Decorated Champion Outlasts Hot Play by Deborah Jackson to Take Round One Lead
Fort Worth, TX – The first round of the Ladies National Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship wrapped up Tuesday afternoon at the Golf Club at Champions Circle in Fort Worth, TX and Sarah LeBrun Ingram came out on top. The players faced cold fall weather and the field bunched up on the leaderboard as players started to make the turn. Ingram had a solid front nine of one over par 37 and was clear of the nearest competitor, Deborah Jackson by two shots after each had played 9 holes. But Jackson’s front 9 told a different story. It contained 3 birdies mixed with a double and some bogeys and her ability to score presented itself again just after she made the turn. Jackson reeled off three straight birdies on holes 10 – 12 to take a one-shot lead over Ingram but then the par 5 14th jumped up and handed her a double bogey seven. From there, she dropped back behind Ingram again and Jackson never regained the lead. On the day, Jackson made a field-best seven birdies to Ingram’s three. Jackson acknowledged the mix of play but admitted she didn’t realize how many birdies she made until she was finished. “I knew I was putting well and having birdies, but I also made some doubles. It’s been a while since I had three birdies in a row. They told me I had seven birdies on the day and I didn’t even realize it.“
All the birdies paired with some offsetting big numbers for Jackson could not stand up to the solid play put together by Ingram. Her even par round of 72 puts her ahead of Jackson by one shot going into tomorrow’s round. Ingram didn’t have any one thing that stuck out to her today but she did credit some of her success on her par five play. “I hit it pretty straight and where I wanted it to go. I hit two par fives in two and I also had some tap in birdies.” Ingram said she will try to do more of the same tomorrow and continue her focus on improving herself during competitive rounds. “I have been trying to work on my swing and my mind this summer so I will continue to try to stay focused and work on those things tomorrow.” Play will begin tomorrow at 8:30 am. Jackson is a single shot back at one over par. Beyond Jackson, there are ten players within five shots of second place.