Four share first-round lead at Circling Raven Championship
Aug. 27—The opening round of the Circling Raven Championship produced low scores and a crowded leaderboard.
Alisa Rodriguez, Pavarisa Yoktuan, Polly Mack and Ana Paula Valdes share the top spot in the Epson Tour event after shooting 7-under-par 65s Friday. Twenty-nine players are within three shots of the lead in the 54-hole event at Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley.
Allie White, Hira Naveed and Gabriela Ruffels trail the leaders by one shot. Hyo Joon Jang, Alexa Pano, Grace Kim, Kayleigh Telfer, Kum-Kang Park and Milagros Chaves opened with 67s. Fifteen players shot 68 and 72 posted under-par scores in the 131-player field.
Former Idaho Vandals standout Sophie Hausmann opened with a 3-under 69. She birdied three par-5s and the par-4 17th after a bogey on No. 16 (the nines are flipped for the tournament).
Rodriguez, who played at UTEP, and Thailand's Yoktuan both had bogey-free scorecards with seven birdies. Rodriguez birdied two par-5s, two par-3s and three par-4s. Yoktuan was even through four before draining seven birdies over the final 14 holes.
Mack, a native of Germany, birdied six holes on the back side after making the turn at 2 under. Valdes, a former Clemson standout who grew up in Mexico, reached 8 under with a birdie on No. 15. She made consecutive bogeys before closing with a birdie on No. 18.
Rodriguez has made just two cuts in nine starts this season. Friday's round was her lowest score of the season by five strokes. Mack, who played at UNLV and Alabama, finished tied for 12th and solo third in the last two Epson events in Indiana.
Yoktuan finished second in June at Ann Arbor's Road to the LPGA Powered by the A2 Commission. She has extensive LPGA Tour experience and recently finished tied for 15th at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Valdes has four top-30 finishes this season.
