Paula Creamer tees off on 10th hole during the first round of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic golf tournament, Thursday April 26, 2012, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/ Press-Register, Victor Calhoun)
MOBILE, Alabama — Welcome back Jennifer Rosales.
It has been a long time since Rosales has been in contention in a LPGA event, but that’s where she is after shooting a 5-under 67 Thursday to claim a share of the first-round lead in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.
Rosales’ best finish in the previous three seasons was a tie for 16th in the 2010 Bell Micro LPGA Classic here. Last year her best finish was a tie for 45th. She last won in 2005.
Injuries and a limited exemption status have prevented Rosales from playing a heavy schedule, and her world ranking has slipped to No. 292.
“The yardages were pretty good today,” she said of her opening 18 holes on the Crossings. “I was just hitting it. And the putting worked good for me today.”
She sustained a wrist injury in 2009 that affected her play, and on Wednesday had an ultrasound on her calf because there was fear of a blood clot.
PAK-ING IT UP: Se Ri Pak, a three-time winner in Mobile, won’t pick up her fourth victory here this year. As reported by Beth Ann Baldry of Golfweek, Pak was spotted coming out of the fitness trailer at Magnolia Grove on Wednesday with her arm in a sling and had a separated shoulder.
RESIDENTS BEAT PROS: The Little Sisters of the Poor Sacred Heart Residence Home residents in Mobile don’t have to take a back seat to the LPGA players in town, at least not to Katherine Hull and Mo Martin in Wii golf.
Hull and Martin visited the residents Wednesday morning for a round of Wii golf, and Pat Williams and Ronnie Morrison scored a two-shot victory. Afterward, Mother Marcel Joseph gave a tour of the facility to the LPGA stars.
PUTTING LESSON: Lexi Thompson and Karlin Beck used the carpet in a large playroom in the children’s wing to provide putting lessons Wednesday during their visit to the University of South Alabama’s Children’s and Women’s Hospital.
