Huffer, Hsu Share 36-Hole Lead in Mayetta

MAYETTA, KANSAS, September 6, 2014 – Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.), who started the year with the worst possible status (J) a player can have, took one bad swing on Saturday that cost her three strokes and still fired a 3-under 69 to hold a share of the lead with Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei) at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic after 36-holes.  She has a two-day total of 9-under 135 and has a chance on Sunday to pull off a worst-to-first story for the Epson Tour history books.     

The cut was made at 3-over and 73 players will play on Sunday.  

Conditions were calmer on Saturday and scoring was indicative of that as 50 players finished under-par. 

A total of 41 players have two-day totals under-par and 13 players are 5-under or better.  Further, five players inside the top-25 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list are within four shots of the lead including No. 9 Mallory Blackwelder (-5), No. 11 Lindy Duncan (-6) and No. 15 Nicole Vandermade (-6).

The 24-year-old Huffer opened her round with four birdies through six holes to get to 10-under.  She closed the front nine with three pars. Huffer made par on the tenth hole and then made triple-bogey on the 11^th to drop back to 7-under. 

She didn’t let the miscue faze her and made five pars and two birdies to nearly get all three shots back on the back nine. 

“I’m playing really well this week, I’m hitting the ball well and giving myself a lot of birdie chances,” said Huffer. “One bad swing added up, but other than that I am really pleased with my round.”

Huffer made a concerted effort to refocus following her triple-bogey.

“When you come off a triple-bogey, I was really focusing on getting more birdies and I gave myself a lot of chances coming in.”

Huffer will aim for her first win on the Epson Tour.  She has one win this year at the Michigan Women’s State Open.

“To be in this position is awesome.  Everything is finally coming together for me, especially the putting.  I’ve known that I could shoot these types of rounds so to come out here at this point in the season and actually shoot them is nice.”

Huffer started the season with J status, which is the lowest status a Epson Tour member could have.  She entered 2013 Qualifying Tournament injured and did not advance out of stage one. 

Huffer moved to the Phoenix area in January of 2013 and took a job at Longbow Golf Club where the Epson Tour hosts the first event of the year, the Visit Mesa Gateway Classic.  She worked in outside player services at the club and received one of the sponsor exemptions into the field. 

She not only competed, but contended and finished in a tie for third.  In mid-May, she was reshuffled to E status and has played full-time on Tour since.

“A lot depended on that one event and the way I finished completely changed my season.”   

If Huffer didn’t play well in Mesa, she would have played the Canadian Women’s Tour, the Cactus Tour and state open’s. 

Huffer has gone from an afterthought who had slim-to-no chance of playing any Epson Tour event outside of the Mesa event to 18-holes from being a Tour winner. 

Hsu, who ranks fifth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with $48,749, shot a 4-under 68 to take a share of the lead into Sunday.  She made five birdies against just one bogey. 

The 19-year-old closed with birdies on the 15^th and 17^th holes.

Olivia Jordan-Higgins, who had a share of the lead after round one, shot a 1-under 71 and is in solo third at 7-under 137.

Nicole Vandermade and Lindy Duncan are in a tie for fourth at 6-under 138.

Eight players are in a tie for sixth at 5-under 137. 

POTAWATOMI CUP UPDATE: The Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic is the fourth and final event of the Potawatomi Cup.  Detailed below, Nicole Vandermade is the player to watch Sunday to potentially jump Min Seo Kwak.  Vandermade is in a tie for fourth, which would give her an additional 135 points to overtake Kwak, who slipped inside the cut line and is T60. 

The other three Potawatomi Cup events were the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, the Four Winds Invitational and the Island Resort Championship. 

At each of the four events, $8,500 is distributed to the top-5 finishers. 

The player with the most cumulative points following play on Sunday will receive an additional $6,000 bonus check. 

The winner of each event receives 500 points while second place receives 300 points.

Current Potawatomi Cup Points Standings

Potawatomi Cup Money Earned

Here is a look at the second-round leaders and the possibility of overtaking Kwak, who shot a 2-over 74 and is in a tie for 55^th.

CASEY “TEXAS RUNNER” GRICE GREW UP IN WIND: Casey Grice grew up playing in the wind in College Station, Texas and is comfortable doing so this week.  Grice opened with a pedestrian 2-over 74 on Friday, but rebounded on Saturday with a 5-under 67 to move from T53 to a tie for 19th. 

“It was a great day on the golf course, I made just one bogey, so not many mistakes,” said Epson Tour rookie Grice.  “I hit every fairway so I was hitting the ball really well off the tee and then I made putts.”

Grice made seven birdies on the day compared to just one Friday.

“I had 28 putts today and anytime I can get under 30 I am happy.”

Grice grew up playing in the wind and she took advantage of the experience.

“The wind has been howling all week and that is very similar to what I play at home.  I’ve learned to hit those knock down shots just as my normal shot. When I went to school in North Carolina, they called me the Texas Runner because all my shots came off the club head really low and that’s what they started calling me. I love those knock down shots.”

Grice, who has two top-10 finishes this year, knew she wanted to go away to college because she wanted to learn what life on the road would be like.

“The Epson Tour and then the LPGA has always been my dream so I wanted to get my feet wet being away from home.  UNC stayed with me during the whole recruiting process and once I took my visit I loved it.”

Grice has pieced together an impressive rookie year on Tour. She ranks 30^th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and has made 13 of 18 cuts. 

“It’s been awesome, everything I expected and more.  The Tour, the girls, everything has been great.  I’ve played some good golf and just to be able to come out and play golf for a living is all I can ask for right now.”

NEBRASKA NATIVE/CORNHUSKER MOVE UP: Mary Narzisi (Omaha, Nebraska) shot a 5-under 67 to move from T86 to T32. 

Narzisi, who was a two-time Nebraska State High School individual champion at Marian High School, made five birdies and an eagle on the second hole. 

Meanwhile, University of Nebraska graduate Madeleine Sheils, who had the largest gallery of the day, shot a 3-under 69 to get to 4-under for the event.  Sheils is tied for 14th with 18 holes left. 

KARLIN BECK WEIGHING PLAYING PRATTVILLE ON LPGA: Karlin Beck (Montgomery, Alabama) recently received a sponsor’s exemption to the play the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Prattville, which is just 20 miles northeast of Montgomery.  The only problem is that the Prattville event is the same week as the Epson Tour Championship in Daytona Beach.

On Saturday, Beck shot a 4-under 68 to move to a tie for 14th with 18 holes to play.  Beck currently ranks 78^th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.  If she has a big finish in Mayetta on Sunday and/or plays well at the Garden City Charity Classic, she may reconsider the LPGA event.

“I’m going to look to see where I am at the end of the next two weeks and then make a decision,” said the former Auburn golfer.  “If there is a chance that I could get my LPGA Tour, I will definitely reconsider.”

Beck played on the LPGA Tour in 2012 and 2013. 

The 27-year-old has had some strong finishes of late including a tie for second at the Colorado Women’s Open. 

TOPEKA NATIVE MAHON MISSES CUT: Topeka native and former Washburn Rural golfer Courtney Mahon shot a 4-over 76 on Saturday for a two-day total of 7-over 151.

She missed the cut by four strokes.

“I didn’t play well on my front nine today and that hurt, but overall I had a great experience in my hometown and playing in front of my friends and family,” said Mahon.  “I had my dad caddie for me one day and my brother another so overall it was great.”

Media Contact

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