MEXICAN VIOLETA MAKES BREAKTHROUGH
ON UNITED STATES FUTURES ROUR

By LISA D MICKEY
With an entire golf-mad Mexican nation ignited by the play of Lorena Ochoa on the LPGA Tour, along comes another young Mexican woman professional to throw a little more kerosene on the fire.
Duramed FUTURES Tour rookie Violeta Retamoza fanned the flames on Sunday when she rallied with a final-round 67 to win her first professional title at the $80,000 Alliance Bank Golf Classic in Syracuse, New York State.
Retamoza carded rounds of 75-66-67 for a three-day total of 208 (-5) to edge defending champion Ha Na Chae (69) of Seoul, Korea by one shot. Chae finished second at four-under-par 209.
“I’m really excited and I have been waiting for this,” said the rookie from Aguascalientes, Mexico. “I knew I had to keep fighting and I guess everything fell into place.”
Interestingly, Retamoza was chasing good friend Cortney Reno in the final round at The Links at Erie Village. Reno had a two-shot lead heading into the last day and had built a two-stroke lead over Chae and Brandi Jackson after her birdie on the eighth hole.
But as luck would have it, Reno yanked her tee shot left and out of bounds on the par-5 seventh hole. By the time she had putted out for double-bogey, the one-time Tour winner had dropped into a three-way tie for the lead.
“I never hit it left when I miss,” said Reno of Grosse Ile, Mich. “There was no wind and nothing to contend with. I have no idea where that came from.”
Reno bogeyed the next hole and scored all pars until she three-putted the 17th for bogey to drop into a tie for fourth at 211 (-2) alongside Kim Welch (67) of Sacramento, Alissa Kuczka (70) of Phoenix and Kelly Cavanaugh (70) of Palos Verdes, Calif.