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Nealy surges to the top photo by Jim Craven GP standout regains touch at right time By Don Hunt Amanda Nealy has regained her golfing touch, and that spells trouble for the rest of the women�s field at the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament. Nealy, who left her clubs in her bag for much of the summer while studying for the Oregon State Bar Exam, birdied the final three holes and shot a 1-over-par 75 Wednesday at Rogue Valley Country Club to grab medalist honors in the women�s division. Eleanor Mitchell was the senior women�s medalist with an 81. Match play kicks off today and continues through Monday in the 71st annual tournament. "I didn�t play hardly any golf this summer until the last week of July," Nealy said. "My game was a little rusty, but it�s coming around." Nealy, who won the Grants Pass Golf Course club championship earlier this month, was 3-over after the opening nine holes Wednesday on RVCC�s inside course. But then her lukewarm putter turned red-hot as she sank 12- to 15-foot birdie putts on the final three holes to finish with a bang. "It always feels great when you can finish a round like that," said Nealy, who was also women�s medalist in 1999. "Hopefully I can carry the momentum into match play." Nealy, 31, would like nothing better than to meet defending champion Reena Eklund in this year�s tournament, but Eklund landed an off-air job with the Golf Channel and is absent from the field. The pair met in last year�s title match, with Eklund registering a dramatic sudden death victory. "It�s a big disappointment not having her here," said Nealy, who won the tournament in 1992 and has advanced to the semifinals or finals in all five previous appearances. "We had a great match last year." The rest of the women�s field struggled Wednesday. Luneta Ah-Sam was nine strokes behind Nealy with an 84, while Jennifer Ausland and Heather Holte carded 85s. Linda Johnson and Trina Rasmussen were next with 88s. Ah-Sam has undergone radical changes in her swing this summer after taking lessons from former PGA teaching pro Mark Laurance. The changes have begun to improve Ah-Sam�s game, but there are days when she takes one step forward and two back. Wednesday was one of those days. "My entire swing is different," Ah-Sam said. "Backswing, forward swing, tempo � you name it. I�m still not in my comfort zone, but hopefully one of these days everything will click." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA