HARRIS -- First-year professional Stephanie Kim carded a 5-under 67 today to take the first-round lead in the $100,000 Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber of Commerce.

The former Wake Forest University collegian started on the back nine holes at Sweetgrass Golf Club and birdied her first three holes to kick off her round. By late afternoon, however, the wind picked up and Kim, like the rest of the field, had a fight on her hands on the rolling course lined with native grasses.

"It was a hard five under," said Kim, 19, of Bayside, N.Y. "On the holes that were downwind, I made birdies, but on some holes, it was pretty tough. It's a great golf course and it's in great shape."

Kim made the nine-hole turn and carded three more birdies and a bogey, but like many other players in the field, the par-5, 573-yard uphill, into-the-wind sixth hole "felt like 700 yards." The sixth hole gave up only six birdies today and Kim, hitting driver, 3-wood, 3-wood to reach the green, said she was happy with a par.

Rookie Lizette Salas of Azusa, Calif., moved into solo second place at 4-under 68.

One shot back at 3-under 69 is the trio of Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif., Jodi Ewart of North Yorkshire, England, and Tanya Dergal of Durango, Mexico.

"This was my first four under in a month or so and I'm happy, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself," said Salas, who turned pro this spring after a becoming a four-time All-American at the University of Southern California.

Salas birdied her first hole from two feet and added four more birdies and a bogey in her third professional tournament start. A three-putt bogey on the ninth hole fired up the rookie, and she birdied both holes 10 and 11 from four feet, sinking a 30-foot birdie on the par-three 15th island-green hole.

Receiving nearly four inches of rain earlier in the week and with afternoon winds that howled, Sweetgrass has already proven itself as a formidable test of golf in the LPGA Futures Tour's inaugural event in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. But the new tract also drew rave reviews from players.

"Hands down, it's one of the best layouts we've played all year," said Martin, who needed only 27 putts in today's opening round. "And it has two phenomenal finishing holes."

"It's pretty linksy with the dunes and it feels like an English course," added Ewart. "I thought about that while I was walking in the fog."

Ten players are under par and 13 players are at even-par 72 or better.

Saturday's second round of the inaugural Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber of Commerce will begin at 7:45 a.m., off the first and tenth tees. The leaders will tee off between 9:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.

For scores and more information, visit www.lpgafuturestour.com.

Weather: Cloudy turning partly sunny with temperatures in the high 60s with winds from 15-25 mph, increasing in the afternoon.

Native American Gives Potawatomi Nation Something To Cheer About

Residents of the Michigan's Upper Peninsula will keep a close watch on Island Resort Championship sponsor exemption Cheryl Mitchell this week. A Native American of Strongsville, Ohio, Mitchell is representing the Potawatomi Nation this week. The Potawatomi own Sweetgrass Golf Club and Island Resort Casino, where the tournament is being staged.

"When we saw the press release about the tournament coming here, I thought it was perfect timing," said Mitchell, 32, a mother of two. "Now that my children are a little older, I thought this was the year I would get back into playing tournaments."

Mitchell grew up in First Nation on Walpole Island in Ontario, Canada, which is home to the Potawatomi and Ojibwa tribes. Both of her parents played golf, so it was a natural for her to take up the game. She went on to play college golf at Kent State University and transferred to Michigan's Oakland University, where she completed her graduate studies in psychology.

Mitchell played in some tournaments on the Futures Tour in 2004 while she worked on her master's degree. Golf was eventually tabled as she married and started a family. She now has a seven-year-old son and a daughter who is 3, and she is relaunching her professional golf career on the CN Canadian Women's Tour.

But this week is special for Mitchell, who admittedy misses the close culture of the Potawatomis. She was thrilled to get the invitation to come to Sweetgrass this week to compete. And she was encouraged by local Potawatomi residents who followed her on the course today and cheered for her. When she finished today's first round, young Native American girls greeted her for pictures and autographs.

"It's great to see the Futures Tour come to some of the nations and tribes to hold tournaments," said Mitchell, whose father was a former Walpole Island Chief of the Potawatomi. "We take pride in our heritage and we want to leave a little piece of it with everybody."

Mitchell also says holding a professional golf tournament is good for the community, bringing together both golfers and non-golfers for a common cause.

"You see so many community members working at this event and such a sense of pride in everyone," she added. "We are getting people to come look at our community and our culture. It's a chance to showcase ourselves."

Moving to a Cleveland suburb has taken Mitchell away from the Canadian and Upper Peninsula Potawatomi that she knows and loves, but playing here this week has already brought back some fond memories, as well as triggers to her senses.

"I could smell the sweetgrass out on the course," said Mitchell with a smile, of the indigenous plant that is often used in Native American customary practices.

"You realize the importance of culture as you get older and you value that feeling of belonging," she added. "The support here is tremendous this week. It really feels nice."

Players View Upper Peninsula From Water In Outside-The-Ropes Event

Members of the LPGA Futures Tour got a chance to tour the waters of Michigan's Upper Peninsula in an "Outside the Ropes" activity earlier this week.

Players were treated to a water tour by Captain Todd Hurley of Hurley Marine in Escanaba, Mich. (www.hurleymarine.com ) in his 52-foot Sea Ray Sundancer boat named "Sol Vation." Hurley took players out on his boat in Green Bay, which feeds into Lake Michigan, and showed the golf pros the deep-water ports used for iron ore and coal, as well as the bay's sparkling waters and historic lighthouse.

"It was a great opportunity to get out and see something else and do something different other than just practicing and playing golf," said rookie Annie Brophy of Spokane, Wash. "It's beautiful country, so to get out and see it is really nice."

In Some Cultures, It's A Sign of Good Luck

At least Molly Aronsson was laughing when she completed today's first round. The LPGA Futures Tour rookie was dive-bombed by a large bird in today's first round of the Island Resort Championship. The bird's well-targeted excrement smacked the player squarely on the head on the fourth hole.

"It landed so hard on my head that it hurt," she said. "And then it got on my shirt and I could smell it every time I swung the club."

A volunteer with her group poured water on Aronsson's head and the player wiped herself down as well as possible. The bird's untimely deposit also occurred while she was eating on the course, prompting her to drop her food into a bag and toss it into the trash.

"The last time that happened was in junior golf, and I screamed and took my shirt off," laughed Aronsson. "Today, I just cussed."

But in some cultures, having a bird deposit droppings on you is a sign of good luck. Does Aronsson buy into that?

"Let's just say that I'm going to sign my scorecard and head to the casino," she said.