Bastel in Front in Tampa Bay

OLDSMAR, Fla. -- Members of the FUTURES Golf Tour got a tune-up for next months tournament in Kansas as winds in the greater Tampa area gusted to 25 mph. But a half-dozen players in the field of Tampa Bays Next Generation Futures Golf Classic rode the wind today and soared to the top of the leader board after 18 holes.

First-year Futures Tour pro Emily Bastel of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, carded a 3-under-par 69 at East Lake Woodlands Golf & Country Club to take the lead on the 6,366-yard South Course. The 2002 U.S. Curtis Cup Team member recorded four birdies and one bogey in her round.

It was playing tough today and the wind was a factor because it was the kind that let off and gusted and kept you guessing, said Bastel, 22, who graduated from Michigan State University in 2002. But I was consistent and when I missed, I missed in the right spots.