Park takes early lead at LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, Kuehne two back
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2007 – LPGA Tour rookie Jane Park (33-32) carded a field-low, 7-under-par 65 in the first round of the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament on Wednesday at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., and holds a two-stroke lead over 10-year Tour veteran Kelli Kuehne (32-35).
The 90-hole tournament is staged at LPGA International, where 137 players will play the Champions and Legends courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. After Sunday's final round, the top-17 finishers will earn exempt status for the 2008 Tour season, while the next 35 will earn conditional status.
Park, who earned non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour at the 2006 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, played in 11 events this season and her best finish was a tie for 17th at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite in May. On Wednesday, she took her first step toward retaining her Tour card on her very first hole – the 10th of the Legends Course – where she used her 9-iron from 128 yards for an eagle, marking the lone eagle of the day. She followed with a birdie on the 12th hole to drop to 3-under, but then lit up the front nine with five birdies, including three straight on holes two, three and four. Park's lone bogey came on the par-5, 487-yard eighth hole.
“I have really been working on just keeping the ball in the fairway. I am hitting the ball very well right now and so I was very fortunate to make the putts that were makeable today. Putting on Bermuda greens is really tough because I come from Southern California and the grass there is bent,” Park said. “I just don't want to get ahead of myself. I'm going to put my round today in the past. Tomorrow is a whole new day and everyone is playing on the same golf courses. I'm just going to go out there and try to do my best like I did today.”
Kuehne began her first round on the 10th tee of the Champions Course and rattled off consecutive birdies on her first three holes. With her fourth birdie on the 17th hole, Kuehne made the turn at 4-under before carding her final birdie on the first hole en route to a bogey-free round.
“I got off to a good start and had a lot of chances today, the course was nice to me. But I have to keep in mind that this is a five-day event, and come out again tomorrow and hit fairways and greens and make my putts. I'm here with the mindset that I already have status, so that puts less pressure on me. I know that I have a place to play,” Kuehne said. “I'll just play my best, accept my fate, and hopefully get through to the end.”
Rounding out the top-three on the leaderboard with a 4-under-par 68 is South Korean Na Yeon Choi (35-33), who also played on the Champions Course. Choi began her round on the back nine, where she notched a single birdie on the 17th hole. After bogeying the third hole, her 12th hole of the day, Choi rebounded with a birdie on the very next hole, and then carded three straight on holes six, seven and eight.
“I played good today. The course was wide, and that suits my game. Tomorrow's course, Legends, is more narrow and I have to concentrate and focus,” Choi said.
Two LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Venice, Fla., were held to help determine the field for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The top-30 finishers and ties from each sectional—31 from Rancho Mirage; 34 from Venice—advanced to the final stage and join 62 current LPGA Tour members who are trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2008. The field is completed by the eligible players who finished sixth through 15th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list.
Consistent with the LPGA's history of showcasing the very best players from around the world, the 137-player field features 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States. South Korea is represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Australia (10), Sweden (5) Canada (4) and Thailand (4). Remaining countries represented include England (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2); and one player represents each of the following countries: Argentina; China; France; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Paraguay; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; and Venezuela.