Tucker Moves Out in Front At El Paso Golf Classic

EL PASO, Texas, May 3, 2008 – Kristina Tucker of Stockholm, Sweden, broke a first-day tie and posted a round of 68 (-4) to take a slim lead during second-round play today at the El Paso Golf Classic.

Tucker shared a six-under-par 66 first-round tie for the lead she held with Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky., and put on a putting exhibition in today's second round to sit at 134 (-10) through 36 holes. Wigger trails by one stroke at 133 (-9).

"I only had one three-putt today," said Tucker, who carded 29 putts today. "It was on the fringe, but it still got me mad."

A member of the LPGA Tour in 2007, Tucker posted two birdies in her first three holes highlighted by a 25-foot birdie putt on her second hole, but Wigger pulled even with an eagle on the sixth hole.

Trying to close in on her first professional win, the fifth-year pro is tempering her expectations after nearly tasting victory at the Hunters Oak Golf Classic at Queenstown, Md., in 2007. 

"I really want to win, but golf is such an up-and-down game," said Tucker, a former standout at Duke University. "Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's hard. I was hitting fairways and greens all day and whenever you're playing well, it makes it that much easier." 

For Wigger, who already has one professional title to her credit after taking home top honors at the AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational in Daytona Beach last month, it's all about remaining within striking distance.

Wigger nearly capitalized on a double-eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, pounding a 5-wood through the front left bunker that rolled within six inches of the cup. She made the ensuing tap-in for an eagle and offset Tucker's birdies on No. 2 and 3.

"I had a couple good birdie opportunities that didn't fall early," Wigger said. "I was guiding the ball a little bit too much and I want to stay loose and be aggressive tomorrow. 

With Wigger's hometown of Louisville a central hub of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, the former Virginia Cavalier was anxiously awaiting results from the famed horse race. 

As for tracking results on the golf course rather than the racetrack, Wigger had a bit of a confession to make.

"I'm a scoreboard watcher," she said. "I didn't think I was, but I am." 

Tucker and Wigger will be joined in the final group with a noon tee-time by rising rookie M.J. Hur (67) of Seoul, South Korea, who is tied for third at 139 (-5) with Haeji Kang (70) of Seoul, South Korea, and Amanda McCurdy (70) of Little Rock, Ark.

Winner of the Louisiana Pelican Classic two tournaments ago, Hur quietly recorded the field's lowest round of the day alongside Jessica Shepley (67) of Oakville, Ontario, and Whitney Wade of Glasgow, Ky., and is in striking position once again heading into the final round. Despite the success, Hur is still seeking an ideal comfort level on the links.

"It just didn't feel right when I was hitting irons today," said the rookie. "Every shot I hit with a wedge or a 52-degree club, it wasn't very clean and not very close to the pin." 

Defending champion Mo Martin (71) of Altadena, Calif., and 2007 El Paso Golf Classic runner-up Caroline Larsson (68) of Stockholm, Sweden, continued to make their push in hopes of moving up the leaderboard. Martin dropped into a tie for 11th at 142 (-2), while Larsson moved into a tie for ninth at 141 (-3). 

Larsson caught fire on the back nine stemming from an eagle after making the turn on the par-4 10th hole. The second-year Duramed FUTURES Tour pro already has two top-10 finishes this year and has her sights set on bigger things. The 2007 finish in El Paso was the Swede's career-best performance.

"I just like this golf course and I felt really good on the back nine," said Larsson, who played collegiately at Florida State. "I did think about last year on my last hole today and hit it in the bunker. Luckily, I almost made a birdie and was able to save par." 

Martin found red numbers again today with her second consecutive round at 1-under-par (71) and was overall pleased with her play as she sits just outside the top-10 spots heading into Sunday's final round.

"Things were going well for a while and then I got a little ahead of myself," said Martin, a former collegian at UCLA. "Yesterday I got caught up in the past and today I got caught up in the future."

Afternoon winds that tampered with scores on Friday in first-round play were nowhere to be found in today's second round. Scoring conditions were nearly ideal.

A total of 74 players made the 36-hole cut at 149 (+5).

Sunday's final round will begin at 8 a.m. off the first tee with the leaders taking their first swing at noon.

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

Weather: Sunny with a high of 78 degrees and winds blowing SE at 10-20 mph 

Baena Nets Tour's Fourth Hole-In-One This Season

Cristina Baena of Pereira, Colombia, drained the Duramed FUTURES Tour's fourth ace of the year on the 131-yard, third hole. Baena hit a punch shot with a 9-iron and earned a $500 check through the Duramed Hole-in-One Challenge for her single shot.

The 2005 Bank of Ann Arbor FUTURES Golf Classic champion said it was the third hole-in-one in her career, with the last coming in a pro-am in Concord, N.H., prior to the 2007 USI Championship. 

"The wind was blowing left to right," said Baena, a fifth-year professional who was a former All-American at the University of Arizona. "I saw it bounce once and then it disappeared and went in behind the hole."

There had been at least one hole-in-one through the first three events of the year, but there were no aces in McAllen, Texas last week.

Kim Welch of Sacramento, Jennifer Ackerson of Dallas, and Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., have all carded aces this season. 

Shepley and Wade Storm Through Second Round

A pair of former Southeastern Conference competitors shared the low round of the day along with South Korean rookie M.J. Hur as Jessica Shepley and Whitney Wade tallied five-under-par, bogey-free 67's on their scorecards. 

Much like the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic a week ago in McAllen, Texas, Shepley came out gunning. Her aggressiveness resulted in one of the lowest rounds of the day with an eagle and three birdies on the front nine. The fourth-year pro started the day in a tie for 83rd, but posted her five-under-par round of 67 for a 10-stroke difference from the first day. 

"It was a good way to start the day, but then I had a little stumble," said Shepley, who played collegiately at the University of Tennessee. "I made bogey on the 18th, but I'm playing with confidence and staying positive."

After the Underwood Golf Complex surrendered just two eagles on Friday, eight were made on Saturday. One came from Shepley on the par-4, 399-yard fifth hole. From 145 yards out, she hit a 7-iron that bounced eight inches to the right of the hole and rolled in. 

"I've been working a lot on chipping and putting and have been talking to my friends about how to get better," added Shepley, who finished a career-best sixth in the season-opening Bright House Networks Open in Lakeland, Fla.

For Wade, in her first full season with the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the low round marked the culmination of steady improvement that she's been able to see in her game.

Reeling together a four-birdie streak to close her day, the former U.S. Junior Solheim Cup member came off the course with redemption on her mind after finishing her last three holes on Friday with three consecutive bogeys.

"I was kind of angry yesterday and wanted to get things straightened out," Wade said.

Wade did just that, making birdie on the par-3 15th and 17th holes, but also sandwiched birdies on the par-5 16th hole and the par-4 18th hole. She is currently tied for sixth after opening the day in a tie for 30th.

The former All-American from the University of Georgia is on the verge of eclipsing her previous career-best finish on the Duramed FUTURES Tour -- a tie for 17th in 2006 at the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship in Decatur, Ill., while competing as an amateur.  

"It's a good scoring course as long as it's not too windy," Wade said of this week's Underwood Golf Complex. "I haven't had a bogey-free round in a long time that I can remember and I was able to get the putter rolling today."

The flatstick proved its value as Wade's day was punctuated with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final green after flaring her drive to the right side of the fairway. She had one birdie on the front nine, but shifted into high gear as the round neared to an end.

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