Penn State's Willis one shot out of the lead after opening round of The Landfall Tradition

   Penn State’s Sarah Willis, a sophomore from Eaton, Ohio, fired a 3-under-par 69 at the Country Club of Landfall’s Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C. to get a share of second place after the opening round of The Landfall Tradition Friday.

   Two of the other players in that five-way tie for second place, Alabama’s Angelica Moresco, a senior from Italy, and Illinois’ Siyan Chen, a freshman from China, helped their respective teams to a share of first place in the team standings at 3-under 285.

   The Crimson Tide, No. 14 in the latest Golfstat rankings, are working their way back to national prominence after losing three players to the professional ranks since they were dominating teams in the fall portion of the wraparound 2018-2019 season. The Fighting Illini, No. 19 in the Golfstat rankings, are coming off a season in which they finished in a tie for second in the Big Ten Championship last spring.

   Virginia, an Atlantic Coast Conference power ranked No. 32 by Golfstat, was alone in third place at 2-under 286. No. 37 Florida State, another ACC power, and Alabama’s Southeastern Conference rival, No.  9 South Carolina, were tied for fourth place, each carding a 1-over 289.

   Willis and Penn State, ranked 86^th, were tied for 11^th place in the 18-team field with Big Ten rival Michigan, ranked 44^th, and another ACC entry, No. 26 North Carolina, each posting an 8-over 296 total over the 6,166-yard, par-72 Dye Course at the Country Club of Landfall.

   Backing up Moresco, the last player left from Alabama’s run to the Final Match in the 2018 NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., was Kenzie Wright, a senior from Frisco, Texas who joined the group tied for ninth place with a 1-under 71.

   Polly Mack, a junior from Germany who transferred to Alabama from UNLV, was among the group tied for 15^th place at even-par 72 and Caroline Curtis, a freshman from Richmond, Va., and Emilie Overas, a freshman from Norway, both landed among the group tied for 29^th place at 1-over 73.

   Backing up Chen for Illinois were three players in the group that matched par with a 72 and are tied for 15^th place, including Tristyn Nowlin, a senior from Richmond, Ky., Ali Marallos, a junior from Long Beach, Calif., and Crystal Wang, a sophomore from Diamond Bar, Calif. Rounding out the Illinois lineup was Kornkamol Sukaree, a sophomore from Thailand who landed among the group tied for 72^nd place with a 5-over 77.

   Central Florida’s Tonrada Piddon, a freshman from Thailand, grabbed the individual lead with an opening round of 4-under 68.

   Joining Willis, Moresco and Chen in the quintet tied for second at 3-under 69 were Virginia’s Riley Smyth, a sophomore from Cary, N.C. ,and Indiana’s Priscilla Schmid, a sophomore from Uruguay.

Smyth’s teammate with the Cavaliers, Virginia Bossi, a freshman from Italy, was tied for seventh place with Florida State veteran Amanda Doherty, a senior from Brookhaven, Ga., each posting a 2-under 70.

   Backing up Willis for Penn State was senior Megan McLean, a Voorhees High product who is part of the group tied for 29^th place with a 1-over 73. Mathilde Delavallde, a freshman from France, carded a 78 and is among the group tied for 65^th place.

   Senior Madelein Herr, the 2015 District One Class AAA champion as a senior at Council Rock North, posted a 78 and was tied for 81^st place. Junior Olivia Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, was alone in 91^st place with an 81.

   The North Carolina lineup was without senior Brynn Walker, the two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor who partnered with Herr on two successful runs in the first two editions of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2015 and 2016.

   Walker missed the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational while teeing it up in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II at the Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla. Walker did not play particularly well and did not advance to the LPGA Q-Series, which is already under way this week at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.

   Pretty sure Walker, by reaching Stage II, does have some Symetra Tour status for 2020, whether she decides to turn pro right away and forgo the spring portion of her senior season at North Carolina or wait until the wraparound 2019-’20 college season is over and turn pro in the spring.

   North Carolina was led by its two sophomore standouts, Jennifer Zhou of China, and Nicole Lu of Taiwan, both of whom landed among the group tied for 29^th place at 1-over 73.

   North Carolina’s pair of standout freshmen, Krista Junkkari of Finland and Kayla Smith of Burlington, N.C., both ended up in the group tied for 49^th place, each posting a 3-over 75. Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Ava Bergner, a junior from Germany who was tied for 75^th place after signing for an 84.

   Mariana Ocano, a senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., competed as an individual and was among the group tied for 72^nd place with an opening round of 5-over 77.