Ladies Titan Tire Challenge-Day 2

By Joe George/Community Contributor

It was up-and-at-em bright and early this morning for the old Goose Whisperer.  For Melissa Eaton-Jackson and me, our tee time was 7:10 a.m. under a threatening sky.  I brought the rain gear just in case but luckily it stayed hidden in the bag throughout the round.

This is one day I was glad the forecast for morning rain was off target.

Joining us for this early morning round of golf was Rebecca Kim (along with her brother and caddy, Arthur, who plays college golf at Purdue) and Christi Cano.

Rebecca played her college golf at Duke and was a member of the 2007 NCAA Women Championship team. She turned pro just one year ago.

Christi hales from San Antonio, Texas, and spent her college years at Oklahoma State University and currently has limited status on the LPGA Tour. In fact, she leaves here to travel to Springfield, Illinois, for next week's LPGA event.

All the players began the day with solid pars and after 9, all were either even or one over par.  The back 9 proved to be a bit more challenging for all of them, as it does for anyone who plays Hunter's Ridge.  Christi had a few missteps along the way but made a great birdie putt on 13 and after some nice shots coming down the stretch, ended her day with a 2 over round of 74.

Rebecca's round was very similar to Christi's. It was highlighted by a wonderful drive on the par 3 16th followed by a nice downhill 7-foot birdie putt. She closed out her round with a par on 18, just missing a 40-foot birdie putt, to post a 1 over par round of 73.

Melissa's round of golf was a steady-as-she-goes performance. Her ball striking was exceptional and we found little trouble on any of the holes. Just a couple of errant shots and a few putts that just would not turn at the right moment left her with a round of 2 over 74.

Unfortunately, all three of these young ladies will miss the cut.  Even though each was gracious and supportive of each other all day, I know that it must be tough to walk away empty handed at the end of their time here.

But there is always next week, and the week after.

As for Melissa, it is obvious that she has a lot of game.  With a driving average of 265 yards (yes, I said 265 yards), she can compete on any golf course and do it well.  When her wedges and putter are hot, all I can say is lookout.  And when those wins come, and they will, they will come to one of the nicest young ladies I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Thanks, Melissa, for giving me the chance to "loop" for you. I hope you will return to our patch of eastern Iowa next year so we can renew our friendship.

And that brings me to my final thoughts.  If you go out to the tournament tomorrow to watch the exciting final round, please make a point of finding one of the folks from the Junior League and from Titan Tire and thank them for bringing big time professional golf to Marion.  We are fortunate that the Duramed Futures Tour has set up shop here and I, for one, hope they will do so for years to come.

Well that's all from this year's tournament. Time for me to put my feet up and rest until next year.

Oh, and Melissa, travel safe and best wishes.  The autographed ball you gave me is in a place of prominence next to the ones from Zach, Sergio, Brad and Ashley.

Until next year.

Joe George