SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills
Capital Hills at Albany
Albany, New York
July 21, 2014
Storylines

ALBANY, NEW YORK, July 21, 2014 – The Epson Tour, the Road to the LPGA, returns to the Big Apple state for the SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills from Friday, July 25 through Sunday, July 27. This year marks the 30th year that the Epson Tour has held a tournament in this area.

The top 144 up-and-coming professionals on Tour will compete for their share of the $100,000 total purse. The winner will receive $15,000 and take a significant towards an LPGA Tour card for the 2015 season.

The Epson Tour has reached the final third of the season with seven events remaining. From 2013 to 2014, the Tour schedule has grown from 15 to 20 events, the most in 13 years.

With seven events to go and $750,000 still available, there is ample opportunity to climb inside the top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top-10 on the money list at the end of the season will all receive their full-time exempt LPGA Tour cards for 2015.

Last year, Wei-Ling Hsu fired a 4-under 67 to win in Albany. Hsu is back in the field this year and currently ranks fourth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. She won the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic in Greenwood, South Carolina and has earned $42,781. The 19-year-old from Chinese Taipei has only played in eight events this year. She has missed the last three Epson Tour events.

The chase to get inside the top-10 is really starting to heat up. Players 20 and ten on the money list are separated by less than $7,000. The winner’s paycheck of $15,000 would potentially move player 40, Calle Nielson, inside the top-10.

YEAR 30 IN ALBANY AREA: Although the courses and sponsors have changed over the years, the Epson Tour has had a presence in the Albany area every year since 1984 except 1999.

The only event that has more history on the Epson Tour is the Decatur-Forsyth Classic in Decatur, Illinois, which celebrated 30 consecutive years in 2014.

This is the 11th consecutive year that the Tour will play at Capital Hills at Albany dating back to 2004.

Five different courses have hosted in the surrounding Albany area: Town of Colonie Golf Course (1984-1998), Western Turnpike Golf Course (2000-2001), Orchard Creek Golf Club (2002-2003), and Capital Hills at Albany (2004-present).

In 1985, Dottie Pepper won the Albany-Colonie Chamber Open. The Saratoga Springs native went onto win 17 times on the LPGA Tour.

13 EVENTS IN BOOKS, 7 TO GO: The SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills is the 14th event of the season. After a three-week hiatus, the Tour will now play four consecutive weeks. Next week, the Tour travels to Syracuse for the Credit Union Classic presented by Wegmans. In two weeks, players travel to Goffstown, New Hampshire for the New England Charity Classic. The four-week stretch concludes in Richmond, Virginia with the Eagle Classic presented by Bag Boy.

The season wraps up from September 18-21 with the Epson Tour Championship presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

ONE OF STRONGEST FIELDS: The 144-player field this week may be one of the strongest all year. The entire Volvik Race for the Card top-10 are scheduled to play. In addition, the top-20 on the money list are all in the field.

There are also 15 players with LPGA Tour status in the field.

The 11 winners on the Epson Tour this year are also all in the field.

BOOST OF MO-MENTUM: The Epson Tour received a big jolt of Mo-mentum recently when Mo Martin won the RICOH Women’s British Open. Martin played on the Epson Tour from 2006-2011. She played in 104 career events on the Tour (then known as the FUTURES Tour).

Martin won three times and recorded 23 top-10 finishes.

Martin played very well in Albany over the years. She finished third at the Price Chopper Tour Championship in 2011. She also finished in a tie for third at the ILOVENY Championship in 2009.

In addition to Martin, several former and current Epson Tour players have recently recorded strong finishes on the LPGA Tour.

Player	LPGA Event	Finish	Years on Epson Tour
Marina Alex	RICOH Women’s British Open	T9	2012-2013
Inbee Park	RICOH Women’s British Open	4	2006
Kris Tamulis	Marathon Classic	T7	2004-2005
Mo Martin	Marathon Classic	T7	2006-2011
Jaye Marie Green	Marathon Classic	T18	2012-2013
Marissa Steen	Marathon Classic	T32	2011-present

TOP FINISHERS IN 2013 BACK: In addition to Wei Ling Hsu, the 2014 field features both players that finished in second last year, Kendall Dye and Olivia Jordan-Higgins.

The field also includes Catherine O’Donnell, who finished in a tie for fourth last year.

Other top finishers from last year returning are: Jean Reynolds (T6), Tiffany Tavee (T6), Brianna Do (T6) and Samantha Richdale (T6).

DYE LIKES ALBANY: Kendall Dye carded a 64 and 68 on the final two days last year in Albany to finish in a tie for second. She ranks fifth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

“This is my fifth year, it’s kind of like college during your junior or senior year when you are the upperclassman,” said Dye. “I kind of had a slow start to my professional career, I thought maybe three years and I’d be on the big Tour and it has taken me five years and hopefully I’ll be playing on the big Tour next year.”

Last year in Albany, Dye almost withdrew because of a bout with the flu.

“I almost withdrew with the flu or something, it was bad. But, I was able to shoot a 64 on the second day and finish in second place so I have good feelings coming back to Albany and hopefully I can play well.”

The 64 at Capital Hills at Albany is tied for her career low round.

“I’ve been playing well all year and with the win and a lot of top-10 finishes there is really no pressure so it allows me to play freely unlike a lot of other girls on the Tour. By seeing I can be in contention every week without having my “A” game gives me a lot of confidence.”

TREND OF AMERICANS WINNING ON EPSON TOUR: One of the reoccurring themes on the LGPA Tour this year has been the dominance of the American born players. Of the 18 total events on the LPGA Tour, an American has won 12.

Jessica Korda	Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic
Paula Creamer	HSBC Women’s Champions
Lexi Thompson	Kraft Nabisco Championship
Michelle Wie	LPGA LOTTE Championship presented by J Golf
Stacy Lewis	North Texas LPGA Shootout presented by JTBC
Lizette Salas	Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC
Jessica Korda	Airbus LPGA Classic presented by JTBC
Stacy Lewis	ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer
Michelle Wie	U.S. Women’s Open
Stacy Lewis	Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G
Mo Martin	RICOH Women’s British Open

The same trend is playing out on the Epson Tour. An American born player has won seven of the 13 total events.

Kim Kaufman	Volvik Championship
Kendall Dye	IOA Golf Classic
Marissa Steen	Guardian Retirement Championship
Marissa Steen	Friends of Mission Charity Classic
Mallory Blackwelder	Epson Classic
Madison Pressel	Decatur-Forsyth Classic
Molly Aronsson	Island Resort Championship

In 2013, nine of the 15 events were won by American born players on the Epson Tour.

WATCH OUT FOR OLIVIA-JORDAN HIGGINS: There is something about the New York swing that Jersey, Channel Islands UK native Olivia Jordan-Higgins really likes.

In 2013, she finished in a tie for second in Albany and then won the Credit Union Classic in Syracuse the next week.

Higgins narrowly missed getting her LPGA Tour card last year, finishing 11th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, just $114 behind 10th (Jaclyn Sweeney).

This year, Higgins ranks 46th on the Volvik Race for the Card money with $10,844 in 12 events played.

STEEN HAS STRONG WEEK ON LPGA: Marissa Steen, who ranks second on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, decided to test her game against the top players in the world last week at the LPGA’s Marathon Classic. She Monday qualified by shooting a 4-under 67.

Her game translated to the LPGA Tour, finishing in a tie for 32nd and earning $8,491. Steen shot 67-73-69-70 (-5) over the four days. She finished just one stroke back of ROLEX World No. 1 Stacy Lewis.

It was Steen’s first LPGA Tour event.

She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open earlier in the year, but did not make the cut.

Steen has two wins on the Epson Tour this year (Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay and the Friends of Mission Charity Classic) and seven top-10 finishes.

THREE NEW YORKERS IN FIELD: There are three Big Apple natives in the field this week in Albany.

Megan Grehan (Mamaroneck), Nannette Hill (Pelham Manor) and Kelly Shon will all tee off in their home state this week.

Grehan, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, has played in just one Epson Tour event this year. Her best finish on the LPGA Tour is a tie for 19th at the North Texas LPGA Shootout presented by JTBC. Grehan played her college golf at Vanderbilt. She finished 7th at 2013 LPGA Q-School to earn her status.

Hill has played on the Epson Tour since 2010. She has one career victory at the 2010 City of Hammond Classic. Her best result this year is a tie for 19th at the Four Winds Invitational (South Bend, Indiana). Hill played college golf at Wake Forest.

Shon, a recent Princeton graduate, has played in eight events in her rookie season. Her best finish is a tie for 8th at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. Shon was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2013.

VERMONT NATIVE MOLLY ARONSSON WON LAST EVENT: Molly Aronsson outdueled her college teammate Sadena Parks at the University of Washington to win the Island Resort Championship three weeks ago. Her first professional win jumped her from 117th to 13th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

Aronsson hails from Shelburne, Vermont (three hours from Albany). The 26-year-old has played on the Epson Tour since 2010 with limited success prior to the win. In her first three years on Tour, she finished 108th, 136th and 78th on the money list respectively.

Aronsson is a fascinating story of persistence and patience at the same time. She grew up playing multiple sports including hockey so she never focused exclusively on golf until college.

She now has a chance to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2015.

Media Contact
Bret Lasky, Coordinator, Epson Tour Media, bret.lasky@lpga.com, 386-679-1292

SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills Top Storylines

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