CANADIAN LAKES, Michigan, June 30, 2017 - Yu Liu (Beijing, China) really likes Tullymore Golf Resort. She finished in a tie for fourth last year and opened with a career-best 8-under, 64 to grab the first-round lead at the Tullymore Classic. Liu is now 17-under in her last four rounds - dating back to last year - at the Tullymore Classic.
Lindsey Weaver (Bellefontaine, Ohio), who ranks 15th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, turned in a 7-under, 65 to stand in second place. Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec, Canada) and Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark) are in a tie for third at 6-under, 66.
It was an ideal day for scoring and the players took advantage. A total of 26 players posted rounds of 69 or better and 59 players were under-par.
“This is my best round scoring wise and I got off to a pretty hot start,” explained Liu. “On the first hole, I got up-and-down to save par and I made a 6-footer for birdie on two and just kept it going from there. My putts were rolling really nice and I was able to keep making putts. I can’t ask for anything better than 8-under for the first round.”
Liu, 21, made nine birdies on Friday against a lone bogey. Five of the nine birdies came during a six-hole stretch from holes 11 through 16. She made four straight birdies between 13 and 16.
“I was hitting my shots close and taking advantage,” said Liu, who attempted just 23 putts on the round. “I putted the ball really well today.”
Liu held the 36-hole lead at the Tullymore Classic last year with rounds of 67-68 on Friday and Saturday.
“It is definitely not an easy course, there are challenging holes and you can really mess up if you are not in the right spot,” said Liu. “There are some tricky shots, but I was definitely on the lucky side today.”
Liu has had a strong season on the Epson Tour thus far. She has three top 10 finishes and currently ranks tenth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with $27,571 earned in 11 starts. Liu would likely move near the top five on the money list with the first-place payout of $15,000.
Liu has already earned more money this year than she did all of 2016 in 19 starts. She made a lot of offseason changes including finding a new swing instructor. She now works with Chris Mayson, who has also worked with the likes of Yani Tseng, Tiffany Joh, Beatriz Recari and many others.
“I’ve improved so much over the last few months,” said Liu. “I did a lot of changes in the offseason because this Tour keeps getting more and more competitive so you have to get better. I’m driving the ball so much better and when I drive it well, I have a chance because I can hit it far.”
Liu has six career top 10 finishes since her rookie year of 2015.
She played one year of college golf at Duke in 2013-14 and helped the Blue Devils win the national title. She was the ACC Freshman of the Year and turned professional following the successful year at Duke.
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