Martin Catches Fire To Grab Lead In
Second Round of USI Championship

CONCORD, N.H., July 26, 2008 – Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif., set fire to Beaver Meadow Golf Course with a bogey-free round of 6-under-par 66 to secure the lead as second-round play of the USI Championship came to a close on Saturday.

With a two-day total of 137 (-7), Martin leads by two strokes over Gerina Mendoza (70) of Roswell, N.M., at 5-under-par 139 for the tournament. Eighteen-year-old rookie Carmen Bandea (72) of Atlanta is in third and three shots behind Martin with a two-day score of 140 (-4).

The second-round leaderboard shuffled as the lead was exchanged three times when afternoon play got started. Martin grabbed the lead for the first time on the ninth hole and led by as many as four shots by adding three more birdies on the back nine.

Martin earned her first professional win on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2007 at the El Paso Golf Classic and began the 2008 season with top-10 finishes in the Tour’s first two events of the year. She reeled off seven birdies in Saturday’s second round, scattering four on the front nine and three on the back nine, to set the stage for a potential second Tour victory.

“I kind of benchmarked my game when I went back to El Paso this year,” Martin said. “My game is better now because I have improved distance control and more of an arsenal. When I won last year, things kind of fell into place and I had a lot of momentum.”

Speaking of momentum, Martin was joined on the course by team “Mo-mentum”, a cheering gallery of family members that included her 96-year old grandfather, Lincon, and a cousin she hadn’t seen in 16 years. Members of her supporting cast wore buttons that read “Go Mo” and helped pick up a few fans as the day progressed.

“We started the day with seven in the fan club and then we recruited two anonymous fans along the way,” Martin said.

As Martin signed her scorecard and recorded statistics in the scoring tent, she smiled over at “Grandpa,” who was busy interviewing with the local media.

“He gets all the interviews before I do,” Martin joked. “People go straight past me and right to Grandpa. I’m used to it.”

Lincon said he plans to attend the next three events on the Duramed FUTURES Tour schedule and has a standing bet with Mo to receive a quarter for every putt she leaves short.

“I only earned one quarter today,” said a smiling Lincon. “Statistics have shown if you leave a putt short, it won’t go in.”

Martin was carrying plenty of momentum from last week’s rain-filled Alliance Bank Golf Classic. She remained in the hunt for a title through the Tour’s stop in Syracuse, N.Y., after her first-round score of 5-under-par 67, and ended up placing fourth.

“Last week, in terms of potential, I had the best round of my life,” Martin said. “I actually owed Grandpa six quarters because I left so many putts short, but I’m glad that didn’t happen today.”

Playing partner Ashley Grier of Hagerstown, Md., summarized Martin’s performance as she walked out of the scoring tent.

“She was on fire,” Grier said. “She couldn’t miss.”

Mendoza and Bandea got off to sluggish starts, both making three consecutive bogeys to begin their rounds.

Mendoza answered by making three birdies within her next four holes to get back at even par on the day and added an eagle on the 10th hole after making the turn. She finished ninth earlier this year at The Duramed Championship in Mason, Ohio, and has been knocking on the door to the top 10 on three occasions, tying for 12th in Leawood, Kan., and Hammond, Ind., and placing 11th last week in Syracuse, N.Y.

Now, she is in prime contention to make a run at her first professional win.

“It feels great and it’s a big confidence booster,” Mendoza said. “I can’t even explain how nervous I was. My head was about to explode.”

Bandea ended Friday’s first round in a four-way tie for second and she remained steady with an even-par effort in second-round play.

“I was never upset after starting with three bogeys,” Bandea said. “It was a beautiful day and I just had to come out and see what I could do.”

Seventy-nine players made the cut at 4-over-par 148.

Final-round play gets underway on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. off the first and 10th tees as a precaution against weather. The leading group of Martin, Mendoza and Bandea tee off at 9:40 a.m.

For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Sunny Oh Soars Up Leaderboard With Low Morning Round

Duramed FUTURES Tour winner Sunny Oh of Manhattan Beach, Calif., made the move of the day with a bogey-free round of 5-under-par 67. She equaled the score posted by first-round leader Briana Vega of Andover, Md., and moved up to a tie for seventh after beginning the day tied for 82nd.

“I was more confident with my short game today,” Oh said. “Yesterday, I was missing a lot of really short putts. I made two long putts from about 30 feet today and I had a couple more chances, but I missed them short.”

Oh posted five birdies throughout her round, sinking a six-foot birdie putt on her final hole. She found trouble off the 18th tee, taking relief from the cart path, but blasted out of the rough and dropped her ball six feet from the hole.

Today, Oh improved her score on the front nine from Friday’s first round by six strokes, making the turn at 3-under par.

“My putting was pretty good today,” Oh said. “I didn’t hit great shots, but I made some really long putts. I was more focused on putting distance.”

It has been a year of firsts for the fifth-year Tour pro, including her first professional win to begin the season at the Bright House Networks Open in Lakeland, Fla., and her first entry into an LPGA event, playing in the U.S. Women’s Open Championship in Edina, Minn.

Four players who began the day tied with Oh at 82nd in Carling Coffing of Middletown, Ohio, Angela Oh of Maple Shade, N.J., Meghan Little of Sturgis, S.D., and Manuela Tarazona of Buenos Aires, Argentina, carded 2-under-par 70s as they climbed up to 34th.

Local Favorite Libby Smith at Ease Playing Close to Home

It feels close enough to home for Libby Smith (74) of Essex Junction, Vt., who lives just two and a half hours away from this weekend’s Tour stop in Concord at the USI Championship. Smith’s family drove down to New Hampshire prior to tournament play and has been on hand to watch her compete this weekend. 

Smith finished Friday’s first round tied for 12th at 2-under par with four other players and made it through her second round with a 2-over-par 74. After four pars to start the day, Smith made birdie on her fifth hole to climb into a pack that was tied for second. She remains at even par in the tournament and is tied for 24th.

Smith earned LPGA Tour status in 2006 after a collegiate career at the University of Vermont, where she was a two-sport star for the Catamounts in basketball and golf. She served as a captain on the men’s team and is the only female player to hold down a roster spot on a men’s squad in a NCAA Division I program.

Weather: Mostly sunny with a high temperature of 86 degrees and light winds blowing from the south at 5-10 mph.

Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-214-9726, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.