The leaderboard was stacked with red numbers and ties after the first round of the 14th annual Four Winds Invitational. The field of 144 athletes took advantage of the cooler temperatures and pure conditions at South Bend Country Club in round one of the final leg in the Northeast Stretch.
Kaitlyn Papp Budde was the first leader in the clubhouse of the day, posting a 5-under 67. Papp Budde started off strong, sinking four birdies on her opening nine. The Texas native settled into her round carding a 1-under 34 on the back nine to tie her low round of the 2025 Epson Tour season.
Monet Chun followed closely behind Papp Budde, tying her 5-under round of 67 to start off the morning wave. Chun made six birdies and was bogey-free until her 16th hole, breaking her record for the lowest round in her professional career. The University of Michigan alumna is finding her spark at no better venue than in rival territory of South Bend, Ind., as she looks forward to continuing a weekend of solid golf in hopes of securing the best finish of her young professional career.
Epson Tour sophomore Leah John had a number to chase by the time she teed off in the afternoon and started off strong with three consecutive birdies on holes one, two, and three. The Canadian continued her string with birdies on holes five, six, seven, and nine to shoot a 7-under 30 on her front nine.
“I had a very unexpected beginning to my round,” said John. “I made a couple of putts in the beginning, and I was like, ‘Hey, this is great.’ And then it just kept happening and sort of felt like it was out of my control a little bit, but it was pretty exciting. The girls I was playing with were super nice, so I could keep myself distracted just chatting, but it was a pretty epic day.”
John rounded the turn, making two pars before sinking a birdie putt on the par-5 12th hole. The 25-year-old settled into her back nine with five pars before hitting the green on the par-5 18 in two to finish off her round with a birdie. The University of Nevada alumna carded a bogey-free round of 63, finding herself at the top of the leaderboard and leaving round one having tied the 18-hole tournament record along with her new career low round.
“I think that’s the coolest part about golf, it’s about playing against yourself and the golf course, so you’re always striving for more,” said John. “It’s just hard. You never really see yourself as good or a record person, so it’ll be just a nice thing to have in my pocket to remember.”
