The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter 

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

American Brooke Pancake shot an impressive 6-under-par to take the early lead before the rain forced officials to suspend play at the 2015 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic with Bahamian Racquel Riley among 60 players left stranded on the greens at Ocean Club on Paradise Island.

Before the first of the four days of the $1.3 million tournament could be completed, the rain came pouring down at 2:46pm, suspending play. Officials called off the remainder of competition at 4pm and announced that they will resume 8am today when the first round will be completed.

It was reminiscent of the initial tournament in 2013 when a heavy thunderstorm broke out on the first day, forcing officials to reduce the 72-hole tournament over four days to just 36 holes over two days.

Riley, who was awarded the Bahamian exemption for the tournament by the Bahamas Golf Federation over Georgette Rolle, was 2-over-par through five holes and was one of the players who didn’t get to finish the first day because of the torrential rain. Also among the field left waiting to complete their first round was Lydia Ko, the No.1 Rolex Women’s World Rankings player, who was 10-under-par through eight holes.

Pancake, 24, birdied six of her first seven holes before winds kicked up and then hung on with pars the rest of the way to shoot her 6-under 67 to snatch a one-stroke lead over the talented field that included Natalie Gulbis, Brittany Lincicome and Inbee Park, former No. 1 player, who all survived without a bogey for 68.

“I’m very happy. It’s good to have a very low score like that so early in the season, it kind of helps you to build your confidence going into a tournament like this,” said Pancake about her early lead. “It was good to get such an early tee time. It was still breezy, but I was able to take advantage of it.”

Pancake, who recently signed a sponsorship deal with the Waffle House, is back in the tournament for the second time, having played in the initial one where she didn’t do so well because of the rain. But with her husband by her side as her caddie, she’s hoping to improve on her success this time around.

”There are three more days and a lot of golf left,” said Pancake, who is looking to improve on her performance a week ago at the season opening tournament at the $1.5 million Coates Golf Championship in Ocala, Florida when she didn’t make the cut.

“I’m going to keep this same mindset. I definitely have a lot of trust and confidence in my short game right now, so as I was turning into the front nine, and if I missed a couple greens, it didn’t frazzle me because it was coming so easily on the front nine. But I’m also going to enjoy Atlantis this afternoon and the next few days I will be working on my short game and hopefully that will help me to continue to play as well as I played today.”

With so many top ranked players in the world competing here, Pancake said she’s not going to take anything for granted.

”It’s going to get tougher and tougher for sure,” she said. “I’ve been in situations in the past where I’ll have a really great round going and then I’ll have a couple bogeys here and there.”

Ko, who last week finished tied for second to Na Yeon Choi at the Coates Golf Championship, was 1 under through eight holes when play was called. Defending champion Jessica Korda, playing alongside Ko, was even par.

Before she teed off on the 10th hole, the tournament commissioner draped Ko’s caddie with a new bib, which indicated that she is the No.1 player in the world in recognition of her Race to the CME Globe performance last year.

After the Pure Silk-Bahamas Tournament, the majority of the players will be heading down under to play in the $1.2 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, February 16-22. They will then play in the $1.5 million Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi, Thailand, February 23 to March 1 and the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore March 2-8 before they return to the United States for the $1.5 million LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix, Arizona, March 16-22.