To friends, family and Instagram followers, Lindsey McCurdy is known as Birdie McCurdy (@birdie_mccurdy), and she lived up to that nickname during the opening round of the Four Winds Invitational. The Texas native shot an impressive, bogey-free 8-under, 64 to take the solo lead early in the day and held it until play concluded.

Her scorecard, which saw six birdies and an eagle on No. 7, was a long time coming for the Epson Tour veteran who has been recently battling the mental side of the game, knowing she can go lower than she has been. With only five events remaining on the Epson Tour schedule, McCurdy knows it's time to turn it up. The 29-year-old plans on being aggressive throughout the end of the season and says that today was a good start to that approach.

"I feel like I've been working through a lot of mental blocks right now," said McCurdy. "Not that my game's been bad; it's just not really where I want to be. So today, I felt like I finally got to where I wanted to be."

Like many other athletes, McCurdy has experienced the ups and downs of the game and even almost saw her career end earlier than expected. After being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2021, she teed it up in the Epson Tour Championship, thinking it would be her last competitive golf tournament. Back then, McCurdy would have been in disbelief that she'd be where she is now, in contention three years later. Her resilience, hard work, and dedication have not gone unnoticed, with the Southern Methodist University alum being rewarded on and off the golf course. She was named the 2022 Heather Wilbur Spirit Award recipient by her peers, honored for her dedication, courage, perseverance, and love of the game.

"I didn't know how much longer I was going to be playing, and then to be here and in this position, it feels really good," said McCurdy. "So I'm really happy that I'm not just hoping to play in the Tour Championship or hoping that it's not my last tournament. I feel like I'm in a completely different position, which is really nice."

Just one shot behind McCurdy, at 7-under, is Arkansas native Brooke Matthews. Like McCurdy, Matthews also went bogey-free, carding five birdies and an eagle. The 26-year-old has found herself near the top of the leaderboard multiple times in 2024, earning four top-10 finishes. The University of Arkansas alum currently sits in 10th in the Race for the Card rankings and could find herself closer to an LPGA Tour card with a top finish late in the season. The potential LPGA Tour qualification adds an extra layer of excitement to the tournament.

"There's still a lot of golf left to play this week and the rest of the season, but it's always good to shoot low," said Matthews. "I think it tied my lowest round of the year, so it feels good to know I'm staying in the right direction."

McCurdy is off South Bend Country Club's No. 1 at 1:56 p.m. local time on Saturday, and Matthews is off the 10th at 8:33 a.m. With just one shot separating the duo, the tournament is anyone's to win, making for an interesting moving day.

McCurdy Takes Lead with Impressive Opening Round in South Bend

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