Danielle McVeigh signed for a five over par first round at the LPGA Tour Qualifying School to finish in a share of 96th place after an up and down round that included 2 double bogeys, four bogeys and three birdies. The Kilkeel native ended the day with a 77.
Reilley Rankin, Libby Smith and Aree Song each posted a round of five-under 67 on Wednesday to share the first-round lead.
Play rotates between the Champions and Legends Courses at PGA International for the first four rounds of this five-round marathon and after a 72-hole cut, all players will compete on the Champions Course.
The top 20 finishers earn LPGA Tour cards for the 2011 season.
Belen Mozo and Pernilla Lindberg are knotted in fourth place at four-under 68. Jimin Jeong and Ayaka Kaneko are tied for sixth after opening-round 69s.
Rankin used three birdies in a row on the back nine to vault up the leader board.
Smith mixed six birdies and a long bogey, while Song also recorded six birdies and a single bogey.
Angela Buzminski, Ashleigh Simon, Dewi Claire Schreefel, Angela Oh, Mollie Fankhauser, Shasta Averyhardt, Nicole Jeray, Chelsea Curtis and amateur Marieke Nivard are tied for eighth at minus-two.
There was a one-hour frost delay to start the championship, but everyone in the field completed round one on time.
Former tour player and two-time Solheim Cup player Kelli Kuehne struggled to an 11-over 83 and is tied for last place.
The LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament is a 90-hole, five-day event, taking place on both the Legends and Champions courses at LPGA International. The first 72 holes are played on both courses, while players play the Champions course during the final round.
The cut, historically held after 54 holes, will now reduce the field to the low 70 players and ties after 72 holes.
