This story and photo are courtesy of the Symetra Tour

HARRIS---2017 Symetra Tour rookie Ruixin Liu fired a career-best round of 7-under par 65 on Friday in the first round of the seventh annual Island Resort Championship. Liu was very stoic all day, but when her ball found the cup on the last hole, she practically skipped off the course, proclaiming, “It feels like magic.”
 

Magic indeed, as Liu went through a stretch of six birdies in seven holes in her first outing at the Sweetgrass Golf Club. “My putting was really good today,” Liu said reviewing her first round, “and then really good drives, everything just feels so good.”

Second-year Symetra player Emma Talley fired a bogey-free round of 6-under par (66) on Friday to sit one stroke behind leader Liu. Talley finished her day with three straight birdies to mark her career-best round, and she was feeling content walking off of 18.

“I’m just playing really well right now,” she said. “My game feels good. No mistakes really today, but the mistakes I had I was able to get up and down. Everything’s pretty good right now.”

Liu's only stumble came on No. 12 and 13 (her third and fourth holes, respectively) with two bogeys, but she was able to turn those missteps into motivation, “The two bogeys made me a little angry, so I just kind of powered up from that point.”

Liu even sunk a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 eighth hole, and after that, she felt like she couldn’t miss, “All the birdie chances I had today went in,” she said. “Didn’t matter if it was 10 paces or three feet, they all went in. Today’s putting was just really nice.”

A Chinese native, Liu now lives in Orlando, Fla. where she just graduated from high school. She’s catching on quick to life on the road to the LPGA, where she’s missed just one cut in eight starts. Not only is she making cuts on the Symetra Tour, but the 18-year old is contending nearly weekly with two top-5 finishes to her name.

Although everything is new, with her dad on the bag, she maintains a level of comfortability, “My dad is really helping me on the course. This year, I’m just working on my swing a lot, before it wasn’t that precise but now that I’m practicing a lot it’s gotten much better.”

Heading into the Island Resort Championship, Liu is 27th in the Volvik Race to the Card. While she wants to make her way into the top 10, she’s trying to keep it lighthearted on the course. “I feel a lot of pressure because I want to be on the LPGA next year,” Liu said, “but I know it’s tough because all the girls out here are super good. I just try to play my own game, and just try to be positive.”

In the meantime, Liu’s hoping some of her putting magic will carry over into the weekend as she goes for the title. “Every single tournament I want to win,” she said when asked what her goal was for the rest of the week. “But now, I just want to continue what I did today with my putting because that’s a huge improvement for myself.”

Liu will try to continue her success during Saturday’s second round when she tees off at 9:31 a.m. alongside Christine Meier and Rachel Rohanna.

Play will begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, and there will be a cut to the low 60 and ties following Saturday’s second round.