Article published July 03, 2009
Pettersen finally gets a break at Farr
Cards an ace on No. 2 after battling illness for last month
Suzann Pettersen waves to the crowd on No. 9 after rolling in her par putt to finish with a 6-under 65.
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THE BLADE/LORI KING
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By MAUREEN FULTON
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Suzann Pettersen spent the last month battling a nasty viral infection. In her first tournament back, Pettersen came to Highland Meadows Golf Club yesterday morning and had what she described as "the worst warm-up ever."
Finally, Pettersen got a break, in the form of a great golf shot. She made a hole in one on No. 2 in the first round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Pettersen paired the ace with five birdies to card a 65, putting her in a tie for fourth place.
"I would have taken 2-under, from what I felt warming up," Pettersen said.
Pettersen hadn't played in a tournament since June 13, when she withdrew from the McDonald's LPGA Championship in the third round. Doctors put her on antibiotics, and she skipped one of her favorite tournaments, the Wegmans LPGA in Pittsford, N.Y., last week, putting down her clubs for 10 days.
When she finally started feeling better, Pettersen traveled to Saucon Valley outside Allentown, Pa., on Tuesday to sneak in a practice round for next week's U.S. Women's Open.
| SECOND-ROUND TEE TIMES |
TEE NO. 1
7:30 a.m.: Shanshan Feng, Sarah Lee, Jackie Gallagher-Smith
7:40: Mindy Kim, Moira Dunn, Anna Grzebien
7:50: Charlotte Mayorkas, Jane Park, Irene Cho
8:00: Il Mi Chung, Mikaela Parmlid, Michelle Ellis
8:10: Eunjung Yi, Russy Gulyanamitta, Angela Jerman
8:20: Karine Icher, Christina Kim, Diana D’Alessio
8:30: Brittany Lang, Michele Redman, Sun Young Yoo
8:40: Ji Young Oh, Carin Koch, Lorie Kane
8:50: Meg Mallon, Sophie Gustafson, Maria Hjorth
9:00: Vicky Hurst, Young Kim, Seon Hwa Lee
9:10: Stacy Prammanasudh, Mika Miyazato, Kyeong Bae
12:15 p.m.: Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park
12:25: Angela Stanford, Suzann Pettersen, Kristy McPherson
12:35: Becky Lucidi, Se Ri Pak, In-Kyung Kim
12:45: Michelle Wie, Natalie Gulbis, Jiyai Shin
12:55: Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng, Morgan Pressel
1:05: Eva Dahllof, Shi Hyun Ahn
1:15: Jin Joo Hong, Haeji Kang, Amanda Blumenherst
1:25: Becky Morgan, Chella Choi, Jennifer Rosales
1:35: Beth Bader, Ashleigh Simon, Joo Mi Kim
1:45: Paige Mackenzie, Jin Young Pak, Anja Monke
1:55: Kim Hall, Giulia Sergas, Jimin Kang
2:05: Allison Fouch, Reilley Rankin, Sarah Jane Smith
2:15: Meredith Duncan, Aree Song, Na Ri Kim
TEE NO. 10
7:30 a.m.: Jamie Hullett, Erica Blasberg, Amy Hung
7:40: Minea Blomqvist, Stephanie Louden, Janice Moodie
7:50: Maggie Will, Sarah Kemp, Kris Tamulis
8:00: Anna Rawson, Julieta Granada, Louise Stahle
8:10: Meena Lee, Karin Sjodin, Jimin Jeong
8:20: Birdie Kim, Karen Stupples, Maria Hernandez
8:30: M.J. Hur, Young-A Yang, Dorothy Delasin
8:40: Angela Park, Louise Friberg, Hee-Won Han
8:50: Song-Hee Kim, Stacy Lewis, Juli Inkster
9:00: Na Yeon Choi, Wendy Ward, Jeong Jang
9:10: Laura Davies, Sandra Gal, Brandie Burton
9:20: Jee Young Lee, Leta Lindley, Rachel Hetherington
12:15 p.m.: Cristie Kerr, Eun-Hee Ji, Hee Young Park
12:25: Nicole Castrale, Helen Alfredsson, Silvia Cavalleri
12:35: Pat Hurst, Ai Miyazato, Laura Diaz
12:45: Katherine Hull, Momoko Ueda, Candie Kung
12:55: Lindsey Wright, Soo-Yun Kang, Meaghan Francella
1:05: Katie Futcher, Shiho Oyama, Heather Bowie Young
1:15: Carolina Llano, Jeehae Lee, Alena Sharp
1:25: Hye Jung Choi, Allison Hanna-Williams, Michelle McGann
1:35: Jill McGill, Amy Yang, Marcy Hart
1:45: Johanna Mundy, Sung Ah Yim, Jeanne Cho-Hunicke
1:55: Taylor Leon, Marisa Baena, Brandi Jackson
2:05: Kris Tschetter, Lisa Strom, Mollie Fankhauser
2:15: Leah Wigger, Young Jo, Audra Burks |
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She still felt rusty, though, and at the driving range before her round yesterday Pettersen thought her timing was off. She was nervous about how her body would respond because, "it takes me a couple days to come back."
"The last couple shots I found something, and that's what it's all about," Petter-sen said. "Every day it's not going to feel that great, but you have to dig deep, look within yourself and try to find something. I found that right in time."
It's the first time Pettersen has played in the Farr Classic since 2005. She entered in 2006, but did not start.
Starting on the back nine yesterday, Pettersen used a 7-iron to make her ace on the par-3, 154-yard 2nd. It was the fourth ace of her career.
"It was probably the best shot I hit all day," Pettersen said. "It was on line. It landed a bit short and then dribbled in. It was perfect execution, I guess."
Before her illness, Pettersen was playing as well as anyone on tour. The 28-year-old native of Norway finished in the top 10 in four straight tournaments and placed second at the Corona Championship and the Sybase Classic. She was seventh on the money list with $590,907 in earnings entering the week.
"I'm just happy to be where I'm at," Pettersen said. "I'm happy I'm back already. I thought this was going to take a lot longer to come back from."
Contact Maureen Fulton at:
mfulton@theblade.com
or 419-724-6160.
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