FOUR TIED FOR LEAD HEADING INTO WEEKEND

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The fourth annual Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic at Brook-Lea Country Club heads into the weekend with four players tied for the lead at 7-under par overall.

Epson Tour rookie Eun Jeong Seong (Yongin, Republic of Korea), 18-hole leader Csicsi Rozsa (Budapest, Hungary), Stephanie Meadow (Jordanstown, Northern Ireland) and Natalie Sheary (New Britain, Connecticut) each sit atop the leaderboard after two rounds.

“Yesterday I was making a lot of putts and today I was making a lot of good rolls, but they were not falling as much,” said Rozsa, who went even par today with three birdies and three bogeys. “To be honest, my hands were shaking a little bit this morning when I went out. It was my first time on top of the leaderboard, but I think I handled it pretty well.”

Meanwhile, Meadow entered the day only one shot off the lead. She made that up with a 1-under par second round. Every time the former four-time First Team All-American seemed to get in trouble, she immediately bounced back.

Already a winner on the Epson Tour this season at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Meadow finished the day with three birdies, four bogeys and an eagle.

“It was a little more windy and honestly, my ball striking just wasn’t quite as good,” Meadow said. “I missed some fairways and hitting it out of the rough, combined with the wind, is a little tricky. I had similar rounds like this recently and then ended up two- or three-over. To keep it under par today was great and hopefully I can have another round like I did yesterday at some point during the weekend.”

Furthermore, it is only the seventh career Epson Tour start for Seong. She has made the cut in all but one event, with a season-best tied for second finish coming in June at the Four Winds Invitational.

Today, Seong found her way to five birdies, surrendering only one bogey to turn in a 4-under par 68. She entered round two tied for eighth.

“This is a good chance for me, but we still have two more days,” said Seong. “I don’t think about being the leader, just focus on my game. If I think about the scores, that puts a lot of pressure on me.”

Rounding out the foursome the field will be chasing is Sheary. The Wake Forest University alumna fired a 3-under par this afternoon to join the mix at 7-under overall.

Playing in the first group off No. 10 tee today, Sheary signed a scorecard that featured six birdies and three bogeys. It is the third time this season that she has put together back-to-back rounds under par.

“You have to start off relatively strong and I think I have done a pretty good with that this week,” Sheary said. “I have missed a few fairways, but given myself the chance to get up and down. I’ve done the best I could and moved onto the next, which I think has really helped.”

A total of 70 players made the cut of 1-over par and third round action is set to start at 7:30 a.m. ET tomorrow. All pairings will begin on No. 1 tee.

FORMER AUBURN TIGERS MAKE THE CUT

The weekend at Brook-Lea Country Club will be extra special for all three Auburn University alumna in the fourth annual Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic field, as each made the cut.

Patricia Sanz Barrio (Madrid, Spain), Marta Sanz Barrio (Madrid, Spain) and Carlie Carr (Casselberry, Florida) all don the navy blue and burnt orange with pride. The trio will do so to an even greater degree come tomorrow when they continue to play in memory of Danielle Downey, who competed at Auburn from 1999-2003.

In the spring of 2013 when Auburn women’s golf head coach Kim Evans was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had to leave the team, Downey took the reins and led the Tigers to the NCAA National Championships. Marta and Carr were both members of that squad.

“To make the cut here it makes it more exciting than other events because it’s for Danielle,” said Carr, who went 1-under par today and is at the same mark overall. “Back in Auburn, everyone knows what’s going on. Being out here in remembrance of Danielle is kind of sad, but it is also a good memory.”

Later in 2013, Downey became director of golf operations for the school, serving both the men’s and women’s teams.

Marta was a junior when Downey first came back to her alma mater and really got to know the 2000 SEC Individual Champion well, before she passed away in a one-car crash on Jan. 30, 2014.

“My senior year she had the car accident and coach had cancer at the time, so we were going through a hard time,” said Marta, who is 2-under par overall after going 1-over this afternoon. “Playing in this event is really, really special for me. It’s hard to think back on that year, very emotional to see her family again. They had a memorial at Auburn and it’s just really special to be here, see her name everywhere, see the picture on No. 7 tee. It brings back a lot of memories that we had together.”

Downey may be gone, but her spirit lives on through not only this tournament, but the Rochester community as a whole, and all who knew her.

“It’s very special and we’ve met her family,” said Patricia, who carded a 3-under par in round two and is tied with Carr at 1-under for the event. “It brings Danielle back a little bit.”

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