Largest purse in Tour history coming next week in Greenwood, South Carolina

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – The Epson Tour, the Road to the LPGA, is coming to Greenwood, South Carolina for one of the most anticipated events in Tour history, the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Charity Classic. Popular Big Break star Blair O’Neal and South African native Ulrika Van-Niekerk have received sponsor exemptions to play in the event.

The first four-round event of the year will start on Thursday, May 8 and conclude on Sunday, May 11 at Links at Stoney Point.

O’Neal and Van-Niekerk will join the 144-player field that will be competing for their share of the $200,000 total purse, the largest in Tour history. The winner will receive $30,000, which is also the largest winner’s payout in Tour history.

“We are thrilled to be able to give Blair O’Neal and Ulrika Van-Niekerk sponsor exemptions for the opportunity to play and compete for a chance to win the largest purse in the history of the Epson Tour at the Self Regional Women's Health Classic here in Greenwood, S.C.,” said Jim Medford, Tournament Chairman for the Links at Stoney Point Women’s Health Classic, LLC. “As the tournament organizer and host, we are delighted and honored to offer these two deserving young and talented women this wonderful opportunity to further their professional careers and dreams to one day play on the LPGA Tour.”

O’Neal has played on the Epson Tour since 2004. This year, she debuted at the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay and also played in the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial.

“I was really excited when I got the sponsor exemption news because this event has the biggest purse in Epson Tour history and just that being said alone is huge,” said O’Neal. “I’m very, very excited and really looking forward to playing in Greenwood.”

O’Neal’s stardom stems from her two appearances on the Golf Channel reality series Big Break. She appeared on Big Break Prince Edward Island and Big Break Dominican Republic.

She is also an accomplished golf and fashion model with the likes of Golf Digest, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and more on her resume.

“In the off-season, I worked on my golf game a lot, especially my short game.” said O’Neal. “On the other side of things, I’ve been doing some photo shoots for some magazines like Golf Digest and Golf Magazine and a lot of other projects that have been keeping me busy.”

Van-Niekerk has played on the Epson Tour since 2011. She has played in three events in 2014 and made the cut in the most recent event, the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial.

The Capetown, South Africa native played her college golf at Texas Tech. During her junior year, she led the Red Raiders in stroke average.

O’Neal, Van-Niekerk Receive Sponsor Exemptions for Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Charity Classic

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