In her second career start at the Four Winds Invitational, Elise Bradley (Mandeville, Louisiana) fired a bogey-free front nine. A 4-under-par 68 today in the Hoosier State is her season-best thus far.

“After I hit it close on No. 8 for a tap in birdie, then it was kind of like ‘Okay, here we go.’ Then I got a few going on the front nine, it was a good feeling,” said Bradley. “We got it in before the wind came in which definitely helped. I’d say we definitely had a good tee time today.”

The graduate of Louisiana State University found her way to seven birdies and three bogeys today. Making two of three cuts so far this season, Bradley has been adjusting her game and looking to capitalize on what the course provides.

“I’ve been changing some stuff with my swing and I just really tried to be committed to that today. It was my goal for the day,” said Bradley. “We have a lot of holes left, and there are a lot of birdie opportunities. But you have to play it one shot at a time, that’s all you can do.”

COUGHLIN RETURNS TO EPSON TOUR WITH A FIRE INSIDE

Her first appearance on the Epson Tour since this spring at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, Lauren Coughlin (Charlottesville, Virginia) found her way to an under-par score in round one and tied with four other players at 3-under-par 69.

“I played a full year out here last year and just barely missed my LPGA card, I feel comfortable and confident out here. This is my first time playing this course, but I knew it set up good for me with the firm greens. You have to think a little bit more, you can’t just fire at pins, you have to be a careful where you hit it. I thought that played really well to my strength and it did.

After dancing with the cut line last week with the LPGA, Coughlin keeps and open mind and discusses how her game has been over this year considering all the starts and stops. “I played last week at Walmart and missed the cut by one, I feel like my game has been trending, every round I’ve gotten better,” said Coughlin “I was very rusty when the restart happened at Inverness. I stayed patient today, finally had a birdie and then nearly had an albatross on 13, I’m very happy with how I played.”

NOTABLE QUOTES

Michelle Piyapattra (-3, T3) on repeating the game she played today:

“I don’t know how it was this morning, but the greens were super firm this afternoon. It’s just hard to keep anything on the green. I think I have a good chance tomorrow playing early since a lot of the lower scores are from this morning. I think if I can just shoot the same thing tomorrow, I will be in a good place.”

Savannah Vilaubi (-3, T3) on ending day one with a bogey and not letting it affect her:

“My short game really came in clutch today but my irons were also pretty good too so I put myself in position to make birdies and I made them and the short game kept the momentum of the birdies so that was like a really big deal today yeah and it just it made the it made the round solid”

Robyn Choi (-3, T3) on following a T9 finish in Beaumont, California:

“There is definitely a little bit of confidence coming off of a top-10 finish, but every tournament is a different week. Just because I played well in the tournament before doesn’t mean I will play well again. I am trying to focus on just playing. For me, I try to think of one shot at a time and not getting ahead of myself too much. Trying to be in the present is all we can really do.”

Bradley Chasing Birdies on Day One and More from South Bend

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