The 23-year-old Dane shot a 6-under par 66 to hold a 1-shot lead over Australia’s Hannah Green.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nanna Koerstz Madsen’s (Copenhagen, Denmark) brilliance showed up once again on Thursday in round one of the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic. The two-time winner carded a 6-under, 66 to set the pace in her quest for a third win and a “Battlefield Promotion” to the LPGA Tour this year. Hannah Green (Perth, Australia), who has a win and six top 10’s, is one shot off the lead at 5-under, 67.
Play was suspended for the night due to darkness at 8:24 p.m. and only the morning groups finished 18 holes. There are 24 groups and 72 players that will complete round one on Friday. The first-round will resume at 7:30 am and round two will begin at 8:45 am.
The 23-year-old started on the back nine with birdies on two of her first three holes and made the turn at 5-under after birdies on 15, 16 and 17.
“I was hitting pretty much all the fairways,” said Koerstz Madsen, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and attempted 28 putts. “My approach shots were good and I made a couple of putts.”
Koerstz Madsen was 15 holes into the day when lightning and heavy rain forced Tour officials to blow the horns and evacuate the course at 12:28 p.m. Play did not resume until 4:26 p.m.
“It was a long wait,” said Koerstz Madsen. “You just want to finish when you have two and a half holes left so it was tough to just sit in there (clubhouse), but nobody is in charge of the weather.”
She occupied time during the delay by spending time with her host mom and eating lunch.
Koerstz Madsen made birdie on the first hole after the three hour and 58 minute delay. She made par on hole eight and then an unfortunate bogey on her last.
“I wasn’t really in the zone after the delay, but I made a birdie when I got out there,” said the 2016 Olympian. “I hit a really good shot on eight, but it had too much backspin on it and then made a bad bogey on nine, but it was still a really good round.”
Koerstz Madsen, who ranks second on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, also has a chance to make the European Solheim Cup team as a captain’s pick (Annika Sorenstam is the captain for Team Europe).
“I really want to be there (Solheim Cup),” said Koerstz Madsen. “I didn’t play well at the U.S. Women’s Open when I had to play good, but the U.S. Women’s Open is a hard course and I wasn’t used to it. I don’t know what is going to happen, we will see what Annika decides. Winning is not a bad thing, if I could win this week that might be a good thing.”
Koerstz Madsen won the Symetra Classic and the Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY. She has six total top 10
finishes including back-to-back top five results in the last two starts. A third win this week would give her Category 13 status on the 2017 LPGA Tour priority list.
“This is a new tournament and I just want to win it as much as last week or any other week,” said Koerstz Madsen. “I’m just going in with the mindset of playing as well as I can and seeing what happens of Sunday.”
TEARE GETS ENGAGED AND THEN POSTS LOW ROUND OF CAREER: Kassidy Teare (Vista, Calif.) didn’t mind the nearly four hour weather delay. Player after player came up to her to get an up close look at the new diamond on her left ring finger. Teare got engaged to her longtime now-fiancé, Tyler, during the off week back home in Carlsbad.
“I’m still in shock,” said Teare about getting engaged. “It’s secretly super stressful, but I feel really relaxed this week. I’m just happy and there is just really good stuff happening for me right now.”
Tyler asked Kassidy to marry him on a “secret cliff” that over looks the ocean. It was a dream setting for Teare and she is just over-the-moon this week.
“It was great, Tyler did a good job,” said Teare. “I thought it would be harder to leave home because I get homesick, but it’s a relief. I know he’s in it and so am I. He is good with me being away for seven weeks at a time. He’s great. I have the best support.”
Not surprisingly, Teare threw up the lowest round of her professional career on Thursday. It was her second round in the 60’s this season.
“I feel like I was stuck at 71 or 72 forever,” said Teare, who played college golf at Long Beach State. “I wasn’t sure if it was ever going to end, but it feels good to think that I put a full day together today at 68. I got a little lucky with my tee time today and I’m happy about that. The course looked good to me, and it looked pretty open. Putts were just dropping. It’s funny when it feels really easy and you are done with a 68.”
Heading into the off week, Teare recorded her first top 10 finish at the Donald Ross Centennial Classic in French Lick (T8). She jumped up to 60th on the money list and feels she is in position to give the top 10 a run by seasons end.
“I feel like my game has been waiting for a solid tournament,” said Teare. “I’ve been having little blimps or just having good rounds every once in awhile. I’m ready to feel like I’m putting tournaments together. The last tournament I felt like I finally put one together and I was like ‘OK I have a little momentum’. I moved up a lot two weeks ago and I was shocked so I mean that just shows that everything is still moving so much. I don’t see any reason why I would not be able to put in six good weeks all in a row and see what happens.”
HOECKER SAYS DOWNEY WAS ‘WATCHING OVER HER’: Local favorite Jenna Hoecker, whose dad Jon is the longtime head pro at Brook-Lea Country Club, posted a solid 3-over, 75 on Thursday. She made a clutch par save on hole 18 that produced the loudest roar of the day.
“It was very exciting, very different, I haven’t played this big of a tournament probably ever,” said Hoecker, who turned 25 on Tuesday. “It was just a lot of fun.”
After finishing her warm up, Hoecker had a chance to spend a second with Mike Downey, the father of the late Danielle Downey.
“(That first tee shot) was tough,” said Hoecker. “Mr. Downey came up to me and talked about Danielle and it was tough. I know I was playing for her and that she was watching over me.”
ROOKIE CLOOTS, WHO SPEAKS FIVE LANGUAGES, POSTS A 69: Leslie Cloots (Antwerp, Belgium) made four birdies and just one bogey to post her lowest round since turning professional on Thursday at the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic. She is 3-under, 69 and in a tie for fifth as of midday on Thursday.
She was in the first group out and was eating lunch as play was suspended at 12:28 p.m.
“I was actually on the range this morning and wasn’t doing great,” said Cloots. “But I started out well with a great drive on the first hole and made a birdie on the third so it was really solid golf today. I hit 15 greens so I am really pleased with that. My putting was going well too. I’ve been struggling for the last couple weeks, so it’s nice to see this result.”
Cloots, who tied for fifth at the ACC Championships in 2016 while at North Carolina, has missed the cut in each of her six starts and has written candidly on her personal blog about the transition from college golf to professional golf. In a recent blog post, which can be found at http://lesliecloots.com, she reflected on three things she has learned in her first month.
“I have been struggling since I came out here,” said Cloots. “This is my job now so it is especially tough when you are not playing well, I want to be proud of my work.”
Cloots may have received a jolt of good fortune from her father, Ronny, who flew in from Belgium on Wednesday to caddy for her this weekend in Rochester.
“I’m playing back to how I know I can play,” said Cloots. “It was really relaxing with my dad. It was really cool to have him here. It was his first professional event he has been to. He’s a laid back guy and always has my back.”
The father-daughter duo also has plans to visit Niagara Falls after the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic.
One of Cloots’ friends is fellow Belgium golfer Laura Gonzalez Escallon, who graduated from the Symetra Tour to the LPGA in 2016. Gonzalez Escallon is having a strong first season on the LPGA. She has two top 10 finishes and ranks a very respectable 54th on the money list.
Cloots recently went to reconnect with her old friend at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. They had lunch and Laura even gave Leslie a tour.
“I can call her anytime and she’s definitely in my inner circle,” said Cloots. “I’ve known her for a very long time. I played two years with her on the national team. She is definitely a great person to lean on. I really respect her for the stuff she has done because she has been out here (in the United States) alone.”
Cloots, who is half Chinese, speaks five different languages. Her native tongue is Flemish (Dutch) and she also speaks French, English, some German and Chinese. She was a Chinese minor in college at North
Carolina.
OF NOTE
• Erynne Lee, who won the last tournament in French Lick, Indiana, posted a 4-under, 68 on Thursday. The last player to win consecutive events was Jackie Stoelting in 2015.
• Katelyn Sepmoree birdied five of her eight holes and carded a 4-under, 68. She has seven career top 10 finishes on the Symetra Tour including one this season.
• A total of 28 players from the morning wave finished under-par.