Kristie Smith off to lacklustre start at Daytona Beach
Australian Kristie Smith, who won the 2010 Daytona Beach Invitational in a resounding fashion, got off to a lacklustre start at the 2012 edition of the tournament as she carded a 74 in the
opening round to tie for the 76th position on the leaderboard.
The Symetra Tour tournament, being staged at Florida, is featuring a 120-player field that includes several professional players, but Smith is being singled out as the best because of her
stunning track record in the event.
The tournament is offering a purse of $125,000, but what is more important is the media attention and massive crowd support at Daytona Beach.
The Australian star could not handle the ball on the greens and fairways both on the back nine and front nine. She parred the first three holes and carded a bogey on the par-4 4th
hole.
In an attempt to regain her momentum, Smith launched her first birdie on the par-5 5th, but it did not seem to make an impact as her strokes lacked precision.
She saved bogeys on the 6th and 7th and managed to shoot her second birdie on the 8th.
On the back nine, the former winner looked devastated as most of the strokes she made had flaws. She bogeyed the 10th and parred the next two holes. Then on the 13th,
she tried to make a desperate attempt on the greens, but could not judge a chip shot and ended up registering another bogey.
Furthering hurting her scores, the Aussie golfer posted a double bogey on the tricky par-3 17th hole.
Observers said that Smith was in high spirits when she set foot on the course on Friday morning, but an early bogey derailed her and she kept faltering through the 18 holes.
Smith knew the course was suitable and that was why she had expressed her hope to do well this year. Speaking to the media during her pre-tournament interview, she said she likes the course,
especially its soft fairways.
“It looks really good,” she said of the Daytona Beach. “You can tell they’ve had some water but it’s drying out really nicely. True Floridian style. I hit a long enough ball off the tee anyways
that it shouldn’t affect me much anyways. It’s just so hot!”
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