Alison Walshe, a rookie on the Duramed Futures Tour, stood on the 10th tee at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield, Conn., this past Sunday just nine holes from her first professional tournament title.

Less than a two-hour drive from her home in Westford, Mass., Walshe had close friends and family following her for all three days, watching intently as she fired rounds of 68 and 63 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the ING New England Golf Classic.

That lead doubled to four shots after a 2-under-par 33 on the front

nine, giving Walshe plenty of breathing room for the back nine. Forty-two shots later, Walshe tapped in on the 18th hole, out of contention and out of breath.

"It was disappointing; I just wasn't really there those last nine holes and that one hole changed things," Walshe said, referring to her triple bogey on the 10th, which stemmed from an ill-fated lie in a fairway bunker. "But other than the last nine holes of that tournament I played awesome, so I'm still feeling really good and still looking forward to this weekend."

Walshe, 24, will be in the field of 144 players vying for this weekend's USI Championship at Beaver Meadow Golf Course, which tees off this morning at 8 a.m.

"It's sweet, it's a really good layout, it's just soaked right now," Walshe said after her practice round on Wednesday. She begins play today at 1 p.m.

"It's shorter yardage, but it's playing longer because of how wet it is," she continued. "It's fair and scoreable, so there'll be some good numbers out there."

Good numbers aren't unfamiliar territory for the first-year standout. Currently sixth on the money list (the top 10 at the end of the season receive their LPGA Tour cards for 2010), Walshe ranks in the top five in four statistical categories and ranks no worse than 13th in four others. She has six top 10s, three top fives and has missed the cut just twice in 11 events.

"That's the thing out here, you could miss five cuts in a row and then come out and win one and you're right there again," said Walshe, who missed the cut in Rancho Viejo, Texas, one week then came back the next week and tied for second. "The competition is very, very good, but it isn't unexpected. I played with so many of these girls in college, so I knew what I needed to do before I even stepped on the tee for the first time."

Musical schools

Walshe attended Westford Academy in Westford, Mass., where she played for the boys' varsity golf team. When she graduated in 2003, she left with accolades galore, including Boston Globe Player of the Year twice, a Boston Herald All-Star in 2002 and 2003, and Massachusetts State Amateur Champion in 2003.

While most players of her caliber ship off to points south where warm weather allows for year-round golf, Walshe stayed close to home, attending nearby Boston College. As a freshman, Walshe won the Big East Tournament individual title and set a tournament record for 54 holes with a 4-over-par cumulative score of 220.

"Golf in the Northeast, especially for girls, isn't that big, that's why I went to Boston College," she said. "I loved it there, but I didn't expect to do so well and when I did, I realized I could make a career out of golf, so I transferred to Tulane."

As a sophomore Walshe led the Green Wave with a stroke average of 72.64, the best in school history. But she would last only one year at the New Orleans-based university, as Hurricane Katrina forced Tulane to drop most of its athletic programs.

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