Tiffany Joh Takes Lead At Duramed FUTURES Qualifying

WINTER HAVEN, Fla., Nov. 3, 2009 - Tiffany Joh was hard-pressed to recall the details of four consecutive birdies in today's second round of the Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament. She knew they were all under 10 feet. And she knew all four of her birdies came on the front nine holes at Ridgewood Lakes Golf & Country Club, where she carded a 3-under-par score of 69 to take a two-shot lead at 136 (-8).

"I just don't remember a lot about my round, but I guess that's kind of the mindset you have to have," said Joh, 22, of San Diego, who held a share of the first-round lead and moved into sole possession of the lead today after two rounds in the Tour's 11th annual qualifier. "If you play well, you don't even know you're doing it."

Joh did remember having a small meltdown after she bogeyed the par-four 14^th hole, which was her fifth hole today, when she "totally chunked a lob wedge from the middle of the fairway," and then flubbed her next chip shot.

"It was my first really, really stupid shot and I got a little [miffed]," said Joh, a former All-American at UCLA and two-time winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. "After that, I remembered making a lot of testy putts – really iffy putts – and I wondered, 'Am I going to shoot 80 today?'"

Joh admits her mind wandered to her older brother Chris, 28, who was watching her play competitive golf for the first time. Not a golfer, she worried that he might walk where he shouldn't be on the golf course or even that he was bored out of his mind.

"I think I saw him playing Sudoku," she said.

But what Chris Joh saw was his little sister playing the kind of golf that has helped her excel as an amateur, and now, as a rookie professional extending her lead as the 90-hole qualifier wears on.

Two strokes back at 138 (-6) is the trio of amateur Laura Kueny (70) of Whitehall, Mich., Danielle Mills (71) of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, and Amanda Costner (69) of Claremore, Okla. Kueny and Mills both played today's second round at The Golf Club at Bridgewater in Lakeland, Fla., while Costner played at Ridgewood Lakes Golf & Country Club in Davenport, Fla. Four courses are being used in this week's qualifier.

Kueny, 21, birdied her first hole for the second consecutive day and slammed home a 30-foot eagle putt on the 18^th hole today as she made the turn after playing the back nine holes first at Bridgewater. The senior at Michigan State University gave back two shots on the front nine with bogeys on the first and seventh holes, but sandwiched in an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 4.

"I'm happy about my putting right now because I've been working on it," she said. "And my ball striking has been good."

Both Kueny and Mills said today's steady winds kept them on their toes as they navigated around Bridgewater's numerous hazards, but perhaps more importantly was the need to hit the correct quadrant of the tract's massive greens.

"The greens at Bridgewater are large, probably twice as large as the ones at Lake Region," said Mills, 22, a rookie on the LPGA's developmental tour who was the 2007 Quebec Women's Match Play Provincial champion as an amateur. "You have to pick your targets and trust them."

Now a third-year pro, Costner, who played collegiately at the University of Kansas, wasn't bothered by today's wind. She didn't even unravel when she double-bogeyed the par-4 first hole at Ridgewood Lakes after logging two chips and two putts.

"My whole goal for the last six months has been working on the mental stuff, so I knew I could get those strokes back," said Costner, 24, who carded six birdies and one bogey in addition to her double today. "I just believed it and on the back nine, I got a hot putter."

And while Costner posted her second consecutive score of 3-under 69, she was no "steady Betty" today. Instead, she fought through her front nine with the double, a birdie and a bogey, and then played the back nine at five under, sinking putts from 20 to three feet, including downhill sliders, tricky breaking putts and a couple of knee-knockers.

"Today's 69 was definitely more difficult than yesterday's," she said.

Three players are tied for fifth, three shots off the lead at 139 (-5). Chelsea Curtis (71) of New Seabury, Mass., posted a solid day at Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club, while Stephanie Connelly (70) of Pasadena, Md., the medalist at the recent LPGA Sectional Tournament in Venice, Fla., continued to climb the leaderboard at Ridgewood Lakes. Amateur Michelle Yang of Los Angeles, carded a 4-under 68 today at Lake Region Yacht & Country Club in Winter Haven, Fla., for her bogey-free round.

"The wind didn't bother me," said Yang, 17, who attends City of Angels School in Los Angeles. "I tried to be consistent and just take it shot by shot."

Yang's four birdies included a birdie from eight feet on the wind-whipped lake-bordered par-5 18^th hole at Lake Region. She played the five par-5 holes at 3-under par, and her round included 25 putts and 13 greens in regulation.

"I didn't have any tournaments to play this month, so I came here to see how the other girls play," said Yang, who won on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) in New Mexico last year and is currently ranked in the AJGA's top 100.

Australian amateur Leanne Bowditch of  Queensland had the day's lowest round at 5-under 67 at Huntington Hills to move into a tie for eighth at 140 (-4) with rookie professional Laura Bavaird (69) of Grosse Ile, Mich.

Another Aussie amateur, Rebecca Flood (72) of Coonabarabran, moved into solo 10^th place at 3-under 141.

A total of 27 players are at even-par 144 or better after two rounds of this year's Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament.

A field of 287 players from 38 nations is competing in Central Florida this week on four courses for 2010 Duramed FUTURES Tour playing status. The 90-hole tournament will continue Wednesday at Winter Haven's Lake Region Yacht & Country Club, Ridgewood Lakes Golf & Country Club in Davenport, Fla., and Lakeland's Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club and The Golf Club at Bridgewater.

A tournament cut will be made after 72 holes. The cut field of 90 players and ties will return to Lake Region only for the final round on Friday. A total of 275 players and ties will earn some status for the 2010 Duramed FUTURES Tour, but players earning Priority 1 (full) status will be determined after the completion of the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Once status is determined for the 2010 LPGA Tour, status will be assigned on the 2010 Duramed FUTURES Tour.

Wednesday's third round will begin at 8 a.m., off the first and 10^th tees at each of the four courses.

For scores and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com .

Weather: Partly cloudy with wind between 10-13 mph. Temperatures in the low-80s.

Connor Hopes To Become Family's Third Professional

Amateur Rachel Connor of Manchester, England knows her European football (soccer) as an avid fan of the famed Manchester United team. But she also knows a thing or two about golf as the daughter and sister of a couple of club pros back home in Great Britain.

Connor's father, Brian Connor, is the head pro at Manchester Golf Club and her brother, Scott Connor, is an assistant pro at the club. By the end of this week, if all goes as planned, Rachel hopes to become the third golf professional in the family.

"I just love it out here," said Rachel, 19, who has spent the last two months training at the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla. "My putting is still not on form, but I'm in a good position in the tournament."

Connor, who is tied for 28^th at one-over 145 after rounds of 73-72, came stateside with some impressive amateur honors. She finished third in the 2009 Women's British Amateur Stroke-play Championship, and she won the prestigious Royal Birkdale Scratch and Formby Leveret Scratch amateur titles. This season, she also won the England Individual Order of Merit (for scoring).

And after two months of training alongside a couple of LPGA professionals from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Leadbetter Academy, the teen is looking forward to the next chapter in her golf career.

"I'm pretty motivated," she said. "I think I'm ready."

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour at (386) 214-9726 and at lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.