Peters Cards 79 in First Round of Meijer LPGA Classic
7/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
July 23, 2015
• Meijer LPGA Classic | Leaderboard | Tournament Central
Site: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Course: Blythefield Country Club (par 71)
Tournament: Meijer LPGA Classic (Day 1 of 4)
Top U-M Individual: Catherine Peters, 142nd (79, +8)
Next U-M Event: Friday, July 24 -- at Meijer LPGA Classic (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 8:54 a.m. (1st tee)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- University of Michigan women's golfer senior Catherine Peters carded an opening 79 today (Thursday, July 23) in the first round of the Meijer LPGA Classic being held at the Blythefield Country Club.
Playing as an amateur in her first professional event, Peters began the Meijer LPGA Classic off the 10th tee in the afternoon wave. After striking her opening drive down the fairway, she missed her approach into the green and could not convert the up and down recording a bogey on her scorecard. Another missed green on the 13th hole resulted in a second unsuccessful up and down as she went to two over.
Unable to capitalize on three birdie opportunities on Nos. 15, 16 and 18, Peters miss hit a tap-in putt on the 17th to make the turn three over. Moving to the front side, Peters landed in the bunker on the par 3, second hole as she turned in her fourth bogey of the round.
A miscalculation on club selection and then overshooting the green on the par 5, fifth hole saw her post a triple bogey as she moved to seven over with four holes remaining. Another missed putting opportunity on the seventh hole resulted in a fifth bogey bringing her to eight over, where she stayed closing with a 79.
Peters, who played her way into Meijer LPGA Classic after winning the collegiate exemption qualifier, will tee off Friday (July 24) at 8:54 a.m. in pursuit of advancing to the weekend's final rounds. Starting off the first tee, she will once again be paired with LPGA veteran Candie Kung and rookie Sadena Parks, who both opened with rounds of 73.
N O T E S
• Peters had 32 total putts in the first round with 17 (1.89) on front side and 15 (1.67) on the backside. She hit 5-of-18 fairways and averaged 258.00 on her drives. She recorded 8-of-18 greens in regulation.
• Peters is the second Wolverine to compete in the Meijer LPGA Classic as an amateur. Last year, Grace Choi was an invited exemption. She did not advance to the weekend after rounds of 84 and 79.
Q U O T E S
U-M Senior Catherine Peters
On what she was thinking on the first tee and hole ... "Hit it in the fairway. That was all I was thinking. My dad kept me really focused on the first tee and that was helpful. The funny thing was I was able to hit it right down the middle. My second shot was just a miss; it wasn't because of jitters. It was just on a downhill lie and I just went through it a little quick. So, it wasn't a terrible miss."
On getting more comfortable after the first hole ... "As soon as we got off the first hole, we (my dad) were like the first hole is done. Let's get to work."
On her evaluation of the first round ... "I need to tighten up my approach shots and make a few putts. I did not make any birdie putts today. I left a lot of putts out there. I just had too many mistakes today."
On what happened on the par-5, fifth hole ... "It was just a missed club into the green. I went pin high with too much club and it went off the back like 30 yards. That was not the way to miss it on that hole. It was hard to come back after that."
On how her father, Dale, helped as her caddie ... "He really kept me focused out there when I was getting a little rattled. When things were not going well, he was able to help me take a step back at the right times and really rethink and refocus on what I was going to do."
On what this week has done for her leading up to her final season at U-M ... "It gives me a lot of confidence. This week has shown me that my game is not much different from some of the players here -- distance wise, shot wise, etc. I just need to cut down on my mistakes."
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
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