JAMES CITY — Going into Monday’s qualifier at Kingsmill, Emee Herbert didn’t put much pressure on herself. Either way, she figured, she would have a fun week.
But on a windy day filled with high scores on the River Course, Herbert was the top qualifier with a 2-over-par 73. She and Britney Yada, who had the day’s second-best score at 75, will tee it up Thursday in the first round of the Kingsmill Championship.
The bad news is that Herbert’s friend Ryanne Haddow will have to find another caddie for this week’s Symetra Tour event near Atlanta. But Haddow, who was Herbert’s caddie Monday, undoubtedly understands.
“The I way I saw it, I’ll have a great week either way,” Herbert said. “I’ll either be caddying for a friend in my hometown or I’ll be up here playing in my first LPGA event. It was going to be a great week either way, no matter what happens.
“I would have loved to have caddied for my friend. We were planning to do the switch-a-roo. But honestly, I’m a little more excited about this.”
On a windy day with the rough creating problems, the average score of the of the 23 players in the field was 82.2. Three players shot 90 or worse (two of whom didn’t sign their cards).
In the previous four qualifying Mondays, each winner broke par. In fact, each shot in the 60s. But this year’s conditions led to some high numbers.
“The greens are rolling really smooth, and that’s nice, but they’re pretty fast and slippery in some places,” Herbert said. “And the rough is very thick, so that made it very challenging. You just had to keep it in the fairway.”
Herbert, 23, a former Tusculum and Coastal Carolina player who grew up near Atlanta, got it going by shooting 4 under on a three-hole stretch in the front nine. She made birdie on Nos. 5 and 6 and then eagled the par-5 No. 7.
“I had like a 55-yard wedge shot,” she said. “I was up on the plateau and I just landed it about 10 feet short of the pin, and it just trickled down to the hole. A fun little surprise.”
With the high scores rolling in, Herbert had to know she was safe for at least the second qualifier spot, even with four groups remaining. But Yada figured her 75 could go either way.
“It was nerve-racking, definitely,” she said. “I knew it was playing a little tough with the rough being really long and the greens were fast. I didn’t think 4 over would be OK, but it is what it is. I made a lot of good par putts today to keep myself somewhat decent.”
Yada, 24, came here from last weekend’s Symetra tournament in Charlotte, where her third-round 78 didn’t give her much momentum.
“All you need is one good day and you never know,” she said.
Yada, a Hawaiian who played for Portland State, came within inches of finishing third. Recent William and Mary graduate Alex Liu just missed a 50-foot chip for birdie on No. 18 that would have given her a 74. She had a 4-foot putt for par coming back that would have forced a playoff hole with Yada, but she missed and settled for 76.
“It was a really good chip, but it didn’t go in,” she said. “Then the putt … the putt wasn’t that bad, either. I definitely feel like I could have done better. I’m not dissatisfied. The weather was pretty good and I had a good time.”
Johnson can be reached by phone at 757-247-4649.
