Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic: First Round

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Mother Nature leveled the playing field in the first round of the Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at the Ocean Club Golf Course with consistent winds throughout the day often exceeding 30 mph.

Of the 108-player field, only 17 shot under par. Epson Tour alumna Brooke Henderson looks down on the rest of the competition following her bogey-free performance of 5-under par 68.

Meanwhile, the 2017 Epson Tour graduating class shot a combined 22-over par on day one. All 10 graduates are in the field this week for the first LPGA Tour event of 2018 and seven are rookies. Lindsey Weaver (Bellefontaine, Ohio) fired the lowest round of the group with a 3-under par 70.

“I was able to make some putts and just stay out of trouble. The wind was brutal the entire day so it was mostly about playing smart,” said Weaver, one of the aforementioned rookies. “This whole week has been an amazing experience so far. It’s just so cool to finally be out here and take it all in.”

After round one, Weaver is tied for fourth with five others including the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Shanshan Feng (Guangzhou, China), as well as the first LPGA member from Puerto Rico, Maria Torres (San Juan, Puerto Rico).

You may remember Torres from the 2017 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. She earned the last of 20 full-time Tour cards for 2018 by winning a three-hole aggregate stroke-play playoff. With that experience in her back pocket, making her first LPGA start was a piece of cake.

“I felt good teeing it up on the first tee,” Torres said. “I am so excited for this season and looking forward to learning and improving.”

A pair of rookies in Emma Talley (Princeton, Kentucky) and Hannah Green (Perth, Australia) went 1-over par on the afternoon. Talley mentioned she wasn’t as nervous as one might think.

“Not many nerves at all, actually,” said Talley. “Everyone has been really nice and I felt really good today.”

Play was suspended at 5:59 p.m. EST due to darkness with two of the 2017 graduates yet to finish their first round. The No. 1 player in last year’s Race for the Card, Benyapa Niphatsophon (Bangkok, Thailand) sits at 2-over par, while rookie Katelyn Dambaugh (North Charleston, S.C.) is at 5-over par. Each is through 16 holes.

Other scores from the 2017 class include rookies Yu Liu (Beijing, China) and Erynne Lee (Silverdale, Washington) at even par, rookie Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark) shooting 2-over, Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec, Canada) battling to 5-over, and Celine Boutier (Montrouge, France) struggling to 9-over par.

2017 Epson Tour graduates get first taste of LPGA competition in 2018

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