Green-Roebuck leads by 1 shot at Women's Open

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Suzy Green-Roebuck was one of just two players to break par in the opening round. Special to the Record-Eagle/Tim Hygh

July 13, 2010

She's only 2 under par

By MIKE ECKERT meckert@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Tue Jul 13, 2010, 07:30 AM EDT

THOMPSONVILLE — Red numbers were few and far between Monday at the first round of the Michigan PGA Women's Open at Crystal Mountain Resort.

Only two players broke par on the day, as Suzy Green-Roebuck shot a 2-under 70 to hold the first-round lead.

"It was ugly, but it was 70," Green-Roebuck said. "I had to grind, but I think I found something out at the end."

Green-Roebuck, who lives in Ann Arbor, was the first champion in 1994 and is joined by only Elaine Crosby as multiple winners for the Women's Open.

"I play against myself," Green-Roebuck said. "Sure, who wouldn't want to win the tournament, but I want to play well."

Green-Roebuck has been fighting through back problems and said she "hit a lot of thin shots."

Those thin shots went away at the end of the round, though. She hit a good tee shot on the par-3 17th before sirens sounded for a weather delay that lasted nearly two hours. Green-Roebuck came back from the delay with a par on 17 and a birdie on the par-5 18th to take the lead.

"I had three solid shots and a good putt," Green-Roebuck said. "It was something good to build on for tomorrow."

Lisa Strom continued her strong play of late with a 1-under 71. The 2007 champ has made the cut at the last three LPGA tournaments she's played in.

"My round went pretty well," Strom said. "I had a little bit of a slow start, but I made a couple of putts before the turn and had a solid back nine."

Strom had holed out on 16 when the delay hit, so she had extra time to prepare for her shot on 17, where she birdied to get to 1-under.

"I was surprised they let us warm up again," she said. "I hit a few 8-irons knowing that would be the club I'd probably need. It flew it a little bit, but I rolled a 25-30 footer."

After a par on 18, Strom joined Green-Roebuck as the only players under par.

"The greens were a little bumpy," Strom said. "It's just a matter of giving yourself good looks. You're only going to roll a 30-footer maybe once a week. It's the 6-8 footers. That's where you want to be to be aggressive."

At even par were Crosby, Jennifer Hong, Brittany Johnston and Laura Kueny. Six other players finished three back of Green-Roebuck at 1-over.

Kueny, a Michigan State alum who recently turned pro, is the only player in the field that played in the U.S. Women's Open over the weekend after she missed the cut at Oakmont in Pennsylvania.

"I was striking the ball well and my putting stroke was pretty good," Kueny said. "(The greens) were a lot flatter than Oakmont and slower too."

Kueny drove from Oakmont to northern Michigan, but said she slept during the car ride.

"There's two days left, it's anyone's ballgame," she said. "Being at the U.S. Open taught me a lot. Patience. You have to play what the course gives you."

Locally, Bellaire's Erica Bieniek had the best finish with a 6-over 78. She was near the top of the leaderboard after a birdie on the par-4 15th, but had double-bogeys on 16 and 18 to close out her round tied for 37th.

Traverse City native Natalie Matuszak started her tournament with a bang early Monday with a birdie on the first hole. The TC Central alum and current St. Mary's College standout ended with an 80 for a tie for 49th.

TC West grad Gaby Muller — who is playing at Michigan State this fall — shot 81 for the day and is tied for 59th.

The three-day event concludes on Wednesday. The field of 75 includes players from 14 states and Canada competing for a $40,000 purse.