ROGERS — Veronica Felibert came prepared to play her way into the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship through the Monday qualifier.
Felibert didn’t have to qualify as she got into the tournament as the second alternate, but she certainly didn’t play like a last-minute entry in the first round. Felibert shot a 6-under-par 65 to take a one shot lead over Shanshan Feng, the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, Friday at heat-scorched Pinnacle Country Club.
Former Arkansas standout Stacy Lewis was five shots back after a first-round 70. Stacy Prammanasudh (Conway) shot even-par 71 and former Arkansas State golfer Karen Stupples shot 3-over 74.
Two-time defending champion Yani Tseng, the top-ranked player and money leader, shot a 2-over 73. Arkansas sophomore Emily Tubert, playing on a sponsor’s exemption as an amateur, shot 74.
Felibert, who turns 27 today, finds herself in unfamiliar position on the LPGA Tour. She turned professional in 2009 but didn’t reach the LPGA until this year and has made just $2,489 in four events as a rookie.
“I’m enjoying it,” said Felibert, a native of Caracas, Venezuela. “It’s like a dream to be on top all the time, so it’s my rookie season, I was trying to just play the best I could and that’s what I’m doing. As long as I’m enjoying it, I’ll be happy.”
Felibert started her round on the back nine and made birdies on 11 and 12. A bogey on No. 13 dropped her to 1 under but she made the turn at 3 under after birdies on 15 and 16.
Three more birdies on the front nine gave her the lead in the clubhouse after her early-morning start. Felibert was accurate all day, hitting 12 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.
“I think I was hitting the ball pretty good,” said Felibert, who won twice in college at Southern California. “I remember missing one green, just chipping and just hitting fairways and greens.”
Feng had a chance to end the first day as the co-leader or better, but struggled in the 100-plus-degree afternoon heat on the back nine. Feng got to 6 under twice on her round but made bogeys on 15 and 18.
Her bogey on par-5 18th might have been heat-induced. She was pin high on the fringe in two but a poor chip and a three-putt resulted in a bogey.
“It was so hot, it became so hot I was like baked,” said Feng, who became the first Chinese woman to win on the tour when she won the LPGA Championship. “I made a couple of mistakes ... including the bogey [on 18]. That wasn’t a very good finish, but it’s still OK. I made eight birdies, I am still confident.”
Lewis drew the largest crowd but never really got going. She made a bogey on the second hole and made the turn at 1 under but, after a birdie on 11, made bogey on 16.
“I really didn’t hit the ball very well and I didn’t putt the ball as well as I would have liked,” Lewis said. “I did make a couple of good up-and downs, so that’s one good thing. There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement.”
Inbee Park, Karine Icher and Mi Jung Hur were two shots behind Felibert after opening with 4-under 67s. Park, who finished fourth in 2010, made six birdies on the front nine, including four in a row.
“I think I hit the ball almost perfect,” said Park, ranked No. 25 in the world rankings. “I had a great front nine, but the back nine wasn’t the best back nine. But I’m satisfied with the way I played and the way my game is right now.”
Hur, who, like Park, is from South Korea, overcame a rough front nine that saw her make double bogey on the third hole and finish with a bogey on the ninth. Hur is coming off a ninth-place finish last week, her only top-10 finish this year.
She is No. 152 in the world rankings.
“I have a lot of confidence right now,” Hur said. “What I’m thinking is when you practice hard, it’s definitely going to pay off. It made me [have] a lot of confidence when we play better and better, so the key is a lot of top-10 players have 100 percent of the confidence every time.”
Leaderboard At Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers Purse: $2 million Par 71, 6,356 yards First of three rounds Veronica Felibert .............. 33-32-65 Shanshan Feng ................ 33-33-66 Mi Jung Hur ..................... 34-33-67 Karine Icher ...................... 34-33-67 Inbee Park ........................ 31-36-67 Ai Miyazato ....................... 35-33-68 Anna Nordqvist ................ 35-33-68 Ryann O’Toole .................. 35-33-68 Beth Bader ........................ 35-34-69 Laura Diaz ........................ 34-35-69 Katie Futcher .................... 34-35-69 Jessica Korda ................... 35-34-69 Catriona Matthew ............. 36-33-69 Azahara Munoz ................ 34-35-69 Angela Oh ......................... 34-35-69 Ji Young Oh ..................... 33-36-69 Yuki Sakurai ..................... 34-35-69 Jenny Shin ....................... 34-35-69 Arkansans Stacy Lewis ...................... 35-35-70 Stacy Prammanasudh ..... 36-35-71 a-Emily Tubert .................. 39-35-74 Karen Stupples ................. 38-37-75
Sports, Pages 22 on 06/30/2012