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Whaley leads Pano by 1 after opening day at Dixie Women's Am
Kelly Whaley (UNC Athletics/Twitter photo)
Kelly Whaley (UNC Athletics/Twitter photo)

TAMARAC, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2018) – The name Whaley is becoming rather recognizable in the golf world. In college- and amateur-golf circles, the younger Whaley is doing just as much to make it known as Whaley senior is doing on a national level.

After the first round of the Dixie Women’s Amateur, Kelly Whaley leads by a shot with an opening 4-under 68 at Woodlands Country Club that didn’t include a single bogey. Whaley, of course, is the daughter of PGA of America president Suzy Whaley.

A senior at the University of North Carolina, Kelly Whaley has the distinction of having started in every tournament of her career. She has two victories in three and a half years. The thing that’s lacking on Whaley’s resume is a national amateur win.

A year ago at this event, Whaley, who hails from Farmington, Conn., scored a top-10. It put her in the conversation with All-Americans and Curtis Cuppers. This year, after 18 holes, Whaley is holding off an impressive collection of young talent.

Behind Whaley, 14-year-old Alexa Pano fired a 3-under 69 to reach solo second. Pano was a junior Ryder Cupper who finished runner-up at the U.S. Girls’ Junior in July. Pano hails from Lake Worth, Fla., roughly 40 miles north of Tamarac.

Faith Choi and Julia Matzat are tied for third at 2-under 70. A group of seven players are tied for fifth another shot back, including Clemson freshman Alexandra Swayne and incoming Duke freshman Megan Furtney.

Results: Dixie Women's Amateur
1FLAlexa PanoLake Worth, FL100069-73-72-69=283
2SwedenMichaela FinnSweden70074-67-73-70=284
3TXKenzie WrightMcKinney, TX50076-68-73-71=288
4Chinese TaipeiErica ChiangChinese Taipei50071-74-68-77=290
T5FinlandKerttu HiltunenFinland50071-76-69-75=291

View full results for Dixie Women's Amateur

ABOUT THE Dixie Women's Amateur

*The tournament field is full. A wait list has begun. Please email Rodion Gomez at rgomez@clublink.ca to add your name to the wait list*

72-hole stroke invitational women's stroke play championship. Field consists of former Dixie Amateur Champions, and women from around the world invited by the Tournament Committee. (You may request an invitation at www.dixieamateur.com). Tournament takes on extra importance as one of the last major international amateur events to be played before the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) determines their ranking-based exemption list. The field limit will be 108 players. Field is cut after 54 holes to the low 66 players and ties.

View Complete Tournament Information

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