The Tribune

• LPGA play is cancelled for Thursday and the competition will be reduced to a 54-hole event.

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Rain halted play in the qualifying round of the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic yesterday, forcing officials to resume competition today to determine the final two spots before the main draw gets started on Thursday.

Grand Bahamian Raquel Riley is one of the four players competing in the qualifying round at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island. The other three are Perrine Delacour, whom Riley paired up with, and Paz Echeverria and Alejandra Llaneza, who were paired up.

When the rain came down, the quartet had only reached the sixth hole of the 18-hole round of competition to determine who joins the remainder of the 142 field of players in the inaugural LPGA tournament that is scheduled to wrap up on Sunday.

After a brief delay, officials attempted to resume play, but again had to call it off as it started to pour again.

Among the list of players in the main draw are Georgette Rolle, who was given a sponsor’s exemption into the field. Rolle, 28, is a two-time Bahamas national women’s amateur champion (21003 and 2007). She attended Texas Southern where she is currently an assistant coach and a LPGA teaching professional.

The field of players in the tournament will be led by South Korea’s Inbee Park, American Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen of Norway.

Park, who resides in Murrieta, California, has chalked up three LPGA career victories with her latest coming in the 2012 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. In the 24 events she has played in, Park has made the cut in 23 and earned more than $2 million in cash prizes.

Lewis, a resident of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has five LPGA career victories with her latest feat coming at the 2012 Mizuno Classic. In 26 events last year, Lewis made the cut in 25 and earned more than $1 million in prize money.

And Pettersen, who lives in Orlando, Florida, has posted 10 career LPGA victories, including the 2012 Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championships. She has collected almost $2 million after making the cut in 23 of the 24 tournaments she has entered.

The Pure Silk-Bahamas Classic has one of the strongest fields in women’s golf with nine of the top 10 Rolex ranked players entered along with 11 of the top 12 money-winners on the LPGA Tour this season.

There are also 21 major winners of 41 titles participating, including Na Yeon Choi, the 2013 US Women’s Open champion, Paula Creamer, the 2012 champion, Laura Davies, the 1987 US Women’s Open, 1994 and 1996 LPGA Championship and 1996 du Maurier Classic champion and Shanshan Feng, the 2012 Wegman’s LPGA Championship winner.

A total of $1.3 million is up for grabs with the winner pocketing $195,000. The event, which will receive 10 hours of coverage by the Golf Channel, including six hours of live coverage on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday), is free to the general public.

Today, in addition to the completion of the qualifying round, the Pro-Am segment will be contested, starting at 7:30am with the pros teaming up with a number of local and international amateur players.