BEAUMONT, Texas — The first round of the Babe Zaharias Open has concluded and it was a hot one today. Players went off in the morning in one wave, but even with the shorter rounds the heat was bearing down. While the heat was turned way up, the scores were going down. 14 players were able to shoot under par for the day and the lead will be only one-shot heading into the second round.
Brenda Gonzalez (Mexico) was able to put together the best round of the day, firing a five-under round that will give her a one-shot lead. Gonzalez only made one mistake all day and it came on the 14th hole, which resulted in a bogey. To make up for the bogey, Gonzalez was able to put together 4 birdies and an eagle to reach the lead. Gonzalez has been playing good golf as of late, with back to back top-20’s in her last two events. She will look to build off her momentum heading into round two.
Kaitlyn Papp (Austin, TX) is coming off a good finish last week in Natchez where she finished T4. Even with the T4 finish it was not the place Papp was looking for, as she had the solo lead heading into the back nine. That seems to be behind her as she opened her tournament with a 32 on the front and had a share of the early lead. Papp’s back nine was more tame as she only recorded 1 birdie and 1 bogey to shoot even par coming in. Overall, Papp was able to finish her first round at four-under and will only be one shot off the lead.
The second round of the Babe Zaharias Open will begin at 8:00 AM with players going off both holes one and ten. With only one wave of players, play should conclude around 2:30 PM for the day. After round two the field will be repaired based on score heading into round three. The Babe Zaharias Open is free and open to the public! We hope to see you!
