course driving range. Hunger and fatigue prevailed early in the morning as players came off the course wanting breakfast and ready to go back to bed.
The script is still written for a storybook finish as Hurst carries a two-stroke advantage over two-time Duramed FUTURES Tour winner Ashley Prange of Noblesville , Ind., and last week’s Louisiana Pelican Classic champion M.J. Hur of Seoul, South Korea.
With all three previous winners of the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic making their living on the LPGA Tour, plenty is at stake if the trend is to continue.
Hurst closed her morning with a two-round score of 134 (-10) and made two birdies and an eagle on the five holes she played to finish second-round play.
The 2007 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year made eagle on the 18th hole for the second time in as many days but will be taking a more cautious approach when she tees off at 12:12 p.m. With the wind behind her, she planted a 215-yard 5-iron approach shot 10 feet from the flagstick. Her eagle putt danced around the lip of the cup before dropping.
“I tried to put the best roll on the ball and focus on my own game,” said Hurst, a 17-year-old high school senior. “I’m preparing for different pin placement this afternoon because the pin was at the front of the green for the first two rounds.”
Hur also closed strong but put her head into her hands when asked how she opened up Sunday morning.
“I missed a birdie chance,” said Hur regretfully after coming off the 18th green. “It was a six-foot putt and I should have made it. I’ll do my best this afternoon and keep working on my swing.”
Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., and Nari Kim of Seoul, South Korea, are currently tied for fourth at 7-under par with a cumulative score of 137.
80 players made the cut after two rounds at 148 (+4).
For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: Mostly sunny with a high temperature of 79 degrees with winds blowing south at 9 mph.
Hage Hitting Stride And Knocking off “Tournament Rust”
LPGA Tour non-exempt rookie Nicole Hage of Coral Springs, Fla., knows she had a sluggish start to the Duramed FUTURES Tour schedule with opening rounds of 80 in both Lakeland and Daytona Beach, missing the cut in those respective events.
“I couldn’t remember the last time I had an 80,” Hage said.
After a career at Auburn University where she was a four-time All-American, Hage said she mainly worked on her swing and took three lessons a week. She called herself “tournament rusty” after getting out of college, but finished her shortened second round on Sunday morning with a two-round total of 141 (-3)
Hage suffered a sprained ankle at the Florida Women’s Open in February, literally limping to a runner-up finish after stumbling in a pothole by a sprinkler that was covered up with grass.
Luckily for Hage, her husband’s friend was the head athletic trainer at the University of Central Florida and she was able to get a quick diagnosis and tape up her ankle. Even though she hasn’t missed any time on the course, she still is wearing a brace.
Hage was dealing with lingering effects from the injury but bounced back with a 16th-place tie in the Louisiana Pelican Classic and continued to surge through Sunday.
Juggling the LPGA Tour and the Duramed FUTURES Tour is a tough choice at times because she has to take it week-by-week. Hage just withdrew from the El Paso Golf Classic on Thursday and entered into the LPGA Broken Arrow, Okla., event May 1-4.
“It’s so hard when I’m at one event because sometimes I feel I should be at the other,” Hage added. “I enjoy the LPGA Tour status, but the Duramed FUTURES Tour events are really good to learn from.”
Shepley Makes Second-Round Surge Before Rain Hits
Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario, was one of just four players from the morning tee-times on Saturday to post a round under par, starting strong and finishing before the rain chased the remaining field off the course.
Even though she says it’s not a lucky charm, Shepley recovered her recently acquired 3-wood headcover before first-round play on Friday, a stuffed gorilla, that was left behind in her pro-am cart and returned to the lost-and-found area. She would have hated to lose the headcover because she just bought it after the first event in Lakeland.
“I had the mindset today just to break up my round a little bit more and focus in the present,” Shepley said. “I missed quite a few short putts on Friday, so to get those first couple of putts, I knew I was rolling the ball well.”
After a career-best sixth-place showing in the season-opening Bright House Networks Open in Lakeland, Fla., Shepley missed the cut in the next two tournaments.
On Saturday, the former Tennessee Lady Volunteer opened up by making birdie on her first two holes and closed her round with a birdie on 18. Shepley hit her approach shot within two feet of the hole to the roar and approval of the crowd gathered in the VIP tent to close at 1-under par on her last hole.
Starting the day in a tie for 73rd, Shepley moved into a tie for 42nd as the day played out with a two-round total of 145 (+1).
Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-274-7096, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.
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Prange, Gleason Share Lead in Rain-Suspended Second Round
McAllen, Texas , April 26, 2008 – Recurring lightning strikes forced the remaining field into the clubhouse as second-round play of the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic was suspended Saturday.
Lightning hovered around the course and filled the sky as play was officially called at 5:43 CDT. Second-round play was halted at the AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier this season and the field endured inclement weather during the first round of the Louisiana Pelican Classic last week.
“We’ve officially suspended play today and will resume tomorrow,” head rules official Kelly Wergin said. “We’ve got a pretty big storm heading this way and it wasn’t going to miss us.”
The McAllen area hasn’t received measurable precipitation since October, and in co-leader Jenny Gleason’s words, “When you’re in a drought, just bring the Duramed FUTURES Tour to town.”
Ashley Prange of Noblesville, Ind., and Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., were tied for the lead at 7-under par through the partially-completed second round. Prange was through 13 holes and Gleason had just one hole remaining in today's second round.
A two-time Duramed FUTURES Tour winner, Prange opened with back-to-back birdies and added another pair of birdies on the fifth and six holes.
“It was just one of those days where I had to take it one shot at a time,” Prange said. “The putter feels better in my hands than it has in several years.”
She started the day tied for fifth and was as low as 8-under par and in sole possession of the lead through seven holes early in the round.
“I’ve hit the ball well, everything’s happening the way I would hope and I just need to give myself good opportunities,” Prange said.
Gleason stormed out from a 22nd-place tie after Friday and had the low round of the day going at 6-under par (66).
“I had a bogey-free round going, so that was nice,” said Gleason, also a two-time Tour winner. “I’m looking forward to going back out in the morning and hopefully finishing well.”
Gleason said she has a flight to Houston at 6:45 p.m. Sunday that might be in jeopardy. The former collegian from UNC-Greensboro carded the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s third hole-in-one of the year last week at the Louisiana Pelican Classic and shot a 68 (-4) in Lafayette during her first round.
The four players tied for first in Friday’s opening round still remain in the hunt. Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., and Eunjung Yi of Murrieta, Calif., made it through 12 holes and are both at 6-under par for the tournament while Bridget Dwyer of Kailua, Hawaii, is just one stroke back through 13 holes at 5-under par. Nari Kim of Seoul, South Korea, had one bogey and was 1-over par on the day through 12 holes.
Two groups with afternoon tee-times were able to finish second-round play.
The Palm View Golf Course driving range will open at 6:15 a.m. Sunday morning and players will be restaged at 7:15 a.m. Second-round play will resume Sunday at 7:30 a.m.
Weather precautionary measures were already taken with Sunday’s tee-times scheduled to be split off the first and 10th tees. Severe thunderstorms and hail is projected to hit the McAllen area Sunday afternoon.
For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: Partly cloudy with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon and a high temperature of 91 degrees with winds blowing east at 20-30 mph.
Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-274-7096, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com. |
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