Whaley leads Pano by 1 after opening day at Dixie Women's Am

TAMARAC, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2018) – The name Whaley is becoming rather recognizable in the golf world. In college- and amateur-golf circles, the younger Whaley is doing just as much to make it known as Whaley senior is doing on a national level.

After the first round of the Dixie Women’s Amateur, Kelly Whaley leads by a shot with an opening 4-under 68 at Woodlands Country Club that didn’t include a single bogey. Whaley, of course, is the daughter of PGA of America president Suzy Whaley.

A senior at the University of North Carolina, Kelly Whaley has the distinction of having started in every tournament of her career. She has two victories in three and a half years. The thing that’s lacking on Whaley’s resume is a national amateur win.

A year ago at this event, Whaley, who hails from Farmington, Conn., scored a top-10. It put her in the conversation with All-Americans and Curtis Cuppers. This year, after 18 holes, Whaley is holding off an impressive collection of young talent.

Behind Whaley, 14-year-old Alexa Pano fired a 3-under 69 to reach solo second. Pano was a junior Ryder Cupper who finished runner-up at the U.S. Girls’ Junior in July. Pano hails from Lake Worth, Fla., roughly 40 miles north of Tamarac.

Faith Choi and Julia Matzat are tied for third at 2-under 70. A group of seven players are tied for fifth another shot back, including Clemson freshman Alexandra Swayne and incoming Duke freshman Megan Furtney.