Emma Talley began and closed her day with a bogey. In between, the Princeton golfer carded nine birdies during a 10-hole stretch, including six straight, to shoot a LPGA career-best round of 65 at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic Thursday near Green Bay, Wisconsin.
After a bogey on the first hole, Talley birdied three straight holes to move to 2-under after four holes. After a par on No. 5, Talley ripped off six straight birdies to move to 8-under after 11 holes. She said afterward the last time she remembered carding six straight birdies was at the region golf tournament her eighth grade year at Caldwell County, which she won.
Talley cooled off a bit down the stretch, closing with six straight pars and a bogey. Her round of 65 was her best on the LPGA tour and has her tied for fifth, three shots behind leader Katherine Kirk of Australia.
Talley hit 12 of 14 fairways and finished with just 27 putts, nearly four below her 18-hole average. She will have an early start Friday as she tries to stay in contention and do no worse than a third top-10 finish in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour.