Florida’s Natural Charity Classic
Lake Wales Country Club
Lake Wales, Florida
March 17, 2014
Tournament Storylines

LAKE WALES, FLORIDA, March 17, 2014 – After two weeks on the west coast to begin the Epson Tour season, the future stars of the LPGA Tour are ready to tee off at the sixth-annual Florida’s Natural Charity Classic at Lake Wales Country Club. Practice rounds begin on Tuesday, March 18 with the first-round of the 54-hole stroke play tournament scheduled for Friday, March 21.

The stellar field of 144 professionals will aim for their share of the $125,000 purse, the fourth largest on Tour this season. The winner will take home $18,750 and take a significant step towards an LPGA Tour card for the 2015 season. There will be a cut after 36 holes.

The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic is the first of four consecutive Epson Tour events in the state of Florida. From March 28-30, the Tour moves to Longwood for the IOA Golf Classic. In late April, the Epson Tour heads to Sarasota for the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay (April 25-27). The Florida swing concludes the following week, May 2-4, in Fort Myers at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial.

The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic moves from Lake Region Yacht & Country Club to Lake Wales Country Club. Last year, Melissa Eaton fired a final-round 72 to snag her first career Epson Tour victory. Eaton is in the field aiming to defend her crown.

“I’m very excited to try and defend (my win from last year),” said Melissa Eaton. “Unfortunately, it’s a new golf course so I kind of have to start all over again preparation wise because it’s obviously different from the last course, but I am very excited.”

Eaton is currently 18th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list after two events in 2014. She finished T12 at the Visit Mesa Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club and T24 at the Volvik Championship.

The former LSU golfer is carrying over the momentum she had from a near top-10 finish on the Epson Tour in 2013. She finished 13th on the money list with three top-10 results.

“I had a phenomenal year last year and I was really close week in and week out and I think I saw a lot of positives,” said Eaton. “Ultimately not getting my LPGA Tour card pushes me to improve and I’m going into this year with a lot more confidence based on the results I had last year.”

Challenging Eaton this week will be 16 players representing the Sunshine State. Below is a list of players that hail from Florida in the field.

Madison Pressel – Boca Raton
Stefanie Sherlock – Tampa
Jackie Stoelting – Vero Beach
Jessy Tang – Daytona Beach
Carlie Yadloczky – Casselberry
Jessica Alexander – Riverview
Taylor Collins – Fort Lauderdale
Lindy Duncan – Plantation
Emily Flanigan Motta – Windermere
Catherine O’Donnell – Ponte Vedra
Haley Millsap – Pace
Megan McChrystal – Stuart
Stefanie Kenoyer – Lighthouse Point
Daniela Iacobelli – Viera
Ginger Howard – Bradenton
Michelle Shin – Cape Coral

BIG BREAK
The field also consists of four players on Golf Channel’s reality series Big Break Florida, which continues tonight at 9:00 PM with episode four.

Three of the four players, Jackie Stoelting, Sadena Parks and Mary Narsizi played in the first two events of the season while Renee Skidmore is slated to play in her first event of the season.

Skidmore, who moved from Seattle suburb Everett to Jupiter, Fla. to work with swing coach Mike Adams, is eager to get her season going.

“I’m really excited that I am about to start my season and I am looking forward to starting it here in Florida,” said the 27-year-old Skidmore. “I’ll just have to drive a couple hours up the road.”

Skidmore has been playing on the Epson Tour for each of the last four seasons. This year, she has narrowed her focus and established a clear goal.

“My number one goal is to get my LPGA Tour card for the 2015 season,” said Skidmore. “Secondly, when I sign up for an event I want to go there and try to win it. Having a win or several top-10 finishes would be another goal for me.”

Sadena Parks has been the crème of the Big Break Florida crop through two events. She finished in a tie for third at the Visit Mesa Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club and stands sixth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

UCF GOLFERS IN FIELD
The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic includes two former University of Central Florida golfers. Stephanie Connelly and Carolin Pinnegar both played college golf in Orlando.

Connelly has played on Tour since 2009. She finished 11th at the NCAA Championship during her senior year. She was a two-time All-Conference USA selection.

Pinnegar was a first-team All-C-USA selection in 2010 and a second-team All-C-USA choice in 2012. She recorded five top-10 finishes during her four-year career at UCF.

Both Connelly and Pinnegar reached the final stage of LPGA Q-School in 2013.

TWO LOCAL SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS
The Florida’s Natural sponsor exemptions this week are Windermere native Emily Flanigan Motta and Winter Haven native Athena Yang.

Flanigan Motta, whose hometown course is Mountain Lake Golf Course, last played on the Epson Tour in 2012. The 24-year-old played her college golf at Florida Southern College and finished fifth at the 2011 Division II National Championship. Flanigan Motta, who works at Mountain Lake Golf Course on the professional staff, was a four-time Academic All-American and First-Team All-American her senior season.

“Mountain Lake has been growing citrus since the early 1900’s and has had a co-op relationship with Florida’s Natural for more than 10 years, so with that being said, having a member of our team represent the Mountain Lake and Lake Wales communities is quite an honor for Emily,” said Mountain Lake PGA Professional Jonathan Powell. “Emily has been working very hard improving her game to meet her lifelong goal to play on the LPGA Tour. The opportunity for Emily to play in this event has the potential to be career boosting. Should she play well, it could open up doors for more events throughout the season and put her on the path to her career goal.”

Yang, a sophomore at Winter Haven High School, has already written a strong amateur resume. As a freshman, she won the county title and finished third in the 2A state golf tournament.

The 15-year-old is a byproduct of the First Tee of Lakeland. In 2012, she made a donation of $1,262 to the First Tee of Lakeland.

VOLVIK RACE FOR THE CARD MONEY LIST
The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic field also features nine of the top ten on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The only exception is Becca Huffer, who was the Visit Mesa sponsor exemption at the Visit Mesa Gateway Classic. Huffer did not play in the Volvik Championship and is not expected to play in another Epson Tour event until the reshuffle after six events.

            1. Kim Kaufman - $15, 482
            2. Jennie Lee - $14,114
            3. Marissa Steen - $12,294
            4. Demi Runas - $5,963
            4. Veronica Felibert - $5,963
            6. Sadena Parks - $5,276
            7. Becca Huffer - $4,887
            7. Emily Talley - $4,887
            9. Kendall Dye - $4,886
            10. Cindy Yueer Feng - $3,734

GAELLE TRUET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR SPOTLIGHT
The top ranked rookie in the pursuit of the Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year award is Demi Runas. The former UC-Davis golfer finished in a tie for third at the Volvik Championship and currently ranks third on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

Runas had a fantastic college career. She was named the Big West Player of the Year following the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. The Torrance, Calif. native was a three-time First-Team All-Big West performer.

Below is a Q&A with Runas, which was done on Friday, March 14.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Epson Tour so far?
Demi: The first two events were on the west coast, which was great because they were local for me. The vibe that I get from a lot of the girls that I have met so far is that everyone seems to be really friendly and close knit, which I find really nice.

Q: Are you ready to come east for the rest of the year?
Demi: It’s definitely going to be a change being a west coast girl. I travelled a lot for amateur golf and I enjoy being on the road and I enjoy travelling. I actually kind of get antsy when I’m home for a long time so I’m not too concerned about the travel. I’m mostly just really excited to get into the swing of things and the nitty-gritty of being on the Epson Tour and travelling a lot. I’m actually looking forward to all the stories that I’m sure are going to take place because of all the travelling.

Q: What do you remember most about your college days at UC Davis?
Demi: I feel like every year I just tried to get a little better. More specifically, it was every tournament and every week I tried to do something a little bit better and that really helped me. My coach for the first three years Anne Walker, who left for Stanford my senior year, she played a huge part in me being where I am now. She helped me believe in myself a little bit more. I think I kind of came in a little under the radar coming out of Southern California where there are so many really good amateur and junior golfers. I just went about my business playing golf because I loved what I was doing and then at some point something clicked and I finally found myself in contention.

Q: Where in your golf game have you made the biggest strides?
Demi: I would say my comfort level and the mental aspect of the game. Knowing how I feel and how I’m comfortable when I’m competing at a high level. Enjoying being in pressure situations is new for me. I still get really nervous; my hands shake when I get nervous, especially on the greens. Learning to enjoy the pressure and appreciate it has been important. If you’re nervous it means you care and you’re in a good place. Using the nerves as a positive instead of a negative has been a big stride for me.

Q: What are your goals for 2014?
Demi: The big thing is finishing in the top-10 at the end of the year and getting my LPGA Tour card. That is probably my main goal. I got really close to getting a card by making it to final stage of LPGA Q- School, but the nerves kind of got to me there a little more than I would have liked. I told myself that this year is a blessing in disguise. As much as I wanted to get my LPGA Tour card right off the bat, maybe I wasn’t ready yet. This year is going to give me the foundation I need. The big goal is top-10 on the money list at the end of the year.

Q: Do you remember the moment as a junior golfer that the LPGA Tour became a dream?
Demi: It actually happened later on in my life. I feel like growing up you always kind of dream about it, but it didn’t really become a solid goal for me until my sophomore or junior year of college. I always worked towards winning tournaments and then I finally won one and then two and then a couple more and then by the end of college I told myself that I can do this. When I turned professional, I won a couple of the mini tour events and state opens that I played in. I had to get comfortable with winning – that has always been kind of a struggle for me. It has actually been pretty recent that I could see myself getting out there (LPGA Tour). Everyone probably says when they were 10-years-old, but it didn’t sink in for me until the last three or four years. Golf has always been a passion, but seeing me out there and not being afraid of that vision (LPGA) is recent.

Q: Off the course, what are some of your hobbies?
Demi: I have always been a big reader, I love to get lost in a book. More recently, I have taken a liking to hiking. I go hiking with some of the girls. Brianna Do, Stephanie Kono and I went hiking after we got done at Industry Hills one day. I also picked up baking. Also recently, I started doing yoga which is really cool because my mind tends to get really busy so when I go in for a yoga class it takes my mind off of everything.

Q: Best baked item so far?
Demi: I’ve made a chocolate chip-oatmeal-coconut cookie, which came out pretty good. Other than that, I’ve made chocolate chip banana bread which is not bad at all.

One of the players not in the field this week is Cheyenne Woods, the niece of PGA TOUR star Tiger Woods. She received a sponsor exemption into the LPGA event this week, the JTBC Founders Cup. The event is in Phoenix, Ariz. at Wildfire Golf Club.

ANNIKA ACADEMY ON SITE TUESDAY: The ANNIKA Academy, founded by LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam, will be on site at Lake Wales Country Club on Tuesday, March 18 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. for the first of five professional development sessions for Epson Tour players.

The first session will be taught by Annika’s sister, Charlotta, who played on the LPGA Tour for over a decade. Her on-course earnings exceeded one million dollars.
The event is open to members of the media.

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

Top Storylines for the 2014 Florida’s Natural Charity Classic

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