The weather abnormalities that caused massive rains and flooding along the eastern Pennylvania and New Jersey coasts had a bit of an impact on the first round of the Women’s Porter Cup on Wednesday. Strong winds and fall temperatures invaded the peninsula, forcing golfers to gear up with outerwear usually demanded by a British Amateur championship. Gloves, hats and wind jackets were standard fare across the Niagara Falls country club course, as the 4th playing of the tournament got underway.
The morning wave yielded three scores of 73, but as the weather improved, the scoring dropped. By day’s end, Jaclyn Lee of Calgary had posted a 68 to assume a one-stroke lead over Naomi Ko of Victoria, British Columbia. Susana Vik, of Greenwich, CT, stood alone in third place at 71, and was followed by three more golfers at 72. Seven golfers had scores of 73, placing 13 golfers within five strokes of the lead. With Thursday morning forecasts calling for chilly weather until noon, the trailing golfers will certainly have difficulty in their quest to make up strokes on the leaders.
For local flavor, Chelsea Dantonio of Lancaster (75) and Cat Peters of Clarence (76) found themselves within 10 strokes of the leader. Many area representatives succumbed unexpectedly to the challenging weather, posting scores in the 80s. Representing the mid-amateurs is Meghan Stasi, who fired one of the 73s to find herself squarely in the championship mix. For a full list of today’s scores, Click Here. For a look at some of today’s action, view this photo gallery.
Nothing says pure, amateur golf like loyalty to a school or a federation. See some of the representative bags in this photo gallery.
