Jennifer Rosales used an impeccable long game to buck an abrupt change on the character of the putting surface as she fired a three-under-par 69 to trail Tina Barrett by two strokes at the start of the $1.2 million Rochester LPGA tournament in Pittsford, New York Thursday.
Enjoying her finest form in years, Rosales hit all but two fairways, reached regulation 11 times then birdied two of the last five holes at the frontside of the Locust Hill Country Club to assemble that 34-35 round and join the likes of Karrie Webb, Grace Park, Mi Hyun Kim and last week’s winner Rachel Teske in third place.
"I hit the ball pretty good but I just couldn’t get the feel of the greens because it’s such a big change from last week," said Rosales, referring to the soft putting surface at the Squaw Creek Country Club in Vienna, Ohio last week where she lost the Giant Eagle Classic crown to Teske in a four-player playoff.
"But I like the course. I like courses that play tougher and narrower. It just fits my game," added Rosales.
"Basta laging top 10, pwede na. Yan talaga ang immediate target namin," said Bong Lopez, Rosales’ swing coach who will be joining the ace Filipina shotmaker in New Jersey next week for the ShopRite Classic in time for the US Women’s Open on July 3-6 in Oregon.
"Actually I’m putting a lot better, making putts. That’s the big change there. I just have a lot of confidence in my swing right now and the way I’m hitting the ball," said Rosales.
Barrett, winless since her rookie season 14 years ago, gunned down seven birdies to negate a double-bogey mishap and shoot a five-under par 67 for a one-stroke lead over AJ Eathorne of Canada.
Eathorne overcame three straight bogeys at the back and opened with a 68 for second.
Webb, the defending champion but who remains winless this season, was among the nine players who shot 69s, including Kim, Park, Teske, Amy Read, Marianne Morris, Anna Acker-Macosko and Kang Soo-yun.
Still, the player to watch this weekend should be Rosales.
The 24-year-old five-time RP Ladies Open champion birdied two of her first seven holes, rescued a par from the bunker on the 17th then tapped-in a two-foot birdie putt on No. 1.
But missed-green bogeys in two of the next three holes slowed down Rosales, who nevertheless bounced back with birdies on Nos. 5 and 8.
"My round stuttered a little bit the first few holes on the front side actually, so I got the back. But the greens are pretty hard compared to a couple weeks that we played," said Rosales, who has four top 10 finishes so far in the season.