Epson Tour

Canadian pair share 7th after first round of Symetra opener

Brittany Marchand (Symetra Tour)

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Canadian duo of Samantha Richdale and Brittany Marchand opened the Symetra Tour season on a high note, posting 2-under-par 70s on Friday to sit three strokes off the lead at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.

Richdale, the 2016 champion at this event, will take to the Country Club of Winter Haven in Saturday’s second round at 9:32 a.m. local time. The Kelowna, B.C., product is paired with Emily Penttilä and Nicole Sakamoto.

LPGA Tour rookie Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., tees off at 1:39 p.m. in chase of her second Symetra Tour win. The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member captured the 2017 PHC Classic.

The pair are trailing leaders Louise Ridderström (Stocksund, Sweden) and Hyemin Kim (Seoul, Republic of Korea), who are tied at 5 under par.

Fellow Canadians Elizabeth Tong (Thornhill, Ont.) and Augusta James (Bath, Ont.) sit inside the cut line at even par and 2 over, respectively.

Second round action gets underway at 8:15 a.m. with players going off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees. Following the completion of round two, a cut will be made to the low 60 players and ties.

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