Lauren Walsh has plenty of work to do if she is to punch her ticket to the LPGA Tour next season after a slow start to the final stage of q-series.
With 25 cards available, Walsh sits in a share of 87th place on three-over which is eleven shots off the lead and five off a place in the top-25.
Leah John led the way in round one of Final Qualifying after an impressive 8-under 64. The cold and wet conditions were nothing new for the Canadian, with the weather reminding her of home.
“I was telling my coaches that today is a beautiful day back at home in Vancouver. A familiar condition to be out in,” said John with a smile. “You have to club up a lot, be really patient, but it’s nice. The greens are sticky. Long-ball hitters get an advantage out here, but I think, this type of weather, the ones who are present can really make the most out of it.“
John took on the Crossings Course first and got off to a quick start. Three birdies in her first five holes put her on the right track before she made her only mistake of the day with a three-putt bogey on the par-4 15th hole. She bounced back immediately with a birdie on 15 and made the turn to the front nine at 3-under for the round.
John then put together one of the best nines of the day, posting a 5-under 31 after carding three consecutive birdies on holes one, two and three and back-to-back birdies on eight and nine to close out her round.
Helen Briem is right behind John, posting a bogey-free 7-under 65 on the Crossings Course. The German is coming off an impressive stint on the Ladies European Tour (LET), finishing No. 9 in the LET Order of Merit, a season-long performance that earned her a spot in the field at Final Qualifying.
Her first round was highlighted by a flurry of six birdies that came during the middle of her round on holes four to 13 before Briem ended her day with a birdie on the difficult par-4 18th hole.
“I hit 17 greens in regulation, so I had many birdie opportunities,” said Briem. “Stuck a couple of shots very close and yeah. Putter was not too bad today.”
Mohan Du posted a 6-under 66 to open the tournament. Like Briem, Du got around the Crossings Course bogey-free, carding 33s on both nines. Yuna Nishimura, Jing Yan and Dongeun Lee are tied for fourth at 5-under and sit both three shots back of leader John and three shots inside the cut line to earn their cards at 2-under.
At the conclusion of 72 holes, the field will be cut to the top 65 and ties for the final round, which will be contested on the Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove – RTJ Golf Trail.
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