Woods extends Chevron Challenge lead to 4

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Tiger Woods is starting to look like his old self at the Chevron World Challenge.

Woods got off to a blazing start Friday and a solid putting stroke enabled him to play bogey-free in the second round for a 6-under 66 that gave him a four-shot lead going into the weekend of his final tournament this year.

Woods was at 13-under 131, his best 36-hole score this year by six shots. And the four-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell had to be a refreshing change for a guy who has been at least nine shots back through 36 holes in seven tournaments this year.

“I’ve been here before, so it’s not a strange feeling,” Woods said. “It’s just one of those things where tomorrow is the same game plan, just go out there and plot my way along and take care of the par 5s.”

He did that again on a pleasant day in the Conejo Valley, and now has played the five par 5s at Sherwood Country Club in 10 under through two rounds. That included an eagle on the second hole, and perhaps Woods’ most impressive shot of the day, if not the year. He hit a 4-iron from a hanging lie so severe that it caused Woods to stumble down the hill after impact.

The ball landed 8 feet away to the right of the pin.

And on the next hole, when Woods made a superb par save with a putter through a swale to about 3 feet, caddie Steve Williams walked off the green and said, “The tide is turning.”

McDowell keeps plugging away in his sixth straight week of competition, playing well enough to keep pace except for a few mistakes. He took a double bogey on the ninth hole, and failed to save par from a bunker on the 18th.

He was at 9-under 135, and will be paired with Woods in the final group Saturday.

“Sometimes in a four-round tournament, you get a round where you don’t really play your best,” McDowell said. “To shoot 3 under and not play my best, I’m pretty happy with that.”

Rory McIlroy played with Woods for the first time in competition – the Skins Game at the Memorial doesn’t count – and was impressed with what he saw. McIlroy caught flak at the Ryder Cup for saying he would love to play Woods if his game didn’t improve, although he doesn’t regret what he said – even Woods would agree with the “if his game didn’t improve” part – and both played well.

McIlroy only fell apart at the end.

He hit 5-wood on the par-5 16th that covered the flag and just went over the back of the green. On firm turf, however, he hit a thin chip some 20 feet away, narrowly missed the birdie putt, then watched his 2 1/2-foot par putt circle the cup and stay out.

On the 18th, McIlroy hit 7-iron over the green, chipped long off the back of the green and had to two-putt from 35 feet for a double bogey that gave him a 70.

The real excitement came from everyone behind them.

Paul Casey made a hole-in-one on the 12th hole, which carried him to a 7-under 65. Bubba Watson made the rarest shot in golf – an albatross – when he holed out his second shot on the par-5 16th. That was the difference in his 69, although he was still 14 shots behind.

Anthony Kim also made a nice recovery, chuckling at a report on a golf blog that he might have another injury after opening with a 79.

“It’s as good as ever,” Kim said after a 66.

Woods still has two rounds to show true signs that he is on his way back, and he has kept it simple at Sherwood – attack the par 5s and limit the mistakes.

As if often the case with anyone at any tournament, however, the putting stood out the most.

Not only did he made some key par saves and two good birdie putts inside 12 feet in his great start – he one-putted the first four holes and two-putted for birdie on the fifth – he constantly ran the ball some 3 to 4 feet beyond the hole.

Woods attributed that to having too many putts above the hole, although there was a confident look to his putting that had been missing for so much of the year. He no longer looked concerned by facing those par putts, and it showed. Seven times, he ran a birdie putt at least 3 feet by the hole and made them all.

“I hit a lot of pure putts,” Woods said. “I wasn’t quite as sharp as yesterday, but I was able to piece it together and figure out how to hit better shots when I was struggling a little bit. I hit a couple loose shots and all of a sudden, ‘OK, this is what I need to do to fix it.’ And I fixed it. So that was nice.”

Still, he missed only two greens in regulation, and the closest he came to bogey was on the final hole when he ran his birdie attempt some 5 feet by the hole. He made that for a bogey-free round, a rarity this year.

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Myrtle Beach's Golson will join Notre Dame, not North Carolina

MYRTLE BEACH -- The NCAA investigation into the University of North Carolina football program may not be the reason Everett Golson rescinded his commitment to the school, but it led him to explore other options.

In doing so, Golson discovered something he found more enchanting in South Bend, Ind.

Myrtle Beach High's heavily recruited senior quarterback rescinded the verbal commitment he gave the Tar Heels in February and in turn verbally committed Thursday to play at Notre Dame.

"The NCAA investigation kind of helped me look at other schools," said Golson, who is leading the Seahawks (13-1) into Saturday's Class AAA state championship game against South Pointe. "It kind of branched me out to really want to experience another school and university.

"... Right now I'm in the stage where I'm kind of realizing the best opportunity for me, and I feel Notre Dame gives me that opportunity."

The NCAA investigation into UNC is delving into possible impermissible player involvement with agents and possible academic misconduct. Findings of the investigation and fallout from it, including any sanctions against the program, may not to be known for several months, and that could come after Golson enrolls in college.

He expects to complete his academic requirements for graduation in early January and intends to enroll in classes at Notre Dame by mid-January.

"[The NCAA investigation] really didn't have a major part to do with [the decision], but it had a small factor in it, and I think it's only right that it should have a small factor in it," Golson said. "North Carolina was my childhood favorite. I kind of grew up always wanting to go to North Carolina. After I matured I had to go for what was best for me and my future and my family."

Golson has maintained since his commitment to UNC that he wants to play college basketball besides football. Though he said he likely would have committed to Notre Dame had basketball not been an option, it appears to be a possibility.

He said he has spoken to Irish men's basketball coach Mike Brey, whose team is 8-0 and ranked in the top 25, and believes Brey and Irish football coach Brian Kelly have spoken about him playing both sports. "Definitely they sound like they're interested in me playing basketball, also," Golson said.

Golson said that unbeknownst to him, until recently, Notre Dame basketball coaches were monitoring him during summer AAU tournaments, and Irish coaches have been regularly calling Myrtle Beach boys basketball coach Craig Martin.

Golson was swayed toward Notre Dame after a visit to the school the weekend of Nov. 13-14, when the Irish (7-5) defeated then once-beaten Utah.

"I loved the campus when I first went up there," Golson said. "When I was on campus I wanted to commit right then. I guess the mature side of me realized you have to take some time to make this decision. You can't fully go off emotion. So I talked it over with my family and my coaches and set a two-week deadline just to see if I felt the same way I did. I prayed about it a lot and asked for direction, and that's where He led me to."

Golson said he was impressed by the school's campus, architecture, history, fans and academics, and his relationship with both the Irish players and coaches. His formal verbal commitment came after Notre Dame wide receivers coach Tony Alford visited Golson in Myrtle Beach on Wednesday.

Kelly is in his first year with the Irish after coaching Grand Valley State from 1991-2003, Central Michigan from 2004-06 and Cincinnati from 2007-09. The Bearcats had an undefeated regular season last season before losing their bowl game following Kelly's departure.

Charley Molnar is Notre Dame's offensive coordinator, and he runs an offense that mirrors that of Myrtle Beach, with the quarterback in shotgun formation, one running back and three wide receivers in many sets. UNC has a more pro-style offense that balances the run and pass.

"They have a great offense and kind of run something similar to what we run," Golson said. "They throw the ball almost 60 to 70 times a game, so they're going to air it out."

Golson suffered hand and foot injuries in the second game of the season and missed eight games, but he returned for the playoffs. In six games this year he has completed 90 of 133 passes for 1,590 yards with 22 touchdowns and one interception. For his career, Golson is 749 of 1,189 for a completion percentage of 63 percent, with 11,454 yards passing, 148 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.

Golson said one of the most difficult things he has ever done was make the call to Tar Heels offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who primarily recruited him, to rescind his verbal commitment.

"I won't lie to you, it hurt me," Golson said. "Because I felt that's where it kind of ended my childhood and I kind of realize where I'm going for the best opportunity. ... I called them and I can't say it's the happiest talk I've ever had, but I guess we got through it."

At UNC, friends and family from the Grand Strand could have easily driven to watch Golson play home games and many away games. At Notre Dame, they'll have to make travel plans and more of an effort.

"There are no worries with that," Golson said. "Notre Dame is on TV week in and week out, so somebody is going to see me whether it's on TV or in person."

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Woods leads Chevron after opening 65

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Certainly, it wasn’t like the salad days of majors and walkovers that ushered in this century, but in a small way it felt like the good old days.

Though there was plenty of golf still on the course, fans were seen headed for the gates because Tiger Woods was done for the day. To them, the show was over.

OK, first disclaimer: “Plenty of golf still on the course” means just six players were still touring the last few holes at Sherwood Country Club, but hey, that’s a third of the field here at the Chevron World Challenge.

Oh, and a second disclaimer: We recognize that it’s a silly-seson event, meaningless perhaps for 17 of the 18 who are assembled here, but not for Woods. To him, this tournament carries great significance – not just because for the first time he’s able to play for his Chevron sponsors and not just because the charitable funds benefit his Tiger Woods Foundation. No, the importance of his first-round 65 that provided a one-stroke lead over that likeable entry from Northern Ireland, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, rests within the mind.

“A tournament like this at the very end of the year, if you play well, it does give you a shot of confidence,” Woods said after a performance that incuded 16 greens and birdies on each of the five par 5s.

Now there was a time when Woods overflowed with confidence – like Gates with cash or Trump with ego. Then came . . . well, Thanksgiving 2009 and a year’s worth of fallout that touched all parts of his life. While he worked hard to keep much of the wounds private, there was nothing he could do about the golf. It was out front for public consumption and in so many ways it wasn’t pretty.

The fact that he went winless for the first time in a PGA Tour season? Yes, it bothers him, but what truly stung is the way in which his golf ball went so off line at so many times. When finally in August he made the leap to trust his swing to Sean Foley, he insists he embraced a key component to the transition.

“I was putting togther streaks of holes earlier,” he said. “Two, three, four, five – and then I’d lose it for a little bit. Eventually I needed to get to a full round and then eventually a full tournament and today was a full round. So that’s a good start.”

And a rare one, too, because in this upside-down season, Woods played 14 tournaments and 53 rounds (and that includes the Australian Masters) and had the lead at the end of the day just once.

Repeat, once.

Not exactly positive stuff from the greatest front-runner in the history of golf, but now that he’s gone into the lead for a second time in 2010, he’s excited to see what happens.

“Most of the year, if I did get something going, I’d make some kind of mistake,” Woods said, and that was the case back in August when after opening with a 7 under 65 to lead the Barclays and pushing to 8 under on his first nine in Round 2, he bogeyed four times coming home then made a triple-bogey to start his third round.

Another tournament was kissed goodbye.

Now even if that scenario were to repeat itself here, Woods insists he’s happy with the progress he’s making with Foley. No, things aren’t perfect. “It’s not totally natural yet,” he said of the swing, but he’s committed to their collaboration.

For all of those reasons, Woods appeared to be having the most fun on the first day of an event that might appear casual – at least until you look at the purse. It’s a very serious sum, $5 million, and while Woods has the inside track on the top prize of $1.2 million, Anthony Kim seemed intent on taking the last-place $140,000 crumbs.

Going through the motions to the tune of 79, Kim made just one birdie and seemed no closer to finding an answer to his puzzling game. Ranked 19th in the world when invitations to the Chevron World Challenge were mailed out Sept. 20, Kim is still at 26, though playing like No. 260.

No worries, perhaps, since it’s a festival of fun, a rich party to celebrate a season well played, and that explains why so many had smiles. None as wide as Woods, of course, although Nick Watney came close.

“I wasn’t in this tournament on Saturday,” he said, “so I’m thrilled to be here and to have shot even par.”

Only a few weeks ago, Watney got married and honeymooned on the other side of the world. First in Shanghai where he played four rounds in the HSBC Champions, then in Bora Bora with his wife, Amber.

“I’m not so sure she liked getting on the plane for a 12-hour ride to China,” Watney said. But, yes, Bora Bora made up for that.

? ? ?

Extensive travel also was required by McDowell, McIlroy, Luke Donald, and Ian Poulter just to get here, the four of them having played last week at the European Tour finale in Dubai. They are globe-trotters, each of them, but proving he’s getting wiser by the day, 21-year-old McIlroy made the trip even more worthwhile by mixing business with pleasure – he stopped by a nearby Oakley office to sample the products he’s entitled to thanks to a new business partnership.

“A two-year deal,” McIlroy said.

Presuming that it meant 2011 and 2012, curious reporters suggested McIlroy was jumping in a bit early, wearing Oakley sunglasses and the company logo on his shirt and pants. He smiled and conceded that it might be construed a two-year-and-one-month deal, but he had to break them in.

? ? ?

Storylines being thin this time of year, McIlroy and Oakley qualified as news, and so, too, did a caddie shuffle of sorts. Sean O’Hair has split with veteran bagman Paul Tesori, though Tesori is here this week working for Camilo Villegas. That’s because Villegas’ caddie, Brett Waldman, is at the final stage of Q School. As for O’Hair, he has teamed with Brennan Little, Mike Weir’s longtime caddie, but it makes sense because the Canadian is on the sidelines nursing an elbow injury.

Going forward into 2011, O’Hair said he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Being friends with Weir, “I would never get in the way,” O’Hair said, and a serious option is his father-in-law, Steve Lucas, who caddied for him for years.

“We’ve talked about it,” O’Hair said.

There will, of course, be more time to talk, because what sits on the horizon is the off-season. Then again, “off-season” is a matter of perspective, because while a good many players will start next season in less than a month, whether it be Jan. 5 in Maui or Jan. 12 in Honolulu, Woods figures to have seven weeks off, assuming he’ll start the next season at Torrey Pines Jan. 27.

To help ease his winter hibernation, Woods would love to store up the confidence, and a 65 surely has him pointed in the right direction.

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Rawson to take year off from full-time golf

ORLANDO, Fla. – Glancing down the list of players who have signed up for next week’s LPGA Q-School, the name Anna Rawson was noticeably absent. Rawson is 132nd on the money list ($18,010), so she’d need a career week at the LPGA Tour Championship to have a place to play next year.

Rawson, looking trendy as ever in her winter garb, was walking back to the clubhouse after the sun went down on her round. She was 4 over through 17 holes Thursday when the horn blew to suspend play.

“I’ve done this for six years, and it’s been awesome; I love it,” she said. “But maybe there’s other things in life.”

Rawson, who is engaged to Ted Cherrin, head of worldwide television at International Creative Management in Los Angeles, said she feels like her game is fine. She wants to take a year off from full-time golf for her “general well-being.” 2011 will be an experimental year for Rawson, who plans to dabble in business opportunities, ideally ones that involve golf. She also will play on the occasional sponsor exemption.

As for modeling, the rail-thin Australian says now might be the time to transition out of that, too.

“I feel like I’m too old,” said Rawson, who will turn 30 in August. She’s a syndicated columnist in 13 publications across 27 countries and has graced the cover of 30 magazines, including the 2010 inaugural Golfweek For Her.

Rawson had one top 10 in three years on the LPGA. The USC grad has $166,910 in career earnings. In 2007, she lost on the fourth hole of a playoff at the LET’s Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open.

“I’m open to everything,” Rawson said. Even coming back to golf.

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Abandoned Horry County baby held in memory

CONWAY -- Local authorities and community leaders say if the person who left the body of an infant in a ditch two years ago this week had known of or followed Daniel's Law, the baby could have survived.

"I see it being a good option for people who don't want a child or for whatever reason can't keep a child," said Horry County Coroner Robert Edge, who helped organize a remembrance Thursday for the child known as Baby Boy Horry. "If this baby was left under Daniel's Law, he would have been enjoying Christmas this year."

The state law, also known as the Safe Haven for Abandoned Infants Act, allows parents to leave unharmed newborns at approved "safe havens" without legal repercussions.

In South Carolina, three Daniel's Law babies were given up in 2009, up from two in 2008 and down from four in 2007, according to state Department of Social Services officials. None of those babies was in Horry or Georgetown counties.

The infant was found dead in a Bath and Body Works bag in a ditch on Meadowbrook Drive off of S.C. 544 on Dec. 4, 2008.

Edge has said the infant "was a very viable child, which means if it had the proper care, it would have lived."

Several people from area communities gathered Thursday for the memorial service at Hillcrest Cemetery in Conway. They joined the Rev. Wayne Brown, who officiated the service, in prayers and songs, including "Silent Night," "Jesus Loves Me" and "Away in a Manger."

Brown talked about why the boy's mother would do that when there are places like a rescue squad or hospital where an infant can be safely left.

"Maybe she was fearful ... a student who was afraid," Brown said. "I don't know what could have been going through her mind, except maybe she didn't know about the law or wasn't educated about agencies and churches here to help. It is our privilege as well as our responsibility to help people when we can. We should be able to lean on each other so that other incidents like this don't happen because there are people that will take a child into a loving home.

"Our prayer is that anyone that knows of this tragedy will come forth."

The publicity this week about Baby Boy Horry has prompted a tip that authorities are following up, said Horry County police Lt. Jamie DeBari, who attended Thursday's memorial service.

"It's important to continue a memorial so we don't forget and to bring closure to the case and for the child," said DeBari, who would not disclose Thursday any details about the tip. "You've always got to have hope you're going to close the case, especially these kind of cases."

Authorities hope the service will spur someone who knows what happened to come forward, while pointing out that such laws as Daniel's Law would help prevent this kind of case.

If Daniel's Law had been followed, said Horry County police Sgt. Robert Kegler, "we wouldn't be having a memorial service. ... It absolutely would have helped."

Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, said Wednesday that research has shown that women who abandon their children in unsafe places are not in a state of mind to comprehend that there are other options, such as those provided by safe haven laws.

A report by the adoption institute, headquartered in New York, questions the effectiveness and consequences of safe haven laws.

The report shows "safe haven laws not only do not solve the problem of unsafe infant abandonment, but actually may encourage women to conceal pregnancies and then abandon infants who otherwise would have been placed for adoption through established legal procedures or been raised by relatives," according to a 2003 news release.

"There are still women so distraught that they put their kids in unsafe places," Pertman said. "They need to be educated about conception, medical care and open adoptions."

That's why Myrtle Beach resident Pam Carr keeps the line of communication open with her 15-year-old daughter Abbie Carr.

The two attended Thursday's memorial service.

"That baby could have been a wonderful gift to someone," said Pam Carr, who started a memorial on Meadowbrook Drive where Baby Boy Horry was found. "Someone wanted to forget that baby. We're not going to forget that baby for that reason. I'm not going to let that happen. It's the community's baby."

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2 firms fight for Hooters

An Horry County judge approved the sale of Hooters at a hearing Thursday, but a legal battle is brewing between two companies seeking to buy the international restaurant chain best known for its "Hooters Girls" waitresses.

Chanticleer Investors LLC is trying to exercise a right to block the sale of Hooters of America Inc. to Wellspring Capital Management. Hooters granted Chanticleer "the right of first refusal" in a previous loan agreement that would give it precedence over any other bidder seeking to buy the company.

A sale to either company is expected to close before Dec. 31, said Jim Creel, one of the estate's five executors, during his testimony.

Thursday's hearing was the latest chapter in efforts to settle the estate of Robert "Bob" Brooks, a Loris native who bought Hooters in 1986 and oversaw an expansion that made the chain a globally recognized brand. Brooks died in 2006 and his will divided his ownership of Hooters, awarding his son and daughter the largest stakes.

The settlement became more complicated when his second wife, Tami Springs Brooks, rejected the will as written and elected to take one-third of the estate's total value, which includes Hooters, an action allowed under S.C. law. She attended the hearing, as did several other family members, but declined to comment.

Chanticleer is a private equity firm based in Charlotte, N.C., and led by chief executive Mike Pruitt, a Coastal Carolina University alumnus. Pruitt was present at the hearing but declined to comment. Chanticleer sent in a request to exercise its right around 12 a.m. Thursday, lawyers said during the proceedings.

Wellspring is a New York-based private equity fund and has previously invested in restaurants such as Dave & Busters and Checkers Drive-In Restaurants.

Wellspring and Chanticleer representatives declined to comment beyond what was said during the proceedings. Pruitt patted Coby Brooks, Bob Brooks' son and current CEO of Hooters, on the back in a brief exchange after the hearing.

The executors and companies working on their behalf began searching for a potential buyer in fall 2009. After two rounds of bidding, executors ultimately chose Wellspring as the best company to buy Hooters.

The purchase agreement, a roughly 850-page document including how much Wellspring would pay for Hooters, has been sealed by the courts. Ken Wingate, attorney for the estate, said that the document was sealed "not only to protect the interest of the beneficiaries but also to protect the company itself."

Horry County Probate Judge Deirdre Edmonds approved the request to sell the company under that agreement, but that ruling does not decide which party will ultimately acquire Hooters. If the right of first refusal is properly exercised, the sale would move forward with Chanticleer as the buyer, said Michael Roh, an attorney for Chanticleer.

Chanticleer had loaned money to Hooters Air, a Myrtle Beach-based airline that failed after three years, in 2006, Creel said in his testimony. The right of first refusal to purchase Brooks' stake in Hooters was included in that agreement, said Creel, who was involved in Hooters Air with Brooks.

Creel testified on behalf of the Hooters board of directors, of which he is a member. Creel was also one of four executors of the estate in attendance. Others were Coby Brooks, son of Bob Brooks; Glenn Brooks, Bob Brooks' brother; and Jim Creel and Carter Wrenn, longtime friends of Bob Brooks. The fifth executor, Edward Greene, president and chief executive officer of Naturally Fresh Inc., which was founded by Bob Brooks, did not attend.

The acquisition agreement between Hooters and Wellspring accounts for the possibility of Chanticleer exercising its right of first refusal, Wingate said.

Two investment bankers also testified: Lorin DeMordaunt, an investment banker with McColl Partners in Charlotte, and Matthew Kelly, an investment banker with North Point Advisors in San Francisco.

Kelly said initially 240 parties were interested in buying Hooters. A pared-down group of 17 potential buyers submitted bids in the first round. Eight of the bidders were included in the final vetting of Hooters and three submitted bids in the second round, Kelly said. Wellspring's bid was ultimately selected, he said.

When asked by Michael Munden, the attorney representing Bob and Tami Brooks' daughter Boni Belle Brooks, whether it was a mistake to sell now in a weak economy rather than holding onto the company and selling later, Kelly said: "I don't have a crystal ball."

The conditions are definitely good and $6 billion in restaurant mergers and acquisitions have been conducted so far this year, Kelly said.

DeMordaunt said they thoroughly marketed Hooters and the estate is getting the best deal.

Chanticleer and Wellspring were not party to the hearing, which was only between executors and beneficiaries of the estate, Edmonds said, but both companies had lawyers present who spoke during the hearing.

At least seven members of Bob Brooks' family attended the hearing Thursday, and most declined to comment with some citing confidentiality agreements of the pending sale.

Glenn Brooks, who was present at the hearing, had contested the initial court ruling that began the process of finding a buyer, according to court documents. Glenn Brooks argued that Tami Brooks' share of the estate was incorrect and overvalued. He also claimed it was improper to sell the company before assessing tax liabilities.

But after Thursday's hearing, Glenn Brooks said he was OK with the sale and voted for it as an executor of the will. Disputes haven't affected family life, he said.

"It's just a process, the family is fine," Glenn Brooks said.

Although Tami and Coby Brooks declined to comment, other family members said the court proceedings has not damaged their relationships.

"We're not squabbling," said Betty Brooks, wife of Gerald Brooks, Bob's brother.

When asked what Bob Brooks would think about the legal proceedings, Betty Brooks said, "He's probably laughing."

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Florida players enjoying LPGA's Orlando stop

ORLANDO, Fla. – For the volunteer holding back the small army of Vicky Hurst fans early Thursday morning at Grand Cypress Golf Club, such a crowd of first-round followers on an unusually brisk Florida morning seemed to come as something of a shock.

“Which one is she?” the volunteer asked, careful not to let a single fan through his outstretched arms as he turned to squint down the par-4 16th.

No spectator in this group had a problem with that identification, as one of the bundled fans pointed out the young, all-black-clad Hurst as she stepped to the tee.

For Hurst, a Central Florida home-girl in the truest sense of the word, the LPGA tour’s return to Florida with the Tour Championship is an especially good thing. Born and raised in nearby Melbourne, Hurst drew one of the largest followings of the morning from her home course, Suntree Country Club, even in cool, windy conditions. Wearing homemade “Go Vicky Hurst!” pins, the assembled crowd peppered an otherwise low-key morning with encouraging shouts of “That’s our Vick!”

“They’ve all supported me since I was little, and I see them all the time at the golf course, so it was cool to see familiar faces watching the LPGA,” Hurst said after a first-round 6-over 78 that left her near the bottom of the leaderboard.

And with that, Hurst may be on to something. For the first time since 2008 – when three tournaments were staged here – the LPGA has a stop in Florida on its competition schedule. Many players see it as a step in the right direction for the LPGA, particularly those players who call the Sunshine State home. There are more than 50 of those on the LPGA, but Hurst is one of only a handful who have always claimed it.

As the Ginn Open at Reunion, the Stanford International Pro-Am at Aventura and the ADT Championship in West Palm Beach exited the schedule in 2008, the LPGA saw 2009 pass without a single Florida stop. It’s unfortunate for players who already spend a good part of the year chasing events outside the United States, plus the tour itself is stationed in Daytona Beach.

“A lot of players reside in Florida,” said Leta Lindley, an implant who lives in West Palm Beach. “There’s a lot of great golf courses here, so it is very nice to be back in the great golfing state. Very important to all of us, I think.”

Though sparse in the morning, crowds began to pick up as the day wore on and the temperature climbed. Morgan Pressel, who grew up playing in Boca Raton, notes that events here are made to attract crowds. Pressel, who posted 1-over 73 Thursday in the early wave of tee times, is living off the hanger this week instead of out of the suitcase, and it’s safe to say many of her peers are doing the same as more than 50 LPGA players take up residence in Florida.

“I was very impressed with the crowds that were out here today,” she said.

As Pressel noted, much of those crowds are golfers themselves, as Florida’s climate makes the state a draw for linksters. To be able to play for that type of fan is a detail that can’t be overlooked.

In fact Brittany Lincicome, another of the few native Floridians in the field this week, sees golf in her home state as being along the lines of baseball and apple pie: “It just makes sense to be in Florida.” In order for this relationship to work, as Lincicome pointed out, sponsors will need to take an interest, too.

“You think of Florida, Texas, California, you think of golf, so it’s kind of been unfortunate that we haven’t been playing golf in Florida,” she said. “... Now hopefully sponsors or somebody will kind of pick up on it attracts people, people come and people love golf, and hopefully we can get some more tournaments in Florida.”

As for Lincicome, originally from St. Petersburg, she’ll spend the week in a rented house nearby that sleeps 12-15. If all goes according to plan and Lincicome continues to advance through each of the week’s two cuts, it could turn out to be one very memorable event, both for the golf and the company she’ll keep. There’s nothing like a home crowd.

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