Lakeland's White leads trio of golfers at 2 under

Local product Dolores White carded a 2-under 70 in blustery conditions Wednesday to grab a share of the lead after the first round of the 55th annual Harder Hall Women's Invitational.

White, a senior at Wake Forest who played high school golf at Lakeland, mixed five birdies with three bogeys - including one on No. 18 - to finish in a three-way tie for the lead with Taylore Karle and Kyle Roig on a day when only four golfers broke par (as of press time).

"I've been working hard on my short game and I've been hitting more greens," White said. "When you hit a lot of greens on these small greens, well, that says a lot. Everything just came together."

Karle, who held the 54-hole lead at this event in 2007, played in the first group off the 10th tee, after an hour-and-a-half frost delay. She plodded around the 6,150-yard course and was 3 under before bogeying the eighth hole, her 17th of the day.

In fact, she hit only six greens in regulation as winds gusted to 20 mph and 40-degree temperatures made it difficult to pitch around the greens.

"You've just got to find that routine, pretty much putting your hands in your pockets at all times unless you're hitting," said Karle, a junior at Pepperdine University. "I took advantage of what I had and was pretty patient today."

Roig, a high school junior at American Heritage (near Fort Lauderdale), also posted a 70 after the morning wave of players. The Puerto Rico native said she putted well and reached some of the par 5s in two shots, leading to easy birdies.

Not bad considering this was only her second 18-hole round at Harder Hall.

"I've just been taking it one hole at a time," Roig said. "This tournament doesn't really count for me, so there's no pressure."

Alexis Thompson, the 14-year-old phenom who remarkably was in contention at an LPGA event in October, shot 71 despite constantly fighting her swing. She three-putted the par-3 ninth hole for a double bogey, but birdied her final two holes to break par.

"I'm definitely happy with my position considering the way I hit it," said Thompson, who had five birdies and four bogeys. "I've got to get it figured out."

Defending champion Candace Schepperle, who shot a course-record 65 when last she teed it up here, leads the pack of contenders at even-par 72, which includes Holly Clyburn, Michelle Shin and Dawn Woodard.

"I hoped for a little better but I kept it together," said Schepperle, now a senior at Auburn University. "I couldn't take care of the little things. But I'll do better the next three days."

The four-round Harder Hall Women's Invitational will continue today, with the championship division expected to tee off around noon, barring any inclement weather in the morning.