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Finn closes with pair of birdies to take first-round lead at Four Winds Invitational

John Fineran
·7 min read

SOUTH BEND — As anyone who has played golf at South Bend Country Club will tell you, the quicker you put bad holes behind you, the better off you are going to be at round’s end.

Thursday in the first round of the $200,000 Four Winds Invitational at the 107-year-old George O’Neil masterpiece on South Chain Lake, 27-year-old Swedish golfer Michaela Finn overcame her only bogey of the day at the 388-yard 16th hole with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 to shoot an afternoon, five-under-par 67.

Michaela Finn
Michaela Finn

What to know: Four Winds Invitational is back at South Bend Country Club.

“It was fun today to go out and hit it as solid as I have all year and to make some putts, too,” said the former Kent State flash, who was a stroke ahead of a dozen golfers in the 54-hole event.

“I haven’t had the patience I’m supposed to have,” added Finn, who has made $16,387 and has just one Top 10 finish (a tie for ninth at the IOA Championship in late March) in 11 previous events. “The more pressure you put on yourself, the harder it is to go out there and play golf.”

Finn made six birdies in her round on a day when low scores were attainable at the 6,414-yard course which has been softened by recent rains. A sun shower ended the first round which started 45 minutes late because of morning fog, and more rain was expected Friday during the second round after which the 144-player field will be cut to the low 60 (and ties) for Saturday’s final 18 holes.

A dozen golfers were one stroke behind Finn. Americans Lakareber Abe, Katherine Smith, Gigi Stoll, Cydney Clanton and Laura Wrenn were joined at 68 by France’s Agathe Laisne, Australia’s Cassie Porter, Canada’s Alena Sharp, South Korea’s KyungMi Kim, China’s Miranda Wange, Italy’s Angelica Moresco and the Philippines’ Dottie Ardina.

Former Notre Dame golfer Becca Huffer, Australia’s Hira Naveed and California’s Amy Lee were another stroke back after rounds of 69. Among the 13 golfers who shot 70s was Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels, who has two victories and $126,283 in earnings. Another 17 golfers shot one-under 71s and six others matched par 72 for a total of 52 out of 144 players in the field at par or better.

“I was happy with the start,” said the 33-year-old Huffer, whose morning round included five birdies, three of them at par-5 fifth, seventh and 12th holes. She just missed another birdie at the 475-yard, par-5 18th but birdied the difficult 422-yard 14th hole with a testy downhill putt. Huffer is currently 13th on the money list with $48,701.

FOUR WINDS INVITATIONAL

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Results after Thursday’s first round of the $200,000 Epson Tour’s Four Winds Invitational at the par-72 (37-35), 6,414-yard South Bend Country Club:

67 (-5): Michaela Finn (Sweden) 34-33.

68 (-4): Lakareber Abe (The Woodlands, Texas) 34-34; Katherine Smith (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) 36-32; Gigi Stoll (Beaverton, Ore.) 33-35; Dottie Ardina (Philippines) 34-34; Cydney Clanton (Concord, N.C.) 35-33; Agathe Laisne (France) 36-32; Laura Wrenn (Charlotte, N.C.) 34-34; Cassie Porter (Australia) 33-35; Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.) 35-33; Miranda Wang (China) 33-35; Angelica Moresco (Italy) 32-36; KyungMi Kim (South Korea) 35-33.

69 (-3): Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.) 35-34; Hira Naveed (Australia) 35-34; Amy Lee (Brea, Calif.) 31-38.

70 (-2): Alana Uriell (Carlsbad, Calif.) 35-35; Isabella Fierro (Mexico) 36-34; Daniela Iacobelli (Melbourne, Fla.) 36-34; Gabriela Ruffels (Australia) 35-35; Heather Lin (Chinese Taipei) 37-33; Kim Kauffman (Clark, S.D.) 36-34; Kaleigh Telfer (South Africa) 36-34; Michelle Zhang (China) 36-34; Jessica Porvasnik (Hinckley, Ohio) 33-37; Alyaa Abdulghany (Newport Beach, Calif.) 33-37; Teresa Toscano (Spain) 36-34; Sarah Rhee (Seattle, Wash.) 36-34; Therese Warner (Kennewick, Wash.) 35-35.

71 (-1): Pauline Del Rosario (Philippines) 37-34; Haylee Rae Harford (Leavittsburg, Ohio) 35-36; Kaitlyn Papp Budde (Austin, Texas) 38-33; Emilee Hoffman (Folsom, Calif.) 36-35; Louise Ridderstrom (Sweden) 35-36; Siyun Liu (China) 36-35; Lindsey McCurdy (Kyle, Texas) 35-36; Jenny Coleman (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) 36-35; Mariel Galdiano (Pearl City, Hawaii) 38-33; Maria Bohorquez (Colombia) 35-36; Marissa Kirkwood (New Castle, Pa.) 35-36; Nishtha Madan (India) 36-35; Jessica Peng (Chinese Taipei) 35-36; Kristen Gillman (Austin, Texas) 33-38; Minji Kang (South Korea) 35-36; Clariss Guce (Artesia, Calif.) 37-34; Emma Broze (France) 36-35.

72 (E): Amanda Tan (Singapore) 35-37; Nannette Hill (Pelham Manor, N.Y.) 36-36; Jillian Hollis (Rocky River, Ohio) 36-36; Brooke Matthews (Rogers, Ark.) 37-35; Anita Uwadia (England) 35-37; Samantha Vodry (Little Elm, Texas) 37-35.

73 (+1): Erika Smith (Orlando, Fla.) 37-36; Roberta Liti (Italy) 37-36; Laura Sluman (Panama) 39-34; Lauren Cox (Orange, Texas) 36-37; Amanda Kim (O’Fallon, Mo.) 37-36; Dorsey Addicks (Big Sky, Mont.) 39-34; Erica Shepherd (Greenwood, Ind.) 37-36; Ssu-Chia Cheng (Chinese Taipei) 35-38; Tzu-Yi Chang (Chinese Taipei) 37-36; Selena Costabile (Thornhill, Ont.) 39-34; Katherine Hollern (Sedalia, Colo.) 38-35; Anne Yu (China) 37-36; Jenny Bae (Suwanee, Ga.) 34-39; Yiyi Liu (China) 39-34; Pinyada Kuvanum (Thailand) 37-36; Britney Yada (Hilo, Hawaii) 36-37; Robyn Choi (Australia) 37-36; Jiwon Jeon (South Korea) 37-38; Beatrice Wallin (Sweden) 39-34; Kendra Dalton (Wake Forest, N.C.) 38-35; Katie Yoo (Arlington, Texas) 37-36; Julie Aime (France) 38-35; Elizabeth Wang (San Marino, Calif.) 37-36.

74 (+2): Anais Meyssonnier (France) 37-37; Siri Patchana (Thailand) 40-34; Alice Duan (Reno, Nev.) 37-37; Min A Yoon (South Korea) 36-38; Maria Parra (Spain) 38-36; Bi Shin (South Korea) 35-39; Sarah Jane Smith (Australia) 37-37; Chanelle Avaricio (Philippines) 37-37; Yue Ren (China) 37-37; Jessica Welch (Thomasville, Ga.) 36-38; Elodie Chapelet (France) 37-37; Laetitia Beck (Israel) 36-38; Savannah Vilaubi (Downey, Calif.) 41-33; Natasha Andrea Oon (Malaysia) 37-37; Carley Cox (China Grove, N.C.) 38-36; Cynthia Lu (Chinese Taipei) 38-36; Kenzie Wright (McKinney, Texas) 38-36.

75 (+3): Nikita Arjun (India) 37-38; Maddy McCrary (Wylie, Texas) 36-39; Auston Kim (St. Augustine, Fla.) 39-36; Ingrid Gutierrez Nunez (Mexico) 36-39; Min-G Kim (South Korea) 36-39; Olivia Schmidt (Edmond, Okla.) 37-38; Kristin Coleman (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) 36-39; Michelle Piyapattra (Eastvale, Calif.) 41-34; Riley Smyth (Cary, N.C.) 40-35; Kiira Riihijarvi (Finland) 36-39; Fernanda Lira (Mexico) 36-39; Emily Anne Lauterbach (Hartland, Wis.) 36-39; Madison Young (Canton, Ga.) 37-38; Karen Fredgaard (Denmark) 37-38; Gabby Lemieux (Caldwell, Idaho) 36-39.

76 (+4): Min Seo Kwak (South Korea) 41-35; Jo-Hua Hung (Chinese Taipei) 37-39; Nataliya Guseva (Russia) 37-39; Karen Chung (Budd Lake, N.J.) 38-38; Kaitlin Milligan (Norman, Okla.) 36-40; Joy Chou (Chinese Taipei) 35-41; Annika Borrelli (Alamo, Calif.) 39-37; Amelia Garvey (New Zealand) 34-42; Abegail Arevalo (Philippines) 38-38.

77 (+5): Bobbi Stricker (Madison, Wis.) 41-36; Kathleen Scavo (Benicia, Calif.) 40-37; Shuangshuang Fan (China) 42-35; Keera Foocharoen (Thailand) 38-39; Ashley Lau (Malaysia) 38-39; Alexa Melton (Covina, Calif.) 40-37; Madison Moosa (Charlotte, N.C.) 40-37; Catherine O’Donnell (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) 37-40; Alexis Phadungmartvorakul (Bakersfield, Calif.) 38-39.

78 (+6): Chatprapa Siri Edell (Thailand) 41-37; Brigitte Dunne (Camarillo, Calif.) 38-40; Tess Hackworthy (Madison, Wis.) 39-39; Elizabeth Moon (Forrest City, Ark.) 41-37; Sophie Hausmann (Germany) 37-41; Emma Jandel (Dayton, Ohio) 38-40; Sara-Eve Rheaume (Boischatel, Que.) 40-38.

79 (+7): Jennifer Rosenberg (Syosset, N.Y.) 40-39; Marta Sanz Barrio (Spain) 40-39; Tsai Ching Tseng (Chinese Taipei) 37-42; Ginger Howard Gould (Sarasota, Fla.) 39-40; Sarah White (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 39-40.

80 (+8): Moeka Nishihata (Japan) 40-40; Maria Fernanda Escauriza (Paraguay) 40-40; Vicky Hurst (Melbourne, Fla.) 37-43; Ji Eun Baik (South Korea) 37-43; Haley Moore (Escondido, Calif.) 43-37.

81 (+9): Anna Redding (Charlotte, N.C.) 40-41; Samantha Troyanovich (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) 40-41.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: First round of Epson Tour's Four Wind Invitational at South Bend CC