Four Winds Invitational
Blackthorn Golf Club
South Bend, Indiana
June 22, 2014
Final-Round News & Notes
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, June 22, 2014 – Nicole Vandermade used a late surge to shoot a 4-under 68 to win the Four Winds Invitational by one stroke on Sunday at Blackthorn Golf Club.
She finished at 12-under-par for the weekend, one shot better than Lee Lopez.
It was Vandermade’s first career Epson Tour victory. She is the eighth first-time winner on the Epson Tour in 2014.
“I’m so grateful to everyone that has been supportive of me for the last two years and for my career.” explained the emotional Vandermade. “This means so much at the moment.”
Vandermade approached the 18th green with a two shot lead over Lopez. She taped in for bogey to secure the victory and was overcome with emotion.
“It definitely hasn’t been the easiest road to get here so I think it makes this moment even sweeter. I’m just going to enjoy this.”
Vandermade and Lopez were locked in a back-and-forth duel for much of the day. After Lopez took an early lead, Vandermade tied her for the lead at the turn. They both made birdie on the 10th and 11th holes to push the lead to 11-under.
The turning point of the event came at the reachable par-5 16th. Vandermade was close in two shots and taped in for an eagle to move to 13-under-par. Lopez made birdie to stay within striking distance. The Brantford, Ontario native made par on the 17th hole while Lopez made bogey to extend the lead to two shots with one hole to play.
“On 16, I knew that it was my moment to be aggressive and I hit a good one.”
“On 17, I just missed the green and then chipped it really close to within a few inches so that was nice to have an easy par. On 18, I drove it in the rough and I just told myself to hit it up there near the green. Unfortunately, I didn’t make my par putt but I didn’t need to.”
Vandermade ranked 90th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list entering the 12th event of the year. The winner’s check of $22,500 moved her to eighth. She is now inside the top-10 and in position to get her LPGA Tour card for the 2015 season with eight events remaining.
“Obviously, that means a lot. There are still a lot of tournaments to go but it definitely means a lot to be inside the top-10.”
Vandermade credited her college teammate and fellow Epson Tour player Desiree Dubreuil, who was her caddie on Sunday.
“I was just chatting with my old teammate Dez so she kept me calm. We were just hanging out all day. She was just really calm and that just kept me really calm.”
Vandermade is the second straight former Texas Longhorns golfer to win on the Epson Tour. Last week, Madison Pressel won the Decatur-Forsyth Classic.
“Texas is known for its pride so this is definitely a huge moment. I know it was a huge moment for her (Madison) and it is a big moment for me too. It’s nice that we can share it together.”
Lopez, who held a one stroke lead entering Sunday, got off to a blistering start with birdies on three of the first five holes to assume a three shot lead on the field. She faltered late on the front nine with a bogey on the seventh and a double bogey on the eighth hole.
The Epson Tour rookie held firm on the back nine and fell just one stroke short.
With her 11-under-par second place finish, she moved from 25th to seventh on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. She leads all Tour rookies with a $27,684 in earnings.
POTAWATOMI CUP RECAP: In late May, the Epson Tour announced the formation of the Potawatomi Cup, which awards players a bonus based on performance at the four tournaments sponsored by the Potawatomi nations’ casinos. A total of $40,000 will be awarded, with $8,500 available each week and an additional $6,000 going to the Potawatomi Cup winner.
The incentive based points system will award the top-5 players a cash bonus based on cumulative performance at the following events: FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, Four Winds Invitational, Island Resort Championship and the Prairie Band Casino and Resort Charity Classic.
| Breakdown of Money | |
| 1st Place | $3,000 |
| 2nd Place | $2,500 |
| 3rd Place | $1,500 |
| 4th Place | $1,000 |
| 5th Place | $500 |
Min Seo Kwak, who won the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship and received $3,000, was presented with a check for $6,000 total during the trophy presentation at the Four Winds Invitational. She received an additional $3,000 for being in first place in the Potawatomi Cup Standings after two events.
|
Below is a look at the Potawatomi Cup points leaders through two events. |
||||
| Rank | Player | FireKeepers Points | Four Winds Points | Total Points |
| 1 | Min Seo Kwak | 500 | 42.5 | 542.5 |
| 2 | Nicole Vadermade | 0 | 500 | 500 |
| 3 | Daniela Iacobelli | 300 | 57.14 |
357.14 |
| 4 | Lee Lopez | 44.5 | 300 | 344.5 |
| 5 | Jean Reynolds | 190 | 49.5 | 239.5 |
| Potawatomi Cup Earning Leaders | ||
| Rank | Player | Money Earned |
| 1 | Min Seo Kwak | $6,000 |
| 2 | Daniela Iacobelli | $4,000 |
| 3 | Nicole Vandermade | $2,500 |
| 4 | Jean Reynolds | $2,000 |
| 5 | Lee Lopez | $1,000 |
| 6 | Caroline Powers | $375 |
| Dawn Shockley | $375 | |
| Pinrath Loomboonruang | $375 | |
| Kendall Dye | $375 | |
TIFOSI OPTICS LOW ROUND WINNER: Jackie Stoelting had the round of her season and it came at the perfect event. The Big Break Florida winner fired a final-round 7-under 65 to move from T19 to a tie for third.
“If there is any tournament to do it, this is the one to do it since it is the second biggest purse,” said Stoelting. “I felt good the last two days, but just left some opportunities out there and today I just told myself that I am going to attack and that is what I did and it worked out.”
Stoelting made two birdies and seven pars on the front nine. She then carded four straight birdies on the back nine to move to 8-under. After a par on 14, she made back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to move to 10-under. Stoelting finished bogey-par to end her day at 9-under.
“As the day went on, the hole looked a lot bigger. I had four birdies in a row and then I kept going.”
The Vero Beach, Florida native moved from seventh to sixth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with her strong final day.
“I knew this week that I really had to play well to at least maintain my position if not improve it.
I’ve just been having a really solid year and today I finally went really low so that was nice.”
Stoelting received a free pair of Tifosi Optics sunglasses for being the low round on Sunday. Tifosi Optics is the official sunglasses provider of the Epson Tour.
)
)
)
)
