The Epson Tour is back in Central Florida for the second-annual IOA Golf Classic, which will be held at Alaqua Country Club from March 28-30. The three day 54-hole tournament will feature the top rising stars in the game of women’s golf.

The 144 players in the field will be competing for a total purse of $100,000. The winner will take home $15,000 and take a significant step towards an LPGA Tour card for the 2015 season. The top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list at the end of the Epson Tour season will receive their LPGA Tour card for 2015.

There will be a cut made after 36 holes following Saturday’s second round.

Of the 144 players, 14 hail from the state of Florida. Below is a listing of players in the event from the state of Florida.

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

The event also includes several players that have Central Florida college golf connections. Three former UCF Knights, Stephanie Connelly, Carolin Pinegger and Jessy Tang and one current UCF golfer, Fanny Cnops, are in the field at the IOA Golf Classic.

Cnops, a junior at UCF, received a sponsor exemption into the field. The 22-year-old has had a number of top-10 finishes for UCF this season. She placed second at the Florida Shootout, third at the Central District Invitational and seventh at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational.

Cnops started her college career at UNC-Greensboro. She was twice named the Southern Conference Player of the Year.

The Gent, Belgium native transferred to UCF when Emily Marron left UNCG to accept the head coaching position at UCF.

“It’s amazing to receive an opportunity like this,” said Cnops. “I never thought much about something like this happening for me but it will be such a good experience. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”

The IOA Golf Classic will be her first professional event.

“The past couple weeks I was getting a little nervous preparing, but then realized I still have to get ready for a collegiate tournament, which actually made me more relaxed because I can just focus on that,” said Cnops. “It will also be helpful to already be in the tournament routine leading up to the IOA.”

UCF head coach Emily Marron is excited for the opportunity Cnops has to represent the UCF golf program.

"This is an exciting opportunity for both our team and for Fanny,” said Marron. “We are thankful to IOA for including us in this tournament because it is a wonderfully opportunity for Fanny to test her game against professionals and see how she stacks up.

The IOA Golf Classic also includes local sponsor exemption Nicole Morales, who is a senior at Lake Mary Preparatory School.

“This is the opportunity that I have been dreaming for,” said Morales. “I’ve been really working hard this year, I moved down to Florida for my senior year of high school so that I can train for that next level so when I found out I was so ecstatic.”

Morales, the number one ranked player on Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings, moved to the Heathrow area from South Salem, N.Y. a year-ago to train with her golf coach, Cheryl Anderson, at the Mike Bender Golf Academy. The 17-year-old is number two on the American Junior Golf Association Polo Golf Rankings.

Another local connection is Joanna Coe, who played college golf at nearby Division II Rollins College. Coe had a fantastic college career at Rollins including winning the 2008 Division II National Championship. She won eight total events in her career and was a three-time collegiate All-American.

IOA Golf Classic Tournament Preview

Related Articles