Suncoast Ladies Series: Ginger Howard falls from the lead

Ginger Howard practices following a round at the 2011 LPGA Tour Q-School stage at Venice's Plantation Golf & Country Club. Jason Dill/jdill@bradenton.com

Bradenton's Ginger Howard fell off the top of the leaderboard at this week's Suncoast Ladies Series event following second-round action at the Grande Pines Resort in Orlando on Wednesday.

Howard posted a 78 to falter to a tie for seventh place after sharing the first round lead when she fired a 68 on Tuesday.

Also in the field is Rachel Connor, who resides in Bradenton as well. Connor went backwards like Howard. Connor shot 82 in the second round and is in 25th place.

They both trail Maria Hjorth. The Swede sits with a 3-under par 141 total through 36 holes.

The final round is scheduled for Thursday.

Suncoast Series: Ginger Howard co-leads after first round

Ginger Howard practices following a round at last year's LPGA Tour Q-School stage at Venice's Plantation Golf & Country Club. Jason Dill/jdill@bradenton.com

Bradenton's Ginger Howard is off to a fast start in this week's Suncoast Ladies Series event at the Grande Pines Resort in Orlando.

Howard fired a 3-under par 69 to share the first-round lead with Sweden's Maria Hjorth after Tuesday's action.

The pair are two shots clear of the next group of players.

Bradenton resident Rachel Connor is also in the field. She's tied for 14th place after a 76.

The 54-hole tournament continues Wednesday and concludes Thursday.

United States Open: Sam Osborne medals in Tarpon Springs qualifier

Sam Osborne hits a tee shot during a West Florida Golf Tour victory at the Legacy Golf Club. Photo provided.

Palmetto resident and West Florida Golf Tour participant Sam Osborne fired a 68 to take medalist honors in the United States Open local qualifier held at Cypress Run Golf Club in Tarpon Springs on Monday.

The Englishman's round was especially strong as he was the lone player in the tournament's field to crack 70 on the day.

IMG Academies golfer Daniel Jaramillo, who hails from Colombia, won a battle for one of the two final qualifying slots.

Jaramillo shot 71 and joined St. Petersburg's Jack Maguire and Valrico's Matthew Galloway in a playoff for two spots.

Galloway, who plays on the WFGT, was given the first alternate slot after Jaramillo and Maguire earned the third and fourth qualifying berths from the Tarpon Springs site.

Cardinal Mooney alum Chris Kennedy and Sarasota's Joey Lamielle posted 72s, but lost out on the second and final alternate spot to Tampa's Doug Lacrosse.

Players progressing from local qualifying move to the section phase in early June. Those sectional qualifiers earn direct entry into the 2012 U.S. Open, golf's second major of the year, held at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco June 14-17.

PGA Tour: Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler finally won his first PGA Tour title last Sunday.

But the real story is the look Fowler is sporting now.

He's added facial hair, but honestly, yours truly thinks he should dump the look.

It didn't bother his golf game, but where do you guys feel about it?

Let your voice be heard in the new poll on the right-hand side of the blog.

(Edited update: check out Fowler's look below in his post-round interview)

Local amateur: Phil Walters falters to third place finish in Sarasota City Men's Amateur

Bradenton's Phil Walters' bid to go wire-to-wire to capture the Sarasota City Men's Amateur at the Bobby Jones Golf Complex on Sunday failed when he fired an 80.

Walters held the lead after every round of the 72-hole, four-day, two-weekend tournament.

However, he ended up in third place, five shots behind Sarasota High's Nick Celestino, who won with a 282 total and a 69 on the British Course on Sunday.

Walters has had success in the local amateur scene, recently he teamed with Tim Judy in April to win the Bradenton City Men's Two-Man Combo title at River Run Golf Links.

The full results for each flight can be found here:

LPGA Tour: Paula Creamer and Victoria Tanco in HSBC Brasil Cup field

Two female professional golfers with ties to Manatee County are in this week's LPGA Tour event field in South America.

Victoria Tanco and Paula Creamer both attended IMG Academies before embarking on a professional touring career.

Tanco, an Argentina native, is on her home continent for this week's HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup, held this weekend in Rio de Janeiro.

Creamer is in the 30-player tournament field, too.

Local amateur: Phil Walters on top of Sarasota City through 36 holes

Bradenton's Phil Walters leads the 2012 Sarasota Men's City Amateur Championship at the halfway stage heading into this weekend's action.

The 72-hole tournament is conducted over two weekends at Bobby Jones Golf Club's British Course in North Sarasota.

Walters fired two 68s for an 8-under par total, and a four-shot cushion heading into the third round that begins Saturday.

Currently, Sarasota Riverview golfer Michael Visacki is in second place.

The full results can be found here.

And third-round tee times can be found here.