Doolan, Neumann Lead At Walgreens 

Charity Championship

NEWS RELEASE FROM LPGA LEGENDS TOUR

By LISA MICKEY

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Nov. 6, 2015 – Wendy Doolan and Liselotte Neumann share the opening-round lead at the Walgreens Charity Championship presented by The Seagate Country Club.

Doolan of Australia and Sweden’s Neumann each carded rounds of 4-under 68 on a sunny and unseasonably warm day in South Florida. Doolan grabbed the clubhouse lead about two hours before Neumann moved up the leaderboard and joined her in the afternoon.

“It’s all about what you hit off the tee to keep the ball in play,” said Doolan, 46, a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour who resides in Lakeland, Fla. “I hit the right clubs off the tee today and I made a few putts early, so that gave me some confidence.”

In her opening round, Doolan birdied three of her last five holes on the front nine to make the turn at 3-under 33. She carded two birdies and a bogey on the back to cruise home at one under. All of her birdies were within 15 feet.

“The greens are good here and if you hit the putt on line, it’s going to go in,” added Doolan, who has recorded two top-10 finishes in three Legends Tour events this year, including a fourth-place finish in April.

Neumann birdied four of her first six holes and made the nine-hole turn at 4-under 32.

Like Doolan, Neumann’s putter was blazing hot in the opening round. The Swede drained a 15-footer for birdie on the first hole, followed by a 12-footer on the second. She birdied No. 4 from three feet, and then rained in a 30-foot birdie on the seventh hole.

“My putting was good today,” said Neumann, 49, a 13-time LPGA Tour winner who resides in Rancho Mirage, Calif. “I didn’t putt that well in the pro-am, but for some reason today, I could really see the lines well. I could always find that little spot about halfway to the hole that I could roll the ball over.”

A 2014 Legends Tour winner, Neumann said “silly mistakes” -- such as a misfire on the par-five 10^th hole, where her lay-up shot with a 5-iron found a bunker -- reminded her that competitively, there was rust on her game.

“Stupid stuff,” said Neumann. “But you have to forget about it and move on.”

Neumann did, adding birdies on holes 15 and 16 for a share of the lead.

Tied for third at 2-under 70 are Lisa Grimes and Rosie Jones, followed by Juli Inkster, Marilyn Lovander, Michele Redman and Laurie Rinker, tied for fifth at 1-under 71.

Jane Blalock leads the Super Legends competition at 2-over 74.

Saturday’s final round of the Walgreens Charity Championship will start at 8 a.m., with gates opening at 7:30 a.m.

Here are the final-round pairings of the Walgreens Charity Championship:

8 a.m.            Donna Andrews / Sherri Turner

8:10 a.m.      Meg Mallon / Laura Shanahan Rowe

8:20 a.m.      Jean Bartholomew / Hollis Stacy

8:30 a.m.       Jane Crafter / Dawn Coe-Jones

8:40 a.m.      Patty Sheehan / Elaine Crosby

8:50 a.m.      Cindy Schreyer / Tama Caldabaugh (a)

9 a.m.            Lorie Kane / Martha Nause

9:10 a.m.      Jane Geddes / Kris Tschetter

9:20 a.m.      Val Skinner / Susan Cohn (a)

9:30 a.m.      Lori West / Alicia Dibos

9:40 a.m.      Donna Caponi* / Sally Little*

9:50 a.m.      Judy Dickinson* / Shelley Hamlin*

10 a.m.         Jane Blalock* / Jan Stephenson*

10:10 a.m.    Christa Johnson / Laura Davies

10:20 a.m.    Cindy Figg-Currier / Cindy Rarick

10:30 a.m.     Pat Bradley / Beth Daniel

10:40 a.m.     Nancy Scranton / Helen Alfredsson

10:50 a.m.     Barb Mucha / Danielle Ammaccapane

11 a.m.          Annette DeLuca / Barb Moxness

11:10 a.m.     Michelle McGann / Nicole Jeray

11:20 a.m.     JoAnne Carner / Pat Hurst

11:30 a.m.     Jenny Lidback / Trish Johnson

11:40 a.m      Laurie Rinker / Juli Inkster

11:50 a.m.     Marilyn Lovander / Michele Redman

12 p.m.          Lisa Grimes / Rosie Jones

12:10 p.m.     Wendy Doolan / Liselotte Neuman 

   * Super Legends Division