The Golf Today
sponsored LPGA rookie Karen Stupples and Tina Barrett, whose only win came in
1989, shot 8-under-par 64s Saturday and shared the first-round lead at the State
Farm Rail Classic.
Stupples, a 26-year-old from Kent,England who played at Florida State, has won
just $9,375 this year and getting off to a quick start in this 54-hole event could
help her meet a goal of avoiding Q-school. She shot a bogey free round for her
lowest 18 hole score ever.
"For
me, every putt counts," said Stupples, an accomplished amateur golfer who represented
Great Britain in the 1996 and 1998 Curtis Cups.
"At
this late stage of the season, I'll probably only get into one more event. I need
to play my way into the top 125 on the money list to make qualifying school less
of an issue than it is right now," said Stupples, currently ranked 171st.
Stupples, a non-exempt rookie
on the LPGA Tour has participated in only 10 tournaments this season, usually
through Monday qualifying, and has made five cuts. Her fiancee, David Stoddart,
is her caddy and the pair hope to get married in January.
Stupples
started on the back nine and recorded four birdies before making the turn. She
ran off a string of birdies on holes four, five and six then added another on
the eighth. Stupples' previous low score on the LPGA was a 68, recorded during
the first round of the Jamie Farr Kroger
Classic. She finished that event with rounds of 74-73-74 to tie for 69th. "Tomorrow, I'll
start all over again. I want to try to think like today didn't happen—start
with a clean slate. But I'm extremely happy with my round today. I feel very at
home here."
Barrett
rode a hot putter to 10 birdies in her round on the 6,403-yard The Rail Golf Course
and she managed the 64 despite a double bogey on the par-4, 378-yard third hole.
"This ties my career low
that I shot this year in St. Louis," Barrett said. "Ten birdies is more than half
the holes, so that's not bad."
Tied for third at 65 were Janice Moodie and Lisa Hackney, both from England.
"It's good to see her do
well," Moodie said of Stupples with whom she played on the English amateur circuit
prior to turning pro.
"Being
so far from home, it's nice to have them around," Stupples said.
At 66 were 1996 Rail champion Michelle McGann, Shelley Hamlin and Mi Hyun Kim.
Local favourite Mary Beth
Zimmerman, a native of nearby Hillsboro, rolled in a birdie putt on her final
hole to finish in a group of 12 at 67.
Dottie Pepper, who won last week's LPGA event in Ohio, was in the group at 67.
Juli Inkster, a four-time
winner on tour this year, had a 68. Making her first appearance at the Rail since
she was a rookie in 1983, Inkster needs one win to qualify for the LPGA Hall of
Fame.
Pearl Sinn,
last year's Rail winner, had a 69.
Heralded phenom Grace Park finished with a 76. Though disappointed, the NCAA champion
termed her first professional tournament an "experience builder" for next year,
when she will be an official LPGA rookie.
"I
wasn't pushing myself to play well," said Park, who was playing on a sponsor's
exemption. "I felt like I didn't have a goal."
The tournament concludes on Labour Day and first prize is $116,250.
