SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, August 1, 2014 – In her fifth career Epson Tour event, Ellen Davies-Graham has found the top spot on the leaderboard. Graham, from just outside Brisbane, Australia, fired a 6-under 65 on Friday at the Credit Union Classic presented by Wegmans to hold a one shot lead over Jackie Stoelting.
It was a good scoring day at Drumlins Country Club, East Course as 40 players finished under-par and 63 players finished even-par or better.
“My putting went well, really, really well,” said the 22-year-old Davies-Graham. “I think I held a few kilometers in putting so it was good.”
Davies-Graham is playing in her fifth Epson Tour event in her rookie season on Tour.
“It’s good to see my name at the top, it’s something I’ve tried to picture myself being at the top of, but to actually see your name at the top and be the leader is really good.”
Davies-Graham traded a birdie and a bogey on her first two holes. After a par on her third hole, she carded three consecutive birdies from the 13th through 15th holes.
Davies-Graham, who started on the back nine, made back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes. She took the lead with a birdie on the par-3 eighth hole.
“The quicker the better to get to the top. It’s a bit scary in a way, but you just have to roll with it and hope it goes well.”
Davies-Graham ranks 130th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list in large part because she has only played four total events. She has made two of four cuts and has finished in a tie for 25th each time she made the cut.
After high school, Davies-Graham played a lot of amateur golf in Australia. She turned professional at the start of the 2014 calendar year.
“At the beginning of this year, I played the Australian Amateur. I kind of wanted to win that, which unfortunately didn’t happen. I turned professional three days later and got a sponsors invite into the South Wales Open and that was end of January so not long ago.”
The young professional admits that professional life has not always been easy.
“It’s great, but it has been a really big learning curve. My fiancé lives with me here and he’s a golfer as well playing mini-tours. Trying to juggle two budding careers has been tough, but a really good experience.”
Davies-Graham hopes a strong finish will help her move up the money list and avoid stage one of Qualifying School.
“Life as an alternate was not fun earlier this season when I had to figure out where I was going to fly and drive and hope I got in the event. A strong finish here would mean the world to me.”
STOELTING EYEING A WIN: Jackie Stoelting has 16 career top-10 finishes including five career top-3 finishes on the Epson Tour.
In round one of the Credit Union Classic, she shot a 5-under 66 and is in solo second place.
“It was a great day out there with great weather and the greens were really receptive,” said Stoelting, who ranks seventh on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. “I’m glad I started off so well here.”
Stoelting is in a good spot to earn her LPGA Tour card, but she still has one more mission to accomplish.
“Honestly, more than anything, I want to win this year. I keep putting myself in good positions and hopefully this is my week.”
What would a win mean to Jackie Stoelting?
“It would solidify that I am ready for the next level. I’ve come close several times now and just keep falling short."
ALBRECHT HAS BEST ROUND OF YEAR: Ashleigh Albrecht knows it has been a tough year. She has made just three of 12 cuts. However, she made the cut at the SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills and felt some positive momentum.
On Friday, she fired a 4-under 67 and is just two shots off the lead.
“I’m excited obviously, there were no expectations going into today,” said the 24-year-old from Murrieta, Calif. “I talked with my dad before the round and he just told me to smile over every shot and if you miss the putt just smile. I’m definitely feeling good about today."
Albrecht, who turned professional in 2013 and played in six Epson Tour events, understands that it will take time.
“It’s been a tough transition, but having no expectations and having fun eliminates some of the pressure, so I am just having fun.”
Albrecht, who started on the back nine, finished with birdies on three of her final four holes and made a total of five birdies on her back nine.
Off the golf course, Albrecht loves wakeboarding and snowboarding.
HOLE-IN-ONE FOR WERWIE: Carly Werwie went to dinner last night with a few Epson Tour friends and tournament chair Mike Vadala and the hole-in-one conversation came up. Werwie didn’t have any to boost last night.
On the eighth hole on Friday, she pulled out an eight iron from 124-yards away and made her first career ace.
“I’ve been close, but it has never happened before,” said Werwie. “I had just missed a short putt two holes prior and I had no birdies all day so I told myself that I got to have at least one.”
She was hitting the ball well, but not great so she needed to make something happen.
“It was going right on the line so I knew it had to be close and then everyone behind started cheering and then I looked to my right and they said I got a hole-in-one and I said ‘are you serious’ and everyone started congratulating me."
Werwie’s ace is the 11th hole-in-one this season on the Epson Tour.
PUTT OF THE DAY FOR GARRETT PHILLIPS: Garrett Phillips was even through twelve holes. On the par-5 13th hole she made a 35-foot eagle putt that propelled her to a strong finish.
Following the eagle putt, Phillips made birdie on the 15th and 17th holes coming in.
“I was just on the front of the green and it definitely gave me extra momentum,” said Phillips. “I felt like I was missing a lot of putts and three-putting so I was getting kind of annoyed before the eagle.”
Phillips has one top-10 finish this year at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship when she placed in a tie for eighth.
MIN IS SEO INCREDIBLE: Min Seo Kwak carded her fourth straight bogey free round on Friday at the Credit Union Classic. The number one player on the Volvik Race for the Card money list shot a 3-under 68.
Kwak did make a single bogey during all three rounds of the SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills last week in Albany.
Kwak’s last bogey came on the 16th hole in the final round of the Island Resort Championship.
She has gone bogey-free for 74 consecutive holes.
AIMING TO BE THE NEXT SUZANN PETTERSEN: Marita Engzelius grew up playing at the same club as 14-time LPGA Tour winner Suzann Pettersen, who also hails from Norway.
Engzelius has been compared to Pettersen for most of her golf life. Last year, she had an opportunity to play side-by-side with Pettersen in the Suzann Pro Challenge in Norway, a team competition that included the likes of Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Paula Creamer and Jessica Korda. Team Norway finished in second place behind Team Asia.
On Friday at the Credit Union Classic, Engzelius fired a bogey free 3-under 69. Engzelius started her round on the back nine with nine consecutive pars. Then, she got the putter going with back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes to get to 2-under. She made birdie on the sixth hole to move to 3-under and then finished with three straight pars.
“I’m up there on the leaderboard and that is all you can ask for, to give yourself a chance,” said Engzelius. “I started with all pars on my first nine and then went birdie-birdie to start the front so I finally go some putts to fall."
The Oslo, Norway native ranks 63rd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with $8,119. She is looking for her first top-10 finish on the season. Her best result is a tie for 13th at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial.
“That’s what (seeing our name on the leaderboard) we work for every day for the whole year. You need to be comfortable at the top of the leaderboard and that’s why you need to be up there a couple times before you get comfortable. Maybe this is my week, well see.”
Engzelius can sense that the season and her chances at an LPGA Tour card are winding down.
“It’s going way too fast and I do need to step on the gas. I’m not where I should have been, but it is still possible. I’ll just step on the gas and see what happens.”
Media Contact
Bret Lasky, Coordinator, Epson Tour Media, bret.lasky@lpga.com, 386-679-1292
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