LPGA Q-School Wednesday: Garrett and Nocera Tame the Wind

It was quite a windy Wednesday on the Champions and Legends courses at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, but that didn't stand in the way of Nikki Garrett and Gwladys Nocera of the LET during the 1st round of the Final Qualifying Tournament in the LPGA's Q-School. 2006 LET Rookie of the Year Garrett took the lead with a scrambling 6-birdie 67, while 2008 LET money-list leader and this season's Solheim Cup standout for Team Europe Nocera trails her by a single shot.

The only other players to break 70 were Yuko Mitsuka, Azahara Munoz, Il Hee Lee, and Leah Wigger. 28 players stand at par or better heading into the 2nd round. Here's how the top 10 and notables started this 5-round marathon:

1st/-5 Nikki Garrett (67C)
2nd/-4 Gwladys Nocera (68C)
T3/-3 Yuko Mitsuka, Azahara Munoz, Il Hee Lee, Leah Wigger (69C)
T7/-2 Katie Kempter (70L)
T7/-2 Iben Tinning, Nicole Jeray (70C)
T10/-1 Esther Choe (71L)
T10/-1 Sung Ah Yim, Lisa Strom, Emma Cabrera-Bello, Christine Song, Dewi Claire Schreefel, Lisa Meldrum (71C)

T17/E Amanda Blumenherst, Carolina Llano, Paola Moreno, Nontaya Srisawang, Stephanie Na (72L)
T17/E Julieta Granada, Erica Blasberg, Meredith Duncan (72C)

T29/+1 Diana D'Alessio, Maria Hernandez, Jane Chin, Kitty Hwang (73L)
T29/+1 Sarah-Jane Smith, Stephanie Connelly, Pernilla Lindberg, Nanette Hill (73C)

T44/+2 Virada Nirapathpongporn, Jeehae Lee, Alison Walshe, Mallory Blackwelder, Liz Janangelo (74L)
T44/+2 Lisa Ferrero (74C)
T59/+3 Young-A Yang, Tamie Durdin, Pornanong Phatlum (75L)
T59/+3 Ashleigh Simon, Mariajo Uribe (75C)
T70/+4 Marianne Skarpnord, Mollie Fankhauser (76L)
T70/+4 Tania Elosegui (76C)
T77/+5 Charlotte Mayorkas, Kris Tschetter, Cindy LaCrosse, Gerina Mendoza (77L)
T77/+5 Sophia Sheridan, Miriam Nagl, Lauren Doughtie, Ayaka Kaneko, Sofie Andersson (77C)
T90/+6 Tiffany Joh (78L)
T95/+7 Beatriz Recari, Angela Oh (79L)
T95/+7 Maru Martinez (79C)
T99/+8 Aree Song, Briana Vega (80L)
103rd/+10 Hannah Jun (82L)

It'll be interesting to see who among Kempter, Choe, Blumenherst, Llano, Moreno, Srisawang, and Na--among those at par or better heading onto the slightly easier Champions course tomorrow--can make up ground on the other leaders who will be tackling the Legends Course for the very 1st time Thursday. Ditto for those who stumbled out of the gates today: given that it's likely to be easier to mount a comeback charge on the Champions course, what can we expect out of Futures Tour Q-School medalist Joh, LET star Skarpnord, the JLPGA's Durdin, and recent NCAA standouts like Walshe and Blackwelder, not to mention the LPGA's Mayorkas, Nirapathpongporn, and Lee, as they fight to break into the top 40 and put themselves in position to contend for the top 20 over the last 54 holes of the tournament?

Two things the players can look forward to, provided tonight's thunderstorms move through quickly and the tornado watch remains just a watch, are calmer conditions and softer greens. Look for the scoring to be a lot lower tomorrow, if so. You can follow it at LPGA.com.