Smashing start for Ewart’s pro debut

MARION -- Jodi Ewart is making her professional debut this weekend.

If she keeps this up, her first paycheck might be a sizable one.

A 22-year-old Brit, Ewart birdied four straight holes through an opening-round 4-under-par 68, which gave her a share of the lead at the Duramed Futures Tour Ladies Titan Tire Challenge Friday at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

"For my first professional tournament, I was a lot less nervous than I thought I would be," she said. "Today, I wanted to go out, enjoy myself and play golf.

"To be honest, I'm not even thinking about the money. Once I get on the range, all I think about is golf."

A recent graduate of the University of New Mexico, Ewart parred the first five holes before her birdie binge began. She "holed a decent putt" for birdie at 6, then hit four straight at 8 through 11.

"That helped my score a lot," she said. "I played pretty steady. I dropped a shot at 14, but I made a nice (par) save at 17."

Ewart shares the lead with Chelsea Curtis, a 23-year-old from Massachusetts. Christine Song and Hannah Jun are one stroke back.

An early-morning thundershower delayed play by 40 minutes.

"I just sat in my car and listened to music," said Lucy Nunn, who overcame a double-bogey on 13 to card a 70 and stands two shots off the pace. "My dad's caddying for me, and he likes oldies. So we found a station with '70s music on it."

Despite the rain delay, Ewart was on the course by 9:30 a.m. and off by 2 p.m. She planned to spend the late afternoon in a mall.

And, don't take this too hard, Hawkeye fans, but as a UNM grad, Ewart is a Steve Alford fan.

"He's done a lot for the (Lobos' basketball) team," she said. "It's really exciting. I didn't get to go to any games, though. All the tickets were sold out."

Cindy LaCrosse, the 2010 Tour money leader, is 3-over-par. Ryann O'Toole, who won the Tour's most recent event, at Leawood, Kan., three weeks ago, eagled her first hole from 138 yards out and is 1-under.

Play begins Saturday at 6:50 a.m. The top 70, plus ties, advance to Sunday's final round.

Here is a link to real-time scoring.

Jodi Ewart, of North Yorkshire, England, gets ready to hit the ball on the 17th hole in the first round of the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge of the Duramed Futures Tour at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion on Friday, June 4, 2010. In the first round Ewart finished with a 4-under-par 68. (Julie Koehn/SourceMedia Group News)