May 11, 2006
Bryan, Texas -
First on ... first off ... and, for much of the day, in first place. Illinois State senior golfer Samantha Richdale blazed a hot trail for 110 other golfers at the 2006 NCAA Central Regional Golf Championships Thursday, the first day of the tournament at the Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas. Only two of those competitors eventually passed her, so she stands one stroke back of the co-leaders for the 54-hole tournament after 18 holes.
One of three individuals competing in the 21-team event, Richdale parlayed three birdies in her first six holes into a one-under-par 71 for the day. She and the other two individual competitors clocked in and teed off at 7:30 a.m. Five hours later, the three-time State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Medalist was on top of the leader board.
By the end of the day, Duke's Amanda Blumenhorst and Texas' Devan Andersen shot a 70 to take a one-stroke lead over Richdale and three others who shot 71--Duke's Jennifer Pandolfi, Ohio State's Stephanie Connelly and Southern California's Irene Cho. In the team competition, USC leads Duke by one stroke.
Richdale played the 6,289-yard course about as consistently as possible, collecting four birdies and three bogies while avoiding the `big number' scores.
Illinois State assistant coach Pina Gentile, who is with Richdale in Texas, enjoyed the fact that the round was essentially uneventful and that Richdale seemed relaxed and confident.
"That probably is the `easiest' 71 I've ever seen anybody shoot," said Gentile. "She played really solid. It was pretty uneventful. Even on her bogie holes, she hit good shots, but got a couple of bad bounces and you can't prevent that."
Gentile thinks the length of the course and the weather played to Richdale's strength.
"The course is a little longer than we've played this year, but, as far as Sam is concerned, length isn't an issue," said Gentile. "Yesterday (the practice day), the temperature was in the 90s and it was very humid. Today, it's 85 degrees with almost no wind. It was good for Sam's game."
Richdale agreed.
"I like the holes and the set-up of the course," said Richdale. "I felt pretty good. It got a little hectic on a couple of holes, but that was about it."
She tees off at 11:40 a.m. on Friday for the second of three rounds which will decided which eight teams, and, more importantly for Richdale, which three individuals not playing for those teams, will advance to the NCAA Finals in Columbus, Ohio. The native of Kelowna, B.C., also qualified for the national tournament as an individual in 2004.
