The McDonald?s LPGA Championship is set to start at Bulle Rock Golf Course Thursday, but on Monday the tournament?s Pro-Am competition had a few special guests in Havre de Grace.
Nearly 200 amateur golfers were paired up with 49 professionals in the first round of the two-day Pro-Am. Rising Severna Park senior Kelly Lynch, who won her way into the Pro-Am in a contest, was among the amateurs who played Monday.
Lynch was not only paired with LPGA golfer Tina Barrett, but also with Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich and First Lady Kendel Ehrlich.
“It was neat to play with the governor. You don?t get to do that that often,” Lynch said. “There wasn?t added pressure with the governor. I thought there would be, but there wasn?t.”
Lynch added: “I started out well. In the first nine holes, every iron shot was ten feet away from the hole.”
Said Barrett: “[Kelly] played very well, and we had a good time.” The group shot a 58 in the best-ball round.
Barrett is originally from Baltimore, and before she turned pro in 1989 she won the 1988 Maryland State Amateur tournament. “She knows how to play and the etiquette and everything. She was great out there,” Barrett said of Lynch.
Lynch said she will be playing in several tournaments this summer. “Colleges can?t talk to me until July 1, but I have been [interested in] Lehigh, Bucknell and James Madison. Those are the schools I want to go to,” she said.
Lynch?s opportunity to play in the Pro-Am was special. General Chairman of the Championship Stan Fronczkowski said that a spot in the Pro-Am usually costs somewhere around $10,000. Fronczkowski said that most of the Pro-Am spots are purchased by corporate sponsors, but some individual spots are sold.
The Pro-Am on Monday was a test run for Bulle Rock after some recent rainy weather. Course General Manager Richard Rounsaville said the course was holding up well. “The course was handling the weather spectacularly. After the four inches of rain on Friday, a few bunkers flooded but the crew cleaned them out quickly,” Rounsaville said.
GET READY TO BULLE ROCK
» Last year at Bulle Rock, the LPGA Championship drew 96,700 fans to the Havre de Grace Golf Course in four days of play. Rounsaville said that the expected attendance this year is between 95,000 to 100,000.
» The top 75 finishers in the championship will split up $1.8 million, with the winner taking home a purse of $270,000.
» Last year several golfers, including third-place finisher Laura Davies, felt that the course was too long for LPGA golfers. However, Rounsaville said that the fifth, seventh and ninth holes had been lengthened for this year?s event.
Kyle Siskey contributed to this story.
