Jeray among leaders after first round of IWO

    Writing from Romeoville, Illinois
    Wednesday, July 31, 2013

    The Illinois Women’s Open usually conjures up visions of visions. Mirages shimmering in the sky thanks to insane heat are the first thing that comes to mind.
    Not this year. In keeping with the Scottish look of Mistwood Golf Club, the weather for the first day of the 19th IWO featured overcast skies and temperatures in the 60s. The only thing missing, aside from a church steeple or two to aim at, was the wind. There was only the barest hint of a breeze all day, and the better players in the field took advantage of that.
    Two of the three leaders at 2-under-par 70 after the first of three rounds come from similar backgrounds.
    Erica Popson has just graduated from Tennessee, and is in her fourth tournament as a professional after her Volunteer career.
    Caroline Powers is a freshly minted graduate of Michigan State, in her sixth pro tournament, and like Popson, hoping to show well to build confidence for the LPGA qualifying tournament in the fall.
    Popson had four birdies and two bogeys, Powers three birdies and one bogey, each combination equaling 2 under on the Ray Hearn-designed (and redesigned) layout.
    Jeray’s jaunt around the course was more adventurous. The native of Berwyn, a two-time Illinois Women’s Open champion, scored five birdies against three bogeys en route to her 70, including a birdie on the par-4 16th.
    More than sharing the lead with a pair of players 20 years her junior, Jeray is where they want to be: On the LPGA Tour. Despite the currently-controlled battle with narcolepsy, she’s been on and off the circuit for about 20 years, and on the development tour when she hasn’t been on the big one.
    “I’m 111th on the money list this year, but that’s better than it looks,” Jeray said.
    She also has something that neither Popson nor Powers have developed yet: A golfer’s mental scar tissue. Witness her reaction to a downhill putt of moderate length on the par-4 10th hole. She had turned in 3-under 33 and was looking for another birdie.
    “It rolled 15 feet by the hole,” Jeray recalled. “But I putted it back next to the cup and tapped in for bogey. I lost all my confidence on the 10th.”
    But, cagey veteran that she is, Jeray played the rest of the back nine at even par, making up for a bogey on the par-3 14th, a devilish test with water on the left, with a birdie on the par-3 16th.
    After all that, she lauded the course from stem to stern.
    “If they just back up the tees here, this would be a great course for the LPGA,” Jeray said. “Especially for me, because I’m great at picking my line.”
    That trio was a stroke ahead of a quartet of players entering the second round. Pros Katie Dick, Katie Jean and Elise Swartout and amateur Samantha Postillion scored 1-under 71, with Jean rallying from 3-over after 10 holes with four birdies in a span of five holes.
    Another six are at even par, including Chicagoan Megan Godfrey, who made up for a double-bogey on the 10th with a hole-out from 122 yards for eagle on the 16th. A bogey at the last brought her to even for the day, but Godfrey, a publicist at KemperSports, probably plays less golf than anyone else in the field.
    “I’m definitely a part-time player,” Godfrey said.
    Defending champion Samantha Troyanovich is back in the pack after an opening 3-over 75. The cut comes after Thursday’s second round, and will encompass the low 34 and those tied for 34th.
    – Tim Cronin