Island Resort Championship
Sweetgrass Golf Club
Harris, Mich.
June 24, 2015
Pre-Tournament Notes

HARRIS, Mich., June 24, 2015 – The Epson Tour, the Road to the LPGA Tour, reaches its midway point - 11 events down and 12 to go - this week at the Island Resort Championship. The three-round event will begin on Friday, June 26, and run through Sunday, June 28, at Sweetgrass Golf Club.

The 144 player field will be competing for a share of a $125,000 purse with a top prize of $18,700. The top-10 on the year-end Volvik Race for the Card money list will receive their LPGA Tour cards for the 2016 season.

Play will begin off the first and tenth tees starting at 7:30 a.m. on Friday.

From intern to sponsor invite: Abby Dufrane spent last year at the Island Resort Championship announcing pro-am teams, putting up scoreboards and helping register players while interning for the event. Needless to say this year will be a completely different experience as Dufrane will step inside the ropes and compete against 143 of the up-and-coming stars of women’s golf as a sponsor invite.

“It’s a little nerve wracking because it’s the biggest tournament that I’ve played in but I’m so thankful for the opportunity,” Dufrane said. “I’m just really excited to have this experience.”

Dufrane just wrapped up her freshman season at the University of South Dakota which is where she was when she found out about the invite.

“I actually got a call from my coach, in class, before I was leaving for Thanksgiving break and he said that he needed me to call him ASAP,” Dufrane remembered. “So I rushed out of class and called him and he said that you need to call Tony from the Island Resort. So I called him and he asked if I would play and in a heartbeat I said yes. So this has been a dream come true. I’ve come here the past few years and watched the event and it’s just so exciting.”

The Marinette, Wis. native will be teeing off on Friday at 2:10 p.m.

“Just taking it all in,” Dufrane said of what she’s most looking forward to. “I’d like to know if this is something that I’d like to do and if there is a possibility for this in my future. I know that I can play good golf so I just want to go out there and have fun and learn as much as I can from the other girls.”

Epson tour players visit YMCA of Delta County: Five Epson Tour players - Allie White, Katherine Perry, Ashleigh Albrecht, Jordan Britt and Brandi Rodriguez - took some time out of their busy schedules to vist local kids at the YMCA of Delta County.

“It was a lot of fun being with the kids running around,” said Perry. “We were just having a good time and showing them what golf is all about and telling them to just stick to things and practice hard.”

The players answered questions and played games with over 50 campers ages 3-10.

“We had just as much fun as they did,” Britt added. “It was as much of a treat for us as it was for them.”

THIRD POTAWATOMI CUP EVENT OF THE YEAR: After winning the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship three weeks ago, Madeleine Sheils has the early advantage in the second annual Potawatomi Cup, a series of five Epson Tour events sponsored by Potawatomi nation tribes.

The Island Resort Championship is the third Potawatomi Cup event of the season with an additional $8,800 up for grabs to the top six on the Potawatomi Cup points standings. The player with the most points after the event will earn $3,000. Money earned through the Potawatomi Cup does not count towards the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

For each Potawatomi Cup event, the player that wins will earn 500 points. Second place receives 300 points, third place earns 190 points, fourth place earns 135 points, fifth place earns 110 points and sixth place earns 100 points. The top six on the cumulative points standings will be paid out after each event.

There is a total of $50,000 in bonus money available this season with a $6,000 bonus going to the player that finishes with the most Potawatomi Cup points after the Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic from September 11-13.

Below are how things stand heading into this week’s event:

1. Madeleine Sheils - 561.50 ($6,000)
2. Giulia Molinaro - 371.25 ($2,633)
3. Selanee Henderson - 322.25 ($1,500)
4. Dottie Ardina - 310.25 ($1,000)
5. Katelyn Sepmoree - 306.50 ($2,500)
6. Jessica Wallace - 300.25 ($300)
7. Lindy Duncan - 245 ($2,000)
8. Chie Arimura - 158 ($0)
T9. Casey Grice - 139.50 ($133.33)
T9. Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu - 139.50 ($133.33)

Fishing Derby debuts tomorrow: A unique event that is new to the Island Resort Championship this year will be a fishing derby taking place on Thursday afternoon. 24 players, in teams of two, will go out to the island green on the 15th hole and, with the help of a local fishing group, will try to catch the largest fish. The team with the highest total weight of their five best fish will walk away with $500, with the runners-up receiving $250.

Island Resort Championship Pre-tournament News & Notes

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