Article published July 03, 2009
Former Buckeye in contention at Farr
Hanna-Williams in 12th after early lead
Allison Hanna-Williams blasts her second shot on No. 18. After turning in a 4-under 30 on the front nine, she finished with a 67 in the first round.
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THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
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By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Before the drizzle cleared and most of the crowd arrived yesterday morning, Allison Hanna-Williams already had put together a pretty fair round of golf.
Teeing off in one of the first groups on the opening day of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, the former Ohio State Buckeye was 4-under par after nine holes and leading the tournament.
"I was just playing it one shot at a time and really enjoying it," Hanna-Williams said. "I was trying to work on my rhythm. The birdies were coming, and the putts were falling early."
After shooting a 30 on the front nine, she cooled off a little on the second nine, which she played in even-par 37, finishing with four pars and a bogey over the final five holes.
"You always can look back at the round and think 'what if.' But 4-under is a really good start, so I am really happy with that," said Hanna-Williams, whose round of 67 matched her career best on the LPGA Tour and left her just three strokes behind the leaders.
Hanna-Williams joins a crowd in a 14-way tie for 12th place."I hit a lot of good shots on the back side, too, but I just couldn't get any to drop," she said.
Hanna-Williams was a two-time high school state champion in her native Oregon before moving on to Ohio State, where she won the 2003 Big Ten championship, finished second in 2004, and was a three-time All-Big Ten selection. She also was an NCAA first-team All-American and was named Big Ten player of the year in 2004.
Hanna-Williams ended up a Buckeye after meeting an Ohio State track coach at an awards banquet.
"He asked if Ohio State was looking at me, and I said no, but I wrote a quick resume and gave it to him," Hanna-Williams said. "Then the next week, the coach called me. The second time she talked to me, she offered me a full scholarship."
After a recruiting trip that included taking in an Ohio State football game, a move to Ohio was in the works.
"I really liked it. It's a great place," she said. "But Ohio is definitely different than Portland, Oregon."
After finishing yesterday's round at the Farr, Hanna-Williams did not go straight to the putting green or the driving range, like many of the pros did. She planned to prepare for today's critical second round by relaxing, enjoying dinner with a former OSU teammate and curling up with a good book.
"It's called Twilight - it's about vampires," Hanna-Williams said.
Contact Matt Markey at:
mmarkey@theblade.com
or 419-724-6510.
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