Morgan makes headway in new York
Wales’ Becky Morgan had her best result of last season at the Wegmans Rochester International and the Welsh golfer again showed her liking for the Locust Hill course in New York with a two under-par 70 in today’s storm-hit first round.
The 32-year-old had back-to-back birdies at the second and third and again at the 10th and 11th before dropping shots at the 13th and 17th to stand inside the top 10 and four shots behind the leader, American Cristie Kerr.
The opening round included a suspension of well over two hours due to bad weather, but Kerr still managed to post seven birdies to lead by one from Canada’s Alena Sharp and by two from the in-form Suzann Pettersen.
Pettersen has won twice this year – including a major at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship two weeks ago – and has soared to number four in the world.
Morgan tied for seventh in this tournament last year and is in the middle of a consistent season. Her best result was joint seventh in the Michelob ULTRA Open won by Pettersen in May and she is lying 36th on the money list.
“I’ve always played well in this tournament, it just seems to a course that really suits my game,” said Morgan, from Abergavenny.
“It also means I always come her with a lot of confidence.”
It was the best opening round of the season for 26-year-old Sharp, whose best result in her third season on Tour was a joint 11th in the first tournament, the SBS Open in Hawaii.
Sharp has won on the Canadian LPGA Tour, and was a two-time Ontario amateur champion, but she is still waiting for her first top 10 on the LPGA circuit. In the first round, she had seven birdies and three bogeys.
Kerr has won nine times on Tour and has finished in the top five in the rankings for the past three years.
