Acharya and Herrick Share Lead After Round One at 22nd Women's Mid-Amateur

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  LAKEVILLE, Minn. – Bouncing back from a pair of early bogeys to begin her round Tuesday, former professional golfer Jasi Acharya carded a 1-over par 73 during the first round of the 22^nd Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at the Legends Club to earn a share of the lead with two-time champion Olivia Herrick.
 
A native of Columbus, Mont., Acharya regained her amateur status earlier this season and is making her first appearance at a Minnesota state championship this week. Carding three birdies against two bogeys over her final 12 holes Tuesday, Acharya grinded her way back into a share of the lead with 18 holes to play.
 
“Overall with the weather conditions, I was pretty happy today,” Acharya said Tuesday. “I definitely left a few out there that I felt like should’ve been birdies.  
 
Short-siding herself on each of the first two holes to begin the tournament Tuesday, Acharya failed to get up-and-down to save par before limiting the damage by rolling in her 15-foot slider for birdie at the par-3 seventh.
 
Turning in 1-over, Acharya drew even at the par-5 11^th when she wedged her approach inside of four feet for a routine birdie before giving back a stroke with bogey at the 12^th. Another bogey at the par-5 16^th put Acharya back to 2-over for the round, but she finished the day on a high note with a birdie at the 17^th, rolling in an 18-footer.
 
An amateur once again after playing Symetra Tour and LPGA events for nine years, Acharya admitted finding time for practice and competitive golf has been hard to come by this season.
 
“I haven’t played that much lately—in fact I was in snow this weekend, so I didn’t really have a chance to prepare,” Acharya said. “My driver was pretty good and I hit some good wedge shots. I did leave some out there that I felt like were straightforward, easy shots, so maybe there’s a little rust there.
 
“I wanted to put myself in contention after today and put up a decent round and didn’t shoot myself out of it. Hopefully tomorrow I won’t be too far off and can make some of those putts that I left out there today. I had to sit out a couple years, so I’m excited to be able to compete a little bit again.”
 
Acharya, who now lives in Carver, Minn., and works as a PXG club representative, won four consecutive Montana individual high school titles before attending the University of Montana, where she was a member of the Big Sky Conference champions as well as individual medalist in 2006. She’s a two-time winner of the Montana Women’s State Amateur (2003, 2005) and was elected to the Montana State Women’s Golf Association Hall of Fame.
 
She turned professional in 2007 and made over 35 starts on both the Symetra and LPGA Tours, qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst in 2014.
 
Herrick, who claimed back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, also got off to a slow start with cool and breezy conditions Tuesday, carding a bogey on her second hole before sinking birdies at the fourth and sixth holes to get to 1-under par.
 
Dropping a stroke with bogey at the seventh, Herrick’s approach at the par-4 eighth stopped a foot from the cup for an easy tap-in birdie and would turn at 1-under for the round. Herrick would card a pair of bogeys over her final nine holes to finish the first day of competition with a share of the lead at 1-over par 73.
 
“Today went well and I hung in there,” Herrick said. “I made some mistakes, but I rallied a little. On the back I really played well and I’m proud to make par on 18—I think it’s a really hard finishing hole.”
 
Herrick, who earned her fifth MGA Women’s Player of the Year this season, claimed her first Women’s Mid-Amateur victory in her first year of eligibility at the 25-and-over event at Victory Links Golf Course in 2014 and successfully defended her title a year later at Bunker Hills Golf Club.  
 
Christine Dean, from Interlachen Country Club, fired a round of 5-over par 77 Tuesday and will begin the final round in third place, four shots off the lead.
 
The 22^nd MGA Mid-Amateur Championship concludes Wednesday as the final round is slated to begin at 10:50 a.m. at The Legends Club.
 
 
 
THE 22^ND MGA WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
THE LEGENDS CLUB
LAKEVILLE, MINN.
5,679 YARDS, PAR 72
 
 
TUESDAY’S FIRST ROUND RESULTS
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
T1. Jasi Acharya, Interlachen CC, 37-36—73
T1. Olivia Herrick, Dellwood CC, 35-38—73
3. Christine Dean, Interlachen CC, 39-38—77
4. Betsy Aldrich, Woodhill CC, 39-39—78
5. Brenda Williams, Windsong Farm, 38-41—79
6. Alison Hurley, Minnesota Valley CC, 39-41—80
7. Lynn Anderson, Keller GC, 42-40—82
8. Becky Scadden, Minnesota Valley CC, 41-43—84
9. Bernie Brown, Wapicada GC, 43-46—89
10. Ellie Layton, Rochester G&CC, 42-54—96
 
 
PRESIDENT’S FLIGHT
T1. Jo Rathmanner, White Bear YC, 42-43—85
T1. Kathy Hubert-Wyss, Forest Hills GC, 43-42—85  
3. Sarah Qian, Pheasant Acres GC, 51-42—93
4. Lori Wohlrabe, Bunker Hills GC, 51-45—96
5. Shawna Johnson, Keller GC, 49-48—97
T6. Barb Hanson, Whitefish GC, 44-54—98  
T6. Denise Weiss, Pioneer Creek GC, 46-52—98
8. Carey Dubbs, Keller GC, 47-54—101
9. Colleen Boerboom, Minnewaska GC, 51-51—102
10. Fran Page, Keller GC, 54-54—108