Women's British Open: Paula Creamer starts strong

Paula Creamer at the 2012 Kingsmill Championship. Photo courtesy of McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

 The RICOH Women's British Open is underway at the home of golf, Saint Andrews.

And that means golfers with connections to Manatee County are testing their skill in a major championship.

Here's how things stand after Thursday's first round for the locals:

Paula Creamer is leading the charge for area contenders after a 4-under par 68 leaves her tied for 10th place. The IMG Academy alum is two shots off the pace set by co-leaders Morgan Pressel and Camilla Lennarth.

While Creamer played well on the first day, Bradenton native Jessica Korda (72) and Jodi Ewart Shadoff (76) have more work to do. Korda is tied for 74th and Ewart Shadoff, an English native that lives in the area, is tied for 132nd.

The second round continues from Fife, Scotland on the Old Course on Friday.

Ricoh Women's British Open: Paula Creamer records top three finish

Paula Creamer at the Kingsmill Championship in early September. Photo courtesy of McClatchy-Tribune News Services.

IMG Academies alum Paula Creamer snagged a third place showing in this weekend's RICOH Women's British Open, but she wasn't close to challenging winner Jiyai Shin.

The South Korean blasted the field by nine shots, but Creamer's final-round 72 jumped her from a tie for 10th to third place at the conclusion of play.

Other locals didn't fare as well at the difficult Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

Bradenton native Jessica Korda and Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart both missed the cut.

Also, while not a local, Jacqui Concolino missed the cut. Concolino finished runner-up in the inaugural Sara Bay Classic this year. The tournament is a Symetra Tour event and brought major professional golf back to the area for the first time since the Champions Tour left TPC Prestancia in the early 2000s.

LPGA Tour: Local report card

After a little summer break from the blog due to vacations and getting this year's football tab previews done, it's time to focus back on the links.

With that in mind, here's a quick peak at how some of the female professional golfers are doing on the LPGA Tour as the season winds down:

Jessica Korda

It's been a mixed bag of results for the Bradenton native this season. Korda captured her first-ever LPGA Tour victory at the Women's Australian Open to begin 2012 with a bang. But since then, she's yet to record another top 10 finish, and has only notched two top 20 showings. Still, Korda's sophomore campaign has netted her more than $260,000 in earnings.

Jodi Ewart

The Englishwoman, who lives in Manatee County, hasn't won on the LPGA Tour yet. But she has logged two top 10 finishes and close to $170,000 this season. Ewart, like Korda, hasn't fared well as of late. While she hasn't missed a cut since April, Ewart hasn't cracked the top 60 in her last three LPGA Tour events.

Paula Creamer

A tour veteran, Creamer's posted a successful 2012 despite not winning a tournament. That's due to her performances in the majors, where she tied for 20th in the Kraft Nabisco Championship and followed that up with top-10 results in the U.S. Women's Open and LPGA Championship. To date, the former IMG Academies alum has more than $400,000 in earnings.

Victoria Tanco

The Argentine phenom hasn't blossomed in her rookie season. A former IMG Academy standout, Tanco has missed nine cuts with only $22,300 in earnings. She's in need of some superb golf to avoid a return trip to LPGA Q-School.

Hannah Yun

Like Tanco, Hannah Yun has struggled after making her way through Q-School. The former University of Florida golfer has cashed in 3 of 12 tournaments in 2012. It adds up to just over $21,000 in earnings and it looks like another visit to Q-School.

LPGA Tour: ShopRite Classic pairings for locals

Several Manatee County golfers are playing in this week's ShopRite LPGA Classic that starts on Friday.

Here's a look at when they'll begin Friday's first round of the tournament, which was won by Brittany Lincicome last year (Lincicome, who has played in Manatee and Sarasota counties on the West Florida Golf Tour, starts her title defense at 8:55 a.m. off the first tee):

Hannah Yun tees off No. 1 at 7:25 a.m.

Paula Creamer tees off No.1 at 8:45 a.m.

Jessica Korda tees off No. 10 at 9:05 a.m.

Jodi Ewart tees off No. 1 at 12:00 p.m.

Victoria Tanco tees off No. 10 at 1:30 p.m.

United States Women's Open: Doris Chen medals

Bradenton's Doris Chen, a rising sophomore at the University of Southern California and IMG Academies alum, was the medalist with a 2-under par 142 total in the 36-hole United States Women's Open sectional qualifier at The Oaks Club.

Other locals weren't as fortunate, as just three players advanced to Blackwolf Run, site of July's U.S. Women's Open in Koehler, Wisc.

The most notable name to miss was Jodi Ewart. The Manatee County resident has played well on the LPGA Tour this season, posting two top 10 finishes.

However, a morning round of 79 doomed her chances.

Ewart, an England native, returned an afternoon round of 73, though.

Amateur Christina Miller, a University of South Florida standout, shot 79-76--155 to miss by seven shots.

For more on this story, check out tomorrow's Bradenton Herald.

To see the full results, click here.

United States Women's Open: Sectional moved to Tuesday

The United States Women's Open sectional qualifier at The Oaks Club in Osprey is on Tuesday.

Originally, it was listed for Monday.

The 36-hole event provides direct entry into the U.S. Women's Open, which is scheduled for July 5-8 at Blackwolf Run in Koehler, Wisc. Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart has notched two top 10 finishes on the LPGA Tour this season en route to more than $100,000 in earnings.

Nelly Korda, the younger sister to phenom Jessica, is scheduled to compete as well.

There are a host of other players in the field with ties to Manatee County.

Check back here tomorrow for a quick hit on who progressed.

United States Women's Open: Sectional pairings set for The Oaks

The pairings are set for Monday's United States Women's Open sectional qualifier at The Oaks Club in Osprey.

The field includes several area players, including Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart, Jessica Korda's younger sister Nelly and USF standout Christina Miller to name a few.

For the full pairings, click here.

Unlike the edition for the men, there is only qualifying stage for the Women's Open. And the sectional round is 36 holes in one day, which is set for Memorial Day.

LPGA Tour: Jodi Ewart fares well at Match Play

Local resident Jodi Ewart didn't win this past week's Sybase Match Play Championship, but she performed well in the LPGA Tour event.

Ewart polished off two victories, before finishing tied for 9th - losing in the third round. Ewart, seeded No. 62 in the 64-player bracketed tournament, lost to eventual champion Azahara Munoz 2-and-1.

She earned $18,750 for the top 10 finish.

Also in the field was Bradenton's Jessica Korda, who won one match before falling in the second round.

Paula Creamer, a former IMG Academies standout, lost her opening round match.

LPGA Tour: Jodi Ewart featured on LPGA.com

Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart practices at Palm-Aire Country Club prior to her 2012 LPGA Tour season. Grant Jefferies/gjefferies@bradenton.com

Manatee County resident and LPGA Tour golfer Jodi Ewart was listed onLPGA.com's "My Favorite Things" feature recently.

So what are Ewart's favorite things?

The New Mexico alum and English native lists the Lobos, Leeds United Football Club, Titleist MB's, diamond earrings, New York City, ice cream, In-N-Out Burger, Facebook, iPhone, hair straightener and author James Patterson on the website.

To check out the list, click here.

LPGA Tour: Jodi Ewart moves forward in world rankings...again

Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart rose in the women's world golf rankings for a third consecutive week.

Ewart's strong opening round at the Kraft Nabisco Championship led to another consistent result, and therefore, enabled her to vault up the Rolex Rankings once more.

The rankings released on Monday show Ewart is now up to No. 212 in the world, an improvement of 36 spots from last week.

She tied for 26th with a 1-under par total after starting the tournament with a 69 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, IMG Academies alum Paula Creamer fell two spots after the LPGA Tour's first major of 2012 concluded on Sunday.

She is ranked No. 10 in the world.

Bradenton native Jessica Korda fell five spots to No. 87 after a bogey on her final hole on Friday led to a missed cut.

LPGA Tour: Kraft Nabisco Championship First Round

The LPGA Tour is in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for the Kraft Nabisco Championship this week. Two local players had a strong opening round, while another struggled out of the gate on Thursday.

Paula Creamer, an IMG Academies alum, and Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart each carded 3-under par 67s. They're three shots behind first round leader Amy Yang and are tied for fourth with a slew of other golfers.

Bradenton native Jessica Korda didn't fare as well. She posted a 4-over par 76, despite hitting 12 of 18 greens and 9 of 14 fairways. Her poor round was attributed to her putting, where she recorded 32 putts in the first round.

Ewart totaled the same amount of putts as Korda, but hit four more greens en route to her strong start.

Meanwhile, Creamer had one less putt than both Ewart and Korda, but hit the same amount of greens (16 of 18) as Ewart.

Play continues on Friday.

LPGA Tour: Jodi Ewart continues torrid form

Jodi Ewart practices at Palm-Aire Country Club ahead of the 2012 season. Photo by Grant Jefferies/gjefferies@bradenton.com

If notching her first career top-20 finish on the LPGA Tour last week wasn't enough, Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart topped that feat at this weekend's Kia Classic.

Ewart tied for seventh with a 4-under par 284 total for the 72-hole event.

She earned $45,337 and a berth into the season-ending CME Group Titleholders held in Naples in November.

The top three from each LPGA tournament, not already qualified, earn a place in the Titleholders - formerly an LPGA major championship.

At one point, Ewart was 8-under par for the tournament, but bogeyed four consecutive holes down the stretch to tie for seventh, her first career top 10 finish. It also means she's qualified for the Kraft Nabisco Championship this week, the first major of the 2012 LPGA season.

Her stellar play also vaulted her up the women's world rankings for a second straight week. Ewart cracked the top 300 after surging 142 places forward to No. 248 in the Rolex Rankings released on Monday.

Ewart is now No. 31 on the money list after the past two weeks, meaning she's in good shape to secure her LPGA Tour card for next year without having to return to Q-School.

LPGA Tour: Kia Classic features several locals

Jodi Ewart, who lives in Manatee County, joins several other locals in this week's LPGA Tour event, scheduled to begin Thursday.

She's in the first group off No. 10 on Thursday, teeing off at 7:15 a.m. Pacific time at the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif.

Also at the tournament is Bradenton native Jessica Korda, who is making her first LPGA Tour start since she won the Women's Australian Open for her first professional victory. Korda is off No. 10, too. She starts at 8:45 a.m. local time.

Former IMG Academies alum Paula Creamer and Victoria Tanco are in the field as well. Creamer plays alongside world No. 1 Yani Tseng, starting at 9:05 a.m. local time off the 10th hole. Tanco starts off the first hole at 1:40 p.m. local time.

The tournament is a final tune-up for the first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, that is held next week.

LPGA Tour: Jodi Ewart Moves Up World Rankings Off Top 20 Finish

Jodi Ewart practices at Palm-Aire Country Club before the start of the 2012 season. Grant Jefferies/gjefferies@bradenton.com

Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart made a huge jump in the latest women's world golf rankings.

Ewart vaulted 151 places to No. 351 in the Rolex Rankings on the strength of her top-20 finish at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup last week.

Ewart tied for 18th with IMG Academies alum Paula Creamer, and earned a check for $17,658. It was her first career top 20 finish on the LPGA Tour, coming in just her fourth event. She missed two cuts in her only tournaments last season, and finished tied for 66th in the Women's Australian Open in early February.

World No. 1 Yani Tseng captured her 14th career LPGA Tour victory with an 18-under par total. Ewart and Creamer finished 11 shots behind Tseng.

Ewart carded four under-par rounds, with her third-round 69 being her lowest of the 72-hole event.

Ladies European Tour: New Zealand Women's Open UPDATE

The Ladies European Tour event in New Zealand features three local players in the field.

Two of those players, Jaclyn Sweeney and Hannah Yun, begin the second round near the top of the leaderboard.

Sweeney and Yun carded 4-under par 68s. Currently, that's three shots off the pace that Mariajo Uribe is setting.

Uribe is on the course still.

Both Sweeney and Yun trained at IMG Academies and have residencies locally in Manatee County.

Another Manatee County resident, Jodi Ewart, is making her second start of the season since she earned full-time status on both the LET and LPGA Tour through gaining her card at each tour's respective Q-School.

Ewart struggled in her first round, posting a 76. She's fared better on Day Two thus far. Right now, the England native is 1-over par through 17 holes and is tied for 73rd.

It doesn't look like she'll make the cut.

LPGA Tour: Australian Open UPDATE

Jessica Korda at the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur/provided by McClatchy News-Service.

Bradenton native Jessica Korda enters the final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open with a one-shot lead over Nikki Campbell, So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Korda fired an even-par 73 in the third round.

Ryu, who led after the first and second rounds, slipped back to the field with a 76.

This is the best tournament Korda has had on the LPGA or Ladies European Tour circuits since turning pro ahead of last season.

Brittany Lincicome is tied for eighth. She also shot 73.

IMG Academies standout Victoria Tanco skyrocketed to an 82 and is tied for 50th.

Manatee County resident Jodi Ewart is alone in 70th after a third-round 78.

LPGA Tour: Australian Open

Jessica Korda at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open/provided by McClatchy-News Service

Bradenton's Jessica Korda finds herself in contention for her first professional victory at the midway point of the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, a joint event on both the LPGA and Ladies European Tour.

Korda sits tied for third through two rounds, and is at 4-under par. Her 142 total is just two shots behind leader So Yeon Ryu, who carded a 4-under 69 in the second round on the par-73 layout.

Also making the cut were Jodi Ewart, who hails from England but currently resides in Manatee County, and former IMG Academies standout Victoria Tanco.

Tanco, who originally is from Argentina, is in the top 20 through two rounds after a 147 total left her at 1-over for the tournament.

Difficult weather conditions brought the field back and gave Ewart, who posted a 6-over par 152, a made cut Down Under.

Brittany Lincicome, who played several West Florida Golf Tour events during the breaks in last year's LPGA Tour schedule, is in the top 10 this week. Lincicome ballooned to a 75 in the second round and enters third round action at 1-under par for the event.

Women's Golf: Locals at the Australian Open

Several local professional golfers are at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club's par-73 layout this week.

Jessica Korda, a Bradenton native, is faring the best thus far. Korda fired a first-round 72, which was just three shots off the lead.

Currently, Korda is tied for seventh place at 2-under par. She is 1-under par through three holes in her second round.

Also in the field is Brittany Lincicome, who has played several West Florida Golf Tour events locally to keep her competitive juices flowing during several breaks in last year's LPGA Tour's schedule.

Lincicome shot 70 on the first day, but is presently 2-over in the second round and sits six shots off leader So Yeon Ryu (7-under par).

IMG Academies standout Victoria Tanco is in the clubhouse with a 147 total after a second round 75.

Jodi Ewart, who trains at IMG and works on her game at Palm-Aire Country Club, is further back at 152. The Manatee County resident gained both her LPGA and Ladies European Tour cards through Q-School in December and January, and is making her season debut this week.

Check back tomorrow for more on how the local ladies are faring.

Jessica Korda rallies for Top 10 finish

Jessica Korda at last year's U.S. Women's Amateur/courtesy of McClatchy-Tribune Services

Bradenton's Jessica Korda rebounded from a second round 77 to fire a final round 66 in the Suncoast Ladies Series tournament at West Orange Country Club in Winter Garden Jan. 24-26.

Korda finished in a tie for seventh to collect $200. The 17-year-old turned pro after qualifying for the 2011 LPGA Tour, which issued a special age waiver to allow her to play for the upcoming season.

Korda turns 18 at the end of February, with just two tournaments - invitationals in Asia - taking place before the LPGA Tour heads back to America.

Korda was tied with Jodi Ewart at 3-over par, which was eight strokes behind Laura Diaz's winning total.