IOA Golf Classic
Longwood, Florida
March 24, 2014
Storylines

LONGWOOD, FLORIDA, March 24, 2014 – 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.

FENG WINS FIRST EPSON EVENT: Cindy Feng fired a 5-under-par 67 in the final-round of the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic on Sunday to claim her first Epson Tour win. She finished 9-under for the tournament, four shots better than Jackie Stoelting, Megan McChrystal and Maude-Aimee Leblanc.

“This is my first win here on the Epson Tour and it means so much to do it in Lake Wales which is close to home,” said Feng, who has lived in Orlando since 2005. “It’s just so nice to be out here and win.”

Feng moved to Orlando in 2005 from China when she was 9-years-old. Last year, she reached the finals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur as a 17-year-old. She lost to Emma Talley, one of the top college players in the country.

After collecting her winner’s check of $18,750, Feng is now the leader on the Volvik Race for the Card money list at $22,484.

CHEYENNE WOODS BACK IN FIELD: After playing in the first two Epson Tour events of the year, Cheyenne Woods received a sponsor exemption into the field at the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix. Therefore, she did not play in the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic last week in Lake Wales.

Woods, the niece of Tiger, is back in the field for the IOA Golf Classic.

Woods missed the cut at the JTBC Founders Cup.

EPSON PLAYERS GOING TO SOLAR BEARS GAME: Five Epson Tour players will be making a special appearance at the Orlando Solar Bears hockey game on Wednesday, March 26 at Amway Center.

The five players are Jackie Stoelting, Maiya Tanaka, Taylor Collins, Emily Talley and Sara-Maude Juneau.

The Solar Bears are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota Wild.

On Sunday, March 30 members of the Solar Bears are going to be at Alaqua Country Club to watch the final-round of the IOA Golf Classic.

ANNIKA ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT SESSION: On Tuesday, March 25, the ANNIKA Academy will be at Alaqua Country Club for a professional development session for Epson Tour players.

This week’s session will focus on fitness for women’s golfers with an emphasis on functional exercises and power flow.

Kai Fusser, who was Annika Sorenstam’s personal trainer, will lead the session.

The ANNIKA Academy is the Official Elite Golf Academy of the Epson Tour. In January, the Epson Tour announced a three-year partnership with the ANNIKA Academy. Through its partnership, the ANNIKA Academy, T&CP (Teaching & Club Professionals) and the Epson Tour will explore new ways to shape the future of women’s golf.

There will be five professional development sessions throughout the Epson Tour season.

“The LPGA is a lot more than LPGA tournaments and international TV. It’s also about more than 1500 members who work in the game – teaching, coaching, and improving golf facilities. It’s also about young women on the Epson Qualifying Tour trying to hone their skills and make to the LPGA Tour,” said Commissioner Mike Whan. “Our goal is to provide the best possible resources and support to these women. I can think of no one in the world more qualified to help these women achieve their dreams, than Annika Sorenstam. She is an unbelievably strong addition, and our members are truly blessed to have her wisdom and guidance.”

BIG BREAK WATCH PARTY: Episode five of Golf Channel’s Big Break Florida airs Monday at 9:00 PM. Current Epson Tour players Jackie Stoelting, Sadena Parks, Mary Narzisi and Renee Skidmore are contestants on the reality series.

There is a watch party on Monday night (March 24) at Downtown Pourhouse in Orlando from 8-10 PM. Downtown Pourhouse is located at 20 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, Fla., 32801.

The event is open to the public.

About the Epson Tour
The Epson Tour, the official Road to the LPGA, is entering its 34th competitive season in 2014. With the support of its umbrella sponsor, Epson, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. The top-10 money winners each season earn memberships on the LPGA Tour for the following season. With more than 500 alumnae moving on to the LPGA, former Epson Tour players have won a total of 379 LPGA titles, including 43 major championships. Epson Tour events have contributed more than $5 million to charitable organizations throughout the nation since 1989. Follow the Epson Tour on the web at www.EpsonTour.com, Facebook.com/RoadtotheLPGA, Twitter.com/Road2LPGA, and YouTube.com/Road2LPGA.

MEDIA CONTACT
Bret Lasky, Coordinator, Epson Tour Media, bret.lasky@lpga.com, +1 (386) 679-1292

IOA Golf Classic Storylines

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