Lisa Meldrum Leads Field After First Round in Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 18, 2008 – Lisa Meldrum of Montreal, Quebec, paced the field with a bogey-free round of 5-under-par 66 in first-round play at the $90,000 Alliance Bank Golf Classic presented by BILL RAPP SUPERSTORE on Friday.

Meldrum fended off an afternoon flurry by Jin Young Pak (67) of Kang Leung, South Korea, Mo Martin (67) of Altadena, Calif., and Gerina Mendoza (67) of Roswell, N.M., who are one stroke back at 4-under par.

Thirty-one players finished their first round on the 6,206-yard, par-71 layout at The Links at Erie Village at even par or better, battling a stifling heat that reached into the lower 90s throughout the day.

The afternoon trio of Pak, Martin and Mendoza threatened Meldrum’s morning total, but she retained the lead throughout the day after scattering five birdies on her scorecard. Meldrum, a third-year Duramed FUTURES Tour pro, is pursuing her second professional victory after winning the CN Canadian Women’s Open Championship in 2006.

“It was just a pretty solid round,” Meldrum said. “I was just able to roll the ball a little bit better today and get some putts to drop.”

The soft-spoken Meldrum converted a 30-foot putt to save par on her ninth hole after clipping the flagstick out of the bunker. She followed with another key par save on the 11th hole and attributed putting as a critical factor to getting her round off to a good start.

“The greens really liked me today, which was nice for a change,” said Meldrum, who had 27 putts. “Hopefully they will like me tomorrow.”

Meldrum said her season has been one of ups and downs, but recent results from The Duramed Championship (T17) in Mason, Ohio, and the CIGNA Golf Classic (T42) in Bloomfield, Conn., signify a reversal of fortune.

“I had a rough start to the season, but the last two events have been my best tournaments of the year,” Meldrum said.

Pak, a 2005 Duramed FUTURES Tour winner, started out with four birdies in her first five holes. Mendoza carded her first bogey-free round of the year, posting back-to-back birdies on No. 6 and 7 on her back nine. Martin, the 2007 El Paso Golf Classic champion, registered five birdies and one bogey that came on the par-5, 17th hole.

Second-round play begins Saturday morning at 8 a.m. off the first and 10th tees. The leading group of Meldrum, Pak and Martin tee off at 2:30 p.m.

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Kuczka, Ferrero Lead Syracuse/Rochester High School Teams in Respective Challenges

Alissa Kuczka of Phoenix, Ariz., teamed up with four players from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in nearby Syracuse to claim a title at the second annual Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes Pro-Junior Challenge with a 3-under-par 33 on the back nine of The Links at Erie Village on Wednesday. Lisa Ferrero of Lodi, Calif., and her foursome of standouts from the Rochester area edged out Fayetteville-Manlius and Kuczka with a 6-under-par 30 on the front nine in a Thursday match at the Crowley Intersectional Showdown, winning by two strokes.

Kuczka and her team of Sara Simons, Alex Seabury, Ali Wakefield and Maria Mintkovsky carded a 33 (-3) with the help of three consecutive birdies to open up play on Wednesday.

“I had a ton of fun and they played awesome,” Kuczka said. “They were really sweet, outgoing and good with each other. They were all about the team and it made my job that much easier.”

Wakefield, who will enroll at Hofstra University this fall on a partial golf scholarship, said the experience was invaluable for a team that claimed top honors at sectionals in May.

“It’s a rare opportunity, because not many people get this chance,” Wakefield said. “We get a chance to see how successful the pros are and see where we need to practice.”

Playing with her group brought back memories for Kuczka of her high school days at Xavier College Preparatory Academy, a national powerhouse where she was teammates with three-time PING NGCA National Player of the Year Amanda Blumenherst of Duke and current Duramed FUTURES Tour rookie Lauren Todd of Phoenix, Ariz. Tour alum and current LPGA member Grace Park along with Missy Farr-Kaye and the late Heather Farr also attended the Phoenix-area high school.

Kuczka placed fourth at last year’s Alliance Bank Golf Classic, a career-best finish for the second-year Tour pro.

The 14 teams in Wednesday’s challenge played for the right to take on the group of Rochester All-Stars. Several players from different high schools were in agreement that Christian Brothers Academy, the defending 2007 champion, would walk away the winner.

“They always win everything,” said a player from Rome Free Academy before the shotgun start.

CBA was led in 2007 by Duramed FUTURES Tour alum and current LPGA Tour rookie Allison Fouch of Grand Rapids, Mich., but Ferrero’s team of Michelle Spiegel, Danielle Fuss, Sara Quinn and Madeline Sisson, stole the show Thursday morning with a 30 (-6) on the front nine.

Ferrero led Baldwinsville High School to a tie for fourth in Wednesday’s challenge, and gave plenty of credit to her Rochester team on Thursday after posing for photos with trophies in hand. The extra play paid off for Ferrero as she posted a 3-under-par 68 on Friday to pull into three-way tie for fifth.

“It would have been really great if their professional had made a putt,” said Ferrero with a smile during the awards luncheon. “They made the putts before I had a chance to make mine.”

Richdale and Carafiello Meet Again After Qualifying for LPGA’s Canadian Women’s Open

It was a busy week for Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., and Jessica Carafiello of Coral Springs, Fla., who competed in the final event of the CN Canadian Women’s Tour at Camelot in Cumberland, Ontario.

Richdale tied for second and Carafiello tied for 21st to claim two of the six exemptions into the LPGA event. Three days later after the final round in Canada, the pair met again in the first round of the Alliance Bank Golf Classic, teeing off at 8:09 a.m. this morning off the 10th tee.

“I’m really excited to play in the Open,” Richdale said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun that my first LPGA event is in Canada so my parents are going to be able to come.”

For Carafiello, it signified the completion of a three-year goal to earn the exemption to her first LPGA event. She was beaten out in her first year by a chip-in from Taya Battistella of Portland, Ore., in a playoff. This time around, Carafiello earned the sixth and final exemption despite not earning any points in the final event.

“It feels really good to achieve a goal like this,” Carafiello said. “It was great to be paired with Sam because we were both excited.”

Weather: A mix of sun and clouds with temperatures reaching 91 degrees and winds blowing southwest from 10-20 mph.

Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-214-9726, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.