Dennis Grall photo Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis. makes a futile attempt at a birdie putt on the ninth green Friday at Sweetgrass Golf Club as playing partners Jillian Hollis, left, and Min Soo Kwak watch at the Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass.

HARRIS — A jam-packed leaderboard is par for the course on the Symetra Tour this year.

The Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass is no different after one day of this ninth annual tournament at Sweetgrass Golf Club. Four women share the top spot at minus five and four more are a stroke back.

To compound the situation, 19 players are tied at 3-under-par, just two strokes back. There area a record 156 players in the field, and 51 shot par or better Friday.

With six playoffs already conducted on the tour this season, anybody betting on No. 7?

Most of that top bunch played in the morning Friday, which means they get to tee off at 12:40 or later today, when the winds usually start blowing across this links-style course. There was a decent breeze Friday, but that is normal on this layout.

Cyd Clanton (Concord, N.C.) and Malene Krolboll Hansen (Hedeland Golfklub, Denmark) withstood the slightly stronger winds to match the 5-under-par 67 recorded in the morning portion by Kristy McPherson (Conway, S.C.) and Stephanie Na (Adelaide, Australia).

Clanton, whose scoreboard total showed minus-6 when she left her final hole, quickly pointed out that 36 holes remained to be played and there was no way she was going to get overly excited.

“It is way too early to think about that,” she said of looking ahead to Sunday. “I will focus on today and what I do best. This is just an opportunity. I love being in this situation.”

I capitalized on the opportunities I got.”

Clanton, who knew her score was 5-under, created her biggest opportunity into a one-foot birdie putt on No. 6, which was her 15th hole Friday. She dropped a 52-degree wedge from 94 yards away to just below the pin.

Clanton, who has spent some time on the LPGA Tour, is seventh in the Volvik Race For The Card.

Clanton said her wedges were golden if she got within 100 yards of the green. “It is all about the second shot,” she said.

Na, a native of South Korea, was the early leader Friday, posting her 67 and giving everyone something to use as a target.

“I got off to a good start,” Na said of getting birdies on holes 10-11-12, her opening trio of holes. “I wanted to make sure I played one shot at a time, put the ball in a good position and give myself as many opportunities as possible.”

By getting fairly close to the hole, she only needed 25 putts on the slick, undulating greens. “I’m happy with the round. I would love to put a couple more solid rounds together.”

This is Na’s fifth appearance at Sweetgrass, a course she “really likes. It does fit my game. I’ve proven it with my results,” she said. Na has also been playing on the European Tour.

“I’m trying to stay positive. When you look at the results, you’re never happy unless you win,” she said.

Na, who turns 30 next week, took a break from the tour a couple years ago and stayed home to recharge her batteries. She said earning her European Tour card “was a big sense of achievement.”

McPherson, who tied for fourth here last year, rode four birdies over her final four holes to gain a share of first place. “I just needed to stay patient. I knew if I stayed patient I would get more luck.”

That patient mode can be attributed to spending 17 years on golf tours. “I’ve been around the block a time or two,” she said with a smile. That includes playing on the LPGA Tour the last four-five weeks.

She made it a point to play here this week – her third visit – because the top two finishers advance to the Evian Championship in France next month.

She has played in that grand slam event in the past and wants another shot. “That is a lot to keep you motivated,” she agreed. “I’ll take five under every day and take my chances.”

Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis. is one of those at 4-under, sinking birdie putts on four of her last five holes, starting with a tap-in on No. 14. “My putts fell on the back,” she said, agreeing good chips to the hole resulted in those birdies.

A key par came on No. 13 when she hacked out of the rough, then hit a good chip shot that set up a par putt from 20-25 feet. “What got me going was making a putt (on No. 13) to save par,” she said.

Sitting just a stroke back, Danielson said “there is a lot of golf left. I really like it out here. I just want to play my game, play smart and I can’t force anything.”

Among her fans were her parents, who last week were at Pebble Beach to watch their son Charlie play in the U.S. Open, including round three with Phil Mickelson. Also watching was Northern Michigan University hall of famer Don Hartman, a native of Nahma who now lives in Osceola.

Also at minus-4 is rookie Alexandra Kaui, a native of Oahu, Hawaii who now lives in Las Vegas and played at UNLV.

“I was very patient. I wanted to take it easy and not put too much pressure on myself. I wanted to be consistent on my distance control,” she said.

She overcame a bogey when she flew the 15th green and splashed into the water on her tee shot. “I was confused what the (head) wind was doing and I clubbed up too much,” she said. Kaui made a 14-foot putt for a saving bogey. “It felt like a birdie,” she said.

She wants to maintain her process today, playing a mix of conservative and aggressively, as she did Friday.

The two amateur exemptions are in serious danger of missing tonight’s cut, which is projected at anywhere above par. Yukida Tanida, a Michigan State University junior golfer, shot 75 Friday while Pratima Sherpa of Nepal struggled to an 82 after a solid start. Sherpa injured her back-shoulder hitting the ground on her tee shot on No. 15 and sought medical treatment right after finishing.

“The front nine I played pretty good,” said Sherpa, who was featured on an ESPN documentary last year and was featured in the Daily Press Wednesday.