Epson Tour Championship presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
LPGA International, Jones Course
Daytona Beach, Florida
October 13, 2015
Tuesday Pre-Tournament Notes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., October 13, 2015 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, is in Daytona Beach for the final event of the 2015 season. The Epson Tour Championship presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University starts on Thursday, October 15. With nine months of competition and 22 events in the books, 10 players will earn coveted LPGA Tour cards after the final round of play on Sunday.

The top 108 up-and-coming professionals from the United States and 17 countries around the globe will compete one final time for a $150,000 total tournament purse. The winner will earn $22,500 and could jump into the top 10 depending on their current standing on the money list.

First-round play begins on Thursday, October 15 and the four round event concludes on Sunday, October 18. There will be a cut made to the top 70 and ties following second round play on Friday. This is the fifth 72-hole event of the season, which is up from just two a year ago. Play will begin at 8:00 a.m. all four days. A split tee start will be used on Thursday-Saturday and a single-tee start will be used on Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, No. 14 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, Jimin Kang, withdrew from the field citing personal reasons and therefore 20 players are now vying for eight spots instead of 21.

PROJECTIONS FOR 11-23 ON TRYING TO EARN A CARD: Here is a look at what players 11-23 must do in order to have a chance to earn a card. The minimum finishes assume that the players in the top 10 don’t earn additional money. The projections also assume payouts for solo finishes. Keep in mind that No. 10 on the money list has currently earned $52,314.

Player	Current Earnings	Minimum Finish	Toal with Min. Finish
11. Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu	$51,594	47th	$52,327
12. Brianna Do	$51,037	31th	$52,321
13. Lindy Duncan	$50,315	18th	$52,340
14. Jimin Kang (Withdrew Mon.)	$46,612	5th	$53,047
15. Maude-Aimee Leblanc	$44,809	4th	$52,772
16. Caroline Westrup	$44,243	3rd	$54,498
17. Madeleine Sheils	$43,418	3rd	$53,673
18. Chie Arimura	$43,410	3rd	$53,665
19. Samantha Richdale	$40,701	2nd	$54,789
20. Brittany Benvenuto	$39,577	2nd	$53,665
21. Brittany Altomare	$33,518	Win	$56,018
22. Katie Kempter	$33,094	Win	$55,594
23. Dottie Ardina	$30,129	Win	$52,629

WESTRUP ONE OF 12 THAT CAN PLAY HER WAY IN: One of the 12 players who has a chance to play herself into the Volvik Race for the Card Money List top-10 and earn a 2016 LPGA Tour Card this week is Caroline Westrup (Baerum, Norway).

“I’ve always dreamt of being on the LPGA and having a full card for next year would mean a lot,” Westrup said. “That would be very big but I’ve just got to take it as a normal tournament. I don’t have anything to lose. I’m already qualified for the final stage (of Q-School). I know that I need a good week to finish in the top-10 so I just have to go out there and play to win.”

The FSU grad already knows what it takes to win a big event on the Epson Tour as she captured the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, the largest purse in Epson Tour history.

“I’ve played pretty solid so I feel that my game is there,” Westrup admitted. “I started off the year pretty well and then had a middle part that was down a little bit but came back with the win in Sioux Falls and then I’ve had two good finishes in the last two tournaments so I’ll just try and keep it going.”

Westrup needs at least a third place finish to have a chance at earning a card.

“Growing up as a little girl I had in my room on a picture frame the goals I wanted to achieve,” Westrup explained. “I had playing amateur golf, going to college, playing on the European Tour and then Solheim Cup and LPGA was on the top of that mountain. So LPGA is everything I would say. It’s what I’ve dreamt of since I was a little girl.”

HOLMQVIST ON THE VERGE OF LPGA CARD: Dani Holmqvist (Stockholm, Sweden) currently sits in fifth place on the Volvik Race for the Card money list heading into the final event of the season.

The 2015 season has been an impressive one for the Swede as she has registered six top-10 finishes, including a victory at the Island Resort Championship and a runner-up finish at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge.

“I think I am playing the best golf that I’ve played, especially consistently,” Holmqvist said. “I’ve had a good week or two before but this has been really good being up there a couple of times in a row now. I feel like I’ve got most of the stuff in my game going and I’m just hoping for a good week this week too.”

A solid week for Holmqvist at the Epson Championship should be enough to get her LPGA Tour Card for the 2016 season.

“It’s a big deal getting a card through the Epson Tour. It’s kind of another perspective because if you go to Q-School you don’t get the same type of offseason and you can’t prepare in the same kind of way,” Holmqvist explained. “It’s a big dream for everyone and that’s why we’re all out here grinding every week. Playing on the LPGA would mean a lot. You get recognized for what you do when you compete against the best athletes in the world.”

ANNIE PARK - FIRST WITH SCORING AVERAGE IN 60’s: The nuggets are numerous for No. 2 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, Annie Park. She is only player in the top 10 to make fewer than 14 starts. For comparison, eight of the top 10 have played in at least 18 events.

Not surprisingly, Park leads the Tour in greens in regulation (75.9) and scoring average (69.84). The last players to finish a Epson Tour season with a scoring average in the 60’s were Jennifer Song and Cindy LaCrosse in 2010. Eighteen of Park’s 32 total rounds on the Epson Tour have resulted in scores in the 60’s.

Epson Tour Championship presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Pre-tournament Notes

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