Lewis awaits historic LPGA victory
IN: News | LPGA | LPGA NW Arkansas Championship (2007) | Round One | by Bruce Young | 09 Sep 2007
When Stacy Lewis finished her opening round of 7 under par 65 on Saturday at the LPGA’s NW Arkansas Championship, little did she know that she had produced a round of golf that might well see her join the record books on the LPGA Tour.
Not since 1969, when JoAnne Carner won the Burdines Invitational, has an amateur won an LPGA event but unless something rather extraordinary happens when the field returns to complete the one and only round of this week’s event, Lewis will win the event.
A decision made by the tournament organisers, after the Pinnacle Golf Club’s course in Rogers Arkansas had received a pounding from rainstorms, means the event has been reduced to just 18 holes and so Lewis, who finished her round on Saturday, is now forced to wait while 32 players finish their rounds early on Sunday morning.
The only player who appears capable of chasing down Lewis’ lead is the Korean Jin Young Pak who has four holes to play and is two behind the leader. One of those holes remaining is a par five so it is conceivable she might do it, but at this stage the odds are strongly in Lewis’ favour.
Lewis was only able to play six holes of her first round of Friday after rain had delayed the start of round one of the 54 hole event. She birdied four of her first five holes but when darkness eventually brought play to a halt for the day she had a long wait to continue. When she returned on Saturday she added three more birdies without dropping a shot.
Lewis, who plays collegiate golf in Arkansas and is the reigning NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Champion, has already played in four LPGA Tour events this season, missing the cut only once so she is quite a talent.
At 6 under and one behind Lewis and finished their rounds are Australian, Katherine Hull, Taiwan’s Teresa Lu and American rookie, Kristy McPherson. Hull birdied three of her last four holes to finish in a share of second place and having missed three of her last four cuts the fact that the event has been reduced by poor weather might well work in her favour.
