Burt Angeli/The Daily News Photo ZOE WOODWORTH

NORWAY — Lake Linden’s Zoe Woodworth took a different approach to the back nine and wound up with medalist honors Saturday in the 92nd UP Ladies Golf Association Championships at Oak Crest Golf Course.

The former Colorado Mesa University golfer carded a five-over par 79 in Saturday’s qualifying round, locking up the top spot for championship flight match play with a one-under 36 over the final nine holes.

“The front nine was kind of rough, very rough, actually,” Woodworth said. “Then I got more comfortable and aggressive on the back nine.”

Woodworth recorded three back-nine birdies on the par 4 13th, par 5 15th and par 3 17th.

“The par fives are not long at all,” said Woodworth, a first-time UP medalist in a handful of appearances. “You should be able to birdie most of them.”

The speed of Oak Crest’s greens troubled most of the golfers.

“The greens are real tricky just because they’re really slow, and I’m not used to that,” said Woodworth, who plays out of Portage Lake Golf Course “So it’s kind of hard to adjust chipping and putting.

“But I think a lot of people struggled with the greens. The greens are making the course hard right now.”

Runner-up medalist Payton Dube shot an 81, collecting a birdie on the par 3 7th along with 11 pars.

“I was pretty consistent but there’s a few things I could have done better,” said Dube, who shot an 84 to win the MHSAA UP Division 2 title at Oak Crest in the spring. “My drives were good.

My putting wasn’t good but it wasn’t terrible.”

The Hancock High School junior also plays at Portage Lake, where the greens are faster.

“The greens are pretty slow for the most part,” Dube said. “You have to hit it hard on some of them.”

Oak Crest golfers Leah Skoglund and Kathy Gagnon along with JoAnn Poncino of Niagara, Wis., each shot 83. Skoglund and Poncino each tallied 39 over front nine to lead the tournament.

Former champion Karen Plaisier of Ishpeming made the 16-player championship flight cut with an 86. Iron Mountain’s Becky Cecconi, another former champion, struggled with the heat but managed to reach championship flight with a 91.

Temperatures reached the high 80s for Saturday’s opening round. Oak Crest provided water and cold towels throughout the course.

“The weather was extremely warm and the women were very tired after their rounds today,” said tournament director Kevin Londo.

Woodworth and No. 16 Cathy Shamion of Ontonagon will meet in one of eight first-round championship flight matches Sunday morning. Dube is matched against Tammy DeBakker of Vulcan.

“”I really like the course,” said Woodworth, an administrative analyst for Keweenaw Brewing Co in South Range. “The course is in great shape. It’s like there’s no trouble, really. It’s pretty straight and very short.”

Sunday’s championship flight first-round matches follow (first-round score in parentheses):

1. Zoe Woodworth (79), Lake Linden vs. 16. Cathy Shamion (93), Ontonagon

2. Payton Dube (81), Hancock vs. 15. Tammy DeBakker (92), Vulcan

3. Leah Skoglund (83), Kingsford vs. 14. Becky Cecconi (91), Iron Mountain

4. JoAnn Poncino (83), Niagara vs. 13. Annie Greenwood (91), Crystal Falls

5. Kathy Gagnon (83), Vulcan vs. 12. Karen McCorkle (90), Pembine

6. Paxton Johnson (85), Escanaba vs. 11. Barbara Rossi (90), Chassell

7. Karen Plaisier (86), Ishpeming vs. 10. Lisa Dionne (90), Davison

8. Amy Johnson (87), Iron River vs. 9. Nancy Osier (87), Wakefield