Creamer shoots 11-under 60 to lead first round of Jamie Farr Classic

7/11/2008

SYLVANIA, Ohio - Paula Creamer knew she was playing well. She was surprised just how well.

Creamer birdied nine of the last 11 holes, including the final three, for a course-record 60 on the par-71 Highland Meadows layout Thursday.
She held a five-stroke lead after the opening round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Only after she finished did she realize how close she came to golf's magic number of 59.

Creamer couldn't have done much better. She would have had to hole out a 137-yard, 7-iron from the fairway to shoot 59. She rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt for her 60 -- her best round on tour by four strokes.

Only a handful of players have reached 59 in a competitive round on the PGA Tour or LPGA Tour.

The 21-year-old Creamer's round was her best by six strokes this season and broke Se Ri Pak's course mark by a shot. She matched the Tour record of raw score for nine holes with a 27 on the home half.

It was an epic turnaround after two recent bad rounds of note. Creamer began the final round of the U.S. Women's Open two weeks ago a shot back of rookie Stacy Lewis. She left the course crestfallen after shooting a 5-over 78 that left her in a tie for sixth, six shots behind 19-year-old winner Inbee Park.

Last week at the NW Arkansas Championship, she was in contention heading into the final round of the 54-hole event but wilted with a 74.
Apparently she's over those scoring woes.

While she was going over her scorecard Thursday, she lost track of what club she used on one hole.

Eun-Hee Ji and Gloria Park each shot a 65 and were largely overlooked in the wake of Creamer's round. Eva Dahllof and Young Kim had 66s.

Defending champion Pak, trying to become the first player to win the same LPGA tournament six times, shot a 68. Michelle Wie had a 70.

Leaderboard – Round 1:

1. Paula Creamer                  60 -11
2. Eun-Hee Ji                        65 - 6
    Gloria Park                        65 - 6
4. Eva Dahllof                        66 - 5
    Young Kim                        66 - 5
6. H.J.Choi                            67 - 4
    Diana D´Alessio                 67 - 4
    Moira Dunn                        67 - 4
9. Na Ri Kim                           68 - 3
    Se Ri Pak                          68 - 3
    Wendy Ward                      68 - 3
    Momoko Ueda                    68 - 3
    Catriona Llano                    68 - 3
    Mikaela Parmlid                  68 - 3

Source: AP, LPGA Tour