The 40th playing Twin Bridges Championship has officially started, and Pinehaven Country Club lived up to its treacherous reputation in round one. Only 12 players were able to stay in red numbers during the first 18 holes of play, with some familiar names sitting around the top of the leaderboard. The top 3 have combined for 11 top-10 finishes this season, but they are all still searching for their first win of the 2024 season. Jessica Porvasnik and Lauren Stephenson set the tone early in round one, posting 5-under rounds, which no one in the afternoon wave could match.

Porvasnik and Stephenson made their way around Pinehaven Country Club in a similar fashion, posting six birdies and a bogey, signing for a 66. Porvasnik opened her round with a bogey-free front nine, making the turn with a 4-under 31. The back nine came with a quick birdie on No. 10, but the lone bogey would follow shortly after on No. 13. The Ohio native, showing her resilience, erased the mistake immediately, rolling in a birdie on the par-3 14th, which would be her last of the day. Porvasnik has been in contention multiple times throughout 2024, and her comfortability on Tour has been showing since her first full season in 2022.

"Comfortability plays a big factor. I mean playing golf courses for the third year and finally figuring it out. But then I also made improvements in my game," said Porvasnik. "I think figuring out the routine out here, too, has been huge. I think I'm getting more and more comfortable. I'm playing with a lot of people who are always up there. So, it's fun and just enjoying the moment."

Stephenson started her day on the back nine and had a tamer first nine holes than Porvasnik. Like her co-leader, she made the turn bogey-free, carding a 1-under 35. The pars kept coming for the 27-year-old, starting her second nine with three in a row. Those would be the last pars of her round, however, with Stephenson finishing her day with five birdies, including four in a row on holes 4 through 7, before making her lone bogey on No. 8. A birdie to close out her day would put her in a tie for the lead, and she answered the call. Stephenson rolled in her sixth birdie of the day on the last hole and shares the top spot heading into the weekend despite feeling under the weather.

"Honestly, I just started hitting it really close on the front and I had a lot of short birdie looks, so that is always helpful." Said Stephenson. "I actually was under the weather yesterday, so I didn't even come out or practice at all yesterday, so I had no expectations. So sometimes that is a good thing."

ABOUT THE LEADERS

Jessica Porvasnik and Lauren Stephenson both signed for a 5-under 66 to lead the Twin Bridges Championship

Porvasnik

Porvasnik had six birdies and one bogey in the first round
The Ohio State University grad has eight top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour and four this year
- Her best career result was a runner-up finish at the 2024 Atlantic Beach Classic
She Monday Qualified into the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic in 2019 where she went on to make her first cut on the LPGA Tour
The 29-year-old finished 1st in the 2021 Annika Women’s All Pro Tour Callaway Race to Stage II
- She is a three-time winner on the Annika Women’s All Pro Tour
She has multiple Ohio Women’s Open titles

Stephenson

The 27-year-old had six birdies and one bogey in her opening round
She has spent the last five years on the LPGA Tour
- In that time, she collected five top-10 finishes, including a top-10 finish at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Finished her rookie season 10th in the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year standings on the LPGA Tour
Was a member of the 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup Teams

THINGS TO KNOW

Dana Fall posted a 4-under 67 in the first round of the Twin Bridges Championship

Fall made six birdies and two bogeys in round one
The 31-year-old has made 110 LPGA Tour starts and 41 Epson Tour starts in her eight-year career
- Her T11 finish at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic is her best career finish on the LPGA Tour
- She won the 2016 Dream First Bank Charity Classic on the Epson Tour
Fall also has an additional 15 top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour
- Her best result this season was a T3 finish at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic

Michelle Zhang turned in a 2-under 69 to end round one in a tie for fourth

Zhang signed for four birdies and two bogeys on day one
The 19-year-old has four top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour this year and seven total since her rookie season in 2023
- Her best career finish came at the 2023 Guardian Championship where she finished T3
She is currently No. 29 in the 2024 Race for the Card
Zhang has one professional win at the CGA Women’s Championship on the CLPGA

QUICK QUOTES

Brigitte Thibault (-2, T4) on her 2-under opening round:

“I think it's such a ball striking course. So, I just made sure to kind of use my bigger spaces and know where to misses are and kind of play a shot that fits. Just really commit because the wind you kind of feel it differently in between the holes. So just trust trusting the decision and going from there.”

Michelle Zhang (-2, T4) on how she approached Pinehaven Country Club in Round One:

“I am just trying to stay on the fairway and just know that I don't get a break throughout the whole round. Hit the fairway and it's a good shot. Then just keep just telling myself that bogeys are not that bad out here and to stay positive.”

Marissa Wenzler (E, T13) on battling back after a 3-over start:

“I hate to say it, but I feel like I tend to not always start to too hot. It just takes a while for me to kind of find a rhythm. ‘You've been doing this for a while, and you know what to do. You've grinded back a few times’ Is kind of what I told myself after I bogeyed the par five sixth and it ended up helping me for the rest of the round.”

Porvasnik and Stephenson Lead After Round One at the 40th Playing of the Twin Bridges Championship

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