The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

HIT by a stomach virus, Grand Bahamian Racquel Riley withdrew from the 2015 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic this morning when play resumed after the rain-affected first round yesterday.

It was the same virus that the 33-year-old Riley said forced her to withdraw from playing in the Pro-Am tournament on Wednesday.

“I started out hopeful in high spirits, but physically I wasn’t felling very well,” she said. “I tried to do it but I couldn’t pull it off at the last minute. Then today, it started okay. I thought that I could do it and somehow get though the round, but it just wasn’t possible.”

Riley, who was two-over-par through the first five holes when the torrential rain came on day one, made it to her 14th hole (the 5th) when she made her exit. By that time she had dropped strokes at each hole this morning, including three double bogeys, to leave her 13 over par. By withdrawing she has no official score.

“I really don’t know what’s going on. It’s been three days since I had the virus,” Riley said. “The medics here told me that I was hydrated so I needed to eat some crackers and drink a lot of water and try to run it out of my system. I thought it was gone, but it’s not. It’s really disappointing that I had to pull out. I really didn’t want to that. That’s why I tried so long to hold on and play through it and see if I could complete one round at least. But as I went on and on it was just so difficult to play and get into my posture to hit into my shot.”

After making it to the fifth hole (her 14th of her round) on the day, Riley said the pain was just too unbearable, so she withdrew. She admitted that it was quite disappointing for her after the rain disrupted her round yesterday.

“It didn’t have an effect on me. I felt really good about how I struck the ball, how I putted the ball,” she lamented. “Every green, I went up and down, but I was happy with the way I was playing. “I think I was ready to perform, no matter whether it was 18 holes or whether I had to play 30 holes. I was pretty much mentally ready to do it.”

After missing out in qualifying the first two years, Riley beat last year’s representative, Georgette Rolle, for the Bahamas Golf Federation’s qualifying spot this year.

“It’s very disappointing. I wanted to do well for the country and I wanted to do well for myself to prove that I can compete out there with these girls. I always knew that I could and everybody has been telling me it and I believe it,” Riley reflected.

“So to be here and competing with them is where I want to be. I just really wished that I felt the way I did last week or any other day, but it’s disappointing. I can’t describe it. I tried my best, but it doesn’t reflect how well I can play for my country.”

Despite not advancing from the first round, Riley said she intends to use this as a motivation as she looks ahead to the rest of the year.

“I play on the Sun Coast Ladies Tour, but I’m also trying to complete my LPGA Certification to become a Class A LPGA Teaching Member, so that’s a couple of things that I will be doing in 2015,” she said.

“With my game, I’m not sure if there is much that I can work on, but there’s always room for improvement. Golf is the type of game that you never perfect, so I can’t say that I have it down pat. I will continue to work. I came here and I struck the ball very well and controlled it as I wanted to.”

As she continues to work on her game, Riley will share her time as a teaching professional at the Baker’s Bay Golf Club in Abaco where she serves as an assistant golf director.

“It’s very good situation that I find myself in,” she said. “Whenever it’s slow, I get the opportunity to go home and play in the local events and travel to the tournaments on the Sun Coast Tour in Florida. But whenever it’s busy, I do a lot of teaching because there are a lot of people who want to get lessons from a touring pro and so it’s a fair exchange for me and a good situation for me to be in right now.”

During the summer when things are a lot slower at Baker’s Bay, Riley said she intends to go on tour to play. Hopefully, the experience gained at the Ocean Club course this week will help to motivate her on the circuit this year.