Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial
Cypress Lake Country Club
Fort Myers, Florida
May 1, 2014
Pre-Tournament News & Notes

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA, May 1, 2014 – The Epson Tour, the official Road to the LPGA, begins first-round play at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial on Friday, May 2 at Cypress Lake Country Club.

The 144 player field will be competing for their share of the $100,000 total purse. The winner will take home $15,000 and move closer towards the top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

The first groups will tee off from the first and tenth tee boxes at 7:30 a.m. On the first tee, Jessica Wallace, Kenda Little and Corie Hou will be first to tee. The 7:30 a.m. tee time on the tenth tee features JiSoo Park, Cara Freeman and Fiona Puyo.

There will be a cut made after second-round play on Saturday. The top 70 plus ties will play the final round on Sunday, May 4.

Admission to the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial has been graciously paid for by CenturyLink.

GREAT RESPECT FOR PATTY BERG: Epson Tour players may have never seen Patty Berg play golf, but they certainly have great admiration and respect for her long list of achievements.

Stephanie Connelly

“It’s really cool to have one of the greatest names in women’s golf as part of our tournament name,”

“I think it reminds us how lucky we are to be playing on the Epson Tour.”

“It’s nice to have a reminder of where the game started, especially for women, so I think it’s pretty neat.”

Ginger Howard

“I have so much respect for her (Patty Berg) and also the other LPGA Tour founders and I thought it was amazing what they did with women’s golf turning the LPGA Tour into what it is today.”

“They gave us many opportunities to get where we want to go. They paved the way for us. This week has been amazing and we have such a great opportunity.”

Sara Brown

“She (Berg) made the golf game better. It’s awesome to play at a tournament named after her and at her home course.”

BUSY WEEK FOR STEFANIE KENOYER: Chico’s brand ambassador and fourth-year Epson Tour golfer Stefanie Kenoyer has been the face of this event.

The Lighthouse Point, Florida native appeared live in-studio on Morning Drive on Golf Channel today.

She talked about the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial, the growth of the Epson Tour, her involvement with Chico’s and her experiences on Big Break.

“Life on the Epson Tour is really exciting, we have more events than ever this year and we have more sponsors coming in and we’re playing for the most money ever,” said Kenoyer on Morning Drive today. “Chico’s came on as a partner for the tournament with their headquarters in Fort Myers so they decided to host the event at Cypress Lake which was the home of Patty Berg, one of the most amazing founders of the LPGA Tour, which is where we are all trying to get.”

Kenoyer is looking for her first career win on the Epson Tour. She has three career top-10 finishes.

Kenoyer will tee off at 1:50 p.m. from the tenth tee.

FENG GOES FOR FIFTH IN A ROW: Volvik Race for the Card money list leader Cindy Feng has a string of four consecutive top-10 finishes.

In her last four events, Feng has finished in a tie for fifth twice, second once and also has a win at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.

Feng has already totaled $35,351 with 15 events still remaining this season.

The single-season Epson Tour record for money earned in a single-season is $94,578 by Cindy LaCrosse in 2010.

JUNIOR CLINIC: Epson Tour professionals Emily Talley, Sara Brown, Ginger Howard and Martina Gavier hosted a junior clinic at Cypress Lake Country Club on Thursday for nearly 50 kids from boy scouts and the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Myers.

The clinic was sponsored by Guardian and Alliance Financial Group.

A FIFTH BIG BREAK FLORIDA CAST MEMBER: Kristi O’Brien, who was an
alternate at the start of the week, is in the field and ready to make her Epson Tour debut. O’Brien was a cast member on Big Break Florida.

She joins fellow Big Break Florida cast members Mary Narzisi, Jackie Stoelting, Renee Skidmore and Sadena Parks on the Epson Tour.

O’Brien is a Epson Tour rookie, who played her college golf at IUPUI.

AN EYE ON DYE: Kendall Dye is enjoying one of her best seasons on the Epson Tour thus far. In five events, she has two top-10 finishes including her first career win at the IOA Golf Classic. She ranks third on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

Dye has already earned $20,955 this year. Her career best for on-course earnings in a single-season came in 2013 when she totaled $26,257 in 14 events played.

Dye has never recorded more than three top-10 finishes in a single season. She already has two this season.

Dye has played on the Epson Tour since 2010.

LEE QUIETLY FOUTH ON VOLVIK RACE FOR CARD MONEY LIST: Jennie Lee is the only player in the top-5 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list without a win in 2014. She has been the model of consistency with three top-10 finishes in five events.

Her best finish was a solo second at the Volvik Championship.

Lee played on the LPGA Tour from 2011-2013.

23 PLAYERS MAKING SEASON DEBUTS: 23 players in the field are playing in their first Epson Tour event of the season. The list includes sponsor exemption and local legend Terry-Jo Myers.

LOCALS TEE OFF: Terry-Jo Myers will start her first round at 12:20 p.m. from the tenth tee. The three-time LPGA Tour winner will be paired with Jordan Ontiveros and Stephanie Connelly.

Myers is currently a member at Cypress Lake Country Club.

Michelle Shin will tee off in the 8:00 a.m. group from the first tee with Ashley Tait and Alice Kim. Shin grew up in neighboring city Cape Coral and played high school golf at Canterbury School.

Chico's Patty Berg Memorial Pre-tournament News & Notes

Related Articles