NELLY KORDA HAPPY WITH 3-UNDER 69 IN FIRST PRO ROUND: In her first round as a professional, Nelly Korda (Bradenton, Fla.) carded a 3-under 69 and is in a tie for sixth.

“I started really well as I was 4-under after nine and I was hitting it really solid,” said the 17-year-old Korda. “Once I made the turn, my driver started going really left, but I stayed in there and I was happy with the round. Anything under par makes me happy.”

Korda made two bogeys on her inward nine, but closed with a birdie on 17 and a par on 18.

“Now that my first round is done, I can just focus on playing golf,” said Korda. “You don’t really fell different having that title pro next to your name because every tournament you play you are trying to play your best, but obviously there is money involved now. It’s really the same as any tournament.”

Korda admitted that she could hear her heart pounding on the first few holes, but she was able to settle in after two birdies on the third and fourth holes.

NEW PUTTER GRIP HAS THERESE O’HARA IN SECOND: Therese O’Hara, who played on the Epson Tour in 2014 and the LPGA Tour in 2015, posted a bogey free 5-under 67.

“It was a solid round right from the beginning, a lot of fairways and greens and a lot of close chances,” said O’Hara. “I even had a chip in on 15 and I almost made a hole-in-one on 17, the ball hit the pin, so it was a good couple of holes.”

O’Hara struggled on the LPGA in 2015 and lost her card that she earned at 2014 Qualifying Tournament.

“Last year was disappointing golf wise, but at the beginning of this year I started to get really excited about golf again,” said O’Hara. “I’m excited to come back here and prove that I belong out there (LPGA).”

O’Hara found the love for golf again during a training camp in Florida with the Denmark national team. She made a few swing changes in an effort to get her ball flight a lot higher.

“I also changed my putter grip in January for the first time in 15 years,” said O’Hara. “It’s a slight change and now it is working well.

COLEMAN POSTS 68 IN FIRST EPSON TOUR EVENT: In her first career Epson Tour event, Jenny Coleman (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) finished with a flurry of birdies to post a 4-under 68 and is in a tie for third.

Coleman, a 2014 graduate of the University of Colorado, started on the back nine with four pars. She made her first birdie of the round on the par-4 14th. After a bogey on the 15th, she made birdie on the 17th and par on the 18th to make the turn at 1-under. She opened her inward nine with four pars before a string of three birdies over four holes between the fifth and eighth holes. She closed with a par.

“Overall, I had a pretty good ball striking day and I hit a lot of fairways,” said Coleman, who only missed two on the day. “I just was hitting a lot of greens and didn’t have to force any up and downs. I either took my two putt for par or made a few birdies which helped out.”

Coleman’s putter was hot towards the end of the round when she rolled in a few 12-foot birdies. She attempted just 28 putts.

“It was nice to hit it and know I hit the right line,” said Coleman. “They kept on breaking right into the hole.”

Coleman was a Epson Tour member in 2015, but wasn’t able to get into events. She played mostly on the Cactus Tour, Canadian Tour and wherever else she could earn entry.

“It means a lot to show up at the first tournament and have a great round,” said Coleman, who holds or shares 28 career records at the University of Colorado. “You can’t always predict what is going to happen in golf so it was nice to start off good.”

Coleman said that qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2015 really boosted her confidence. She qualified at Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, Calif. where she won medalist honors, shooting a 139 in the 36-hole qualifier.

“Since college, I’ve noticed that my game is improving overall, not just one part,” said Coleman. “I feel like my game is coming together.”

Coleman will have her twin sister, Kristin, as her caddie on Saturday. Kristin also played golf at Colorado.

LSU’S TESSA TEACHMAN POSTS A 69: Tessa Teachman (Baton Rouge, La.) played in just two events on the Epson Tour in 2015 and since joining the Tour in 2013, she has only made three starts due to limited status. She was excited to get into the first event of the year and made the most of the opportunity in round one with a 3-under 69.

“It was very good, an early tee time so I was just going out there and trying to set the pace,” said Teachman, who grew up in Rochester, N.Y before relocating to Louisiana and playing at LSU. “I just got out there and got going and the course has shaped up a lot since we’ve been here. It was kind of just one of those easy rounds.”

Teachman took advantage of the par-5 holes with three birdies.

“The par fives are definitely attackable on this course,” said Teachman, who had a look at a fourth birdie on a par-5 at her finishing hole. “I could have gone for the ninth hole too, but I laid up. I think there a lot of birdies to be had.”

Teachman, who appeared on Golf Channel’s reality show Big Break Myrtle Beach in 2014, spent most of her off season at LSU training for the season. She said she made a few swing changes, but nothing major.

“I was just excited to come out and play and get one under the belt,” said Teachman. “I wanted to see where the game is and I was pleasantly surprised.”

Teachman is one of four former LSU Tigers in the field and she actually played with all four at some point during her career.

2016 IOA Championship RD 1 Notes: Korda Debuts, Coleman Goes Low, O'Hara Changes Putter Grip

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