Thothong Tied for the Lead After Round One
HOUSTON—Round one of the Women’s Stroke Play Championship began June 24 at Pine Forest Country Club with familiar faces on top of the leaderboard.
Pre-tournament favorite, Megan Thothong of Dallas, shot a 2-under 70 and is tied for the lead with Katharine Patrick of West University Place and Allie Anderson of The Woodlands.
Thothong, who plays for the University of Houston, began her round with an eagle on the first hole. The par-5 first was playing about 480 yards with no wind when Thothong teed off. Thothong said she hit a nice drive followed by a nice approach which left her with a tricky putt for eagle.
“I had about a 12-foot putt down the hill so I made that for eagle,” Thothong said. “That was probably a really big part of my round today and that kind of helped push me forward in trying to keep that momentum and pace going.”
Tied with Thothong at 2-under is Patrick who plays for the University of Virginia. The key to Patrick’s round came down to her short game.
“My putting was really good. I felt really confident over putts and just felt like I was going to make it every time I was over the ball,” Patrick said.
Patrick’s sentiments seemed to be the exception rather than rule as many of the players said that the greens were fast and difficult to read. Thothong was one of them.
“The greens were a lot faster than in the practice round so they were pretty tough. A lot of little breaks here and there around the holes,” Thothong said.
The greens were not the only challenge out on the course today. Pine Forest’s fairways are also lined with trees on both sides allowing little room for error on tee shots. At the end of the first round there were only six players out of a field of 66 that finished under par. Round two begins at 8 a.m. on June 25.
The Women’s Stroke Play Championship marks the third Women’s TGA tournament of the 2016 season and the third tournament celebrating 100 years of the founding of the Women’s Texas Golf Association. The Breaking 100 campaign highlights this important milestone. The program includes a several fundraising campaigns including the “100 Holes of Women’s Competition”. Players have the opportunity to raise funds for the TGA Foundation’s Women’s Initiatives by pledging to play 100 holes of competitive golf in 2016.
One player is competing in this week’s tournament. Karen Northcutt completed the first 18 holes of her pledge today. Northcutt shot an 11-over 83 and is tied for 42nd.
If you would like to contribute to the Breaking 100 campaign you can do so by visiting TexasBreaking100.org. You can also follow the WTGA on Instagram and Twitter (@WTGA1916) to keep up-to-date with the celebrations.
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