O'Toole Holds First-Round Lead in Kansas City  

LEAWOOD, Kan., May 14, 2010 - Everything seemed to fall into place today for Ryann O'Toole in today's opening round of the $100,000 Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship. The second-year Duramed FUTURES Tour professional from San Clemente, Calif., finished 6-under 65 on the Leawood South Country Club course.

"I started off on the back nine so the goal was to get through the back," said O"Toole, who recorded twelve top-10 finishes in collegiate competition while at the University of California-Los Angeles. "Par is usually a good score on the back. Then I made the turn and after a birdie on No. 1, I started hanging out and was aggressive when I needed to be. I had a chip in for eagle on the sixth hole. It just seemed that things fell right today."

The Kansas City area received a downpour Thursday morning, causing the course to be closed. The par 71 course was still wet in places when the tournament began this morning, which didn't faze O'Toole too much.

"It was wet," recalled O'Toole, who will be a contestant on Golf Channel's Big Break Sandals Resort in June. "But the greens were rolling wonderful. It took a little while to get used to the pace and get my feet wet, you could say."

With rain on the forecast for the rest of the weekend, Dewi Claire Schreefel, of  Diepenveen, Netherlands, came into today knowing she had to get her first round off to a good start. Schreefel, the individual winner of the 2006 NCAA Women's Golf Championship and University of Southern California alumna, remained patient and carded 4-under par (67).

"With the rain coming, I knew I had to start well," said Schreefel, who recorded five birdies and one bogey in her round. "Even with my front nine being level par for the most part, and not having a chance to go under par, I told myself 'Ok, keep making par. Par will be fine'. I knew to just stay patient and keep focus. When I got the birdie chances, I felt comfortable to make them – and when they fall in it's nice."

Second-year professional and current LPGA Tour member, Christine Song of Fullerton, Calif., ended her round at 3-under par (68).

Lori Atsedes of Ithaca, N.Y., Angela Oh of Maple Shade, N.J., and Lehua Wise of Kauai, Hawaii, are tied at fourth at 2-under par (69).

"My goal this week was to hit fairways," said Atsedes, the Tour's career money list leader. "I paid a lot of attention off the tees and hit 10 fairways. I did what I wanted to do. I played solid golf off the tee, hit 16 greens and waited for the putts to go in."

Saturday's second round of the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship, presented by Sprint,  will begin at 7:15 a.m., off the first and tenth tees, with the afternoon tee times starting at 12:00 p.m. The leaders will tee off at 1:50 p.m.

For scores and more information, visit duramedfuturestour.com.

Weather: Partly cloudy. Temperatures in the mid to high 60s. Winds from the east-northeast at 7 mph.  

Duramed FUTURES Tour Professionals Visit the Royals

Two Duramed FUTURES Tour professionals paid a visit to Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals this week. Sara Brown of Tucson, Ariz., and Gerina Mendoza of El Paso, Texas, received a behind the scenes tour of "The K," and Sara was interviewed at the top of the third inning on Fox Sports Kansas City's live broadcast. Video of their visit can be found at www.youtube.com/Road2LPGA, and photos at www.facebook.com/DuramedFUTURESTour.com

The visit was planned as part of the Tour’s Outside the Ropes program, which allows players to reach beyond the ropes and outreach to fans, sponsors, charities and communities.

Rookie Westrup Scores Hole-In-One

Rookie Caroline Westrup of Ahus, Sweden, scored her second hole-in-one during Tuesday's practice round at the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship in Leawood, Kansas. The former Florida State University player used a 6-iron on the 147-yard 17th hole to make the ace.

"I knew it was a good shot but I didn't know it went in the hole," recalled Westrup, who was playing the round with fellow Swede Caroline Larsson of Stockholm. "At first I thought the ball in the middle of the green was mine, but when it wasn't, Caroline said that mine probably went in the hole. I didn't think it did but there it was."

This was Westrup's first hole-in-one on U.S. soil. Her first ace came during the 2006 European Championship.

Contact: Joely Pique, Duramed FUTURES Tour at (913) 451-6103 and joely@duramedfuturestour.com.