IOA Golf Classic
Alaqua Country Club
Longwood, Florida
October 10, 2015
Second-Round News & Notes
LONGWOOD, Fla., October 10, 2015 - Madeleine Sheils (Boise, Idaho) picked the perfect time to post a personal best 8-under 63 on Saturday to move into the 36-hole lead at the IOA Golf Classic. She started the day at 1-under in a tie for 23rd and now stands at 9-under 133 alone at the top. Sheils, who ranks 17th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and is in striking distance for an LPGA Tour card, will aim for her second win on Sunday.
Jackie Stoelting (Vero Beach, Florida), who won the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout two weeks ago, and first-round leader Laetitia Beck (Caesarea, Israel) are one shot back at 8-under 134. Final round play will begin at 8:30 a.m. and split tees will be used. The lead group of Sheils, Stoelting and Beck will tee at 10:42 a.m. The trophy ceremony will take place at approximately 3:30 p.m.on the 18th green.
Sheils and Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong both eclipsed the old female course record of 6-under 65 with 8-under rounds.
“I just felt great going into this week and I was excited about the way I was playing,” said Sheils, who was First Team All-Big Ten in 2012 at Nebraska. “I kind of got in a good frame of mind and I knew I had nothing to fear and lose and just trusted myself all day.”
Sheils started on the back nine with three pars and then made her first of seven birdies on the par-5 13th. She finished her outward nine with an eagle on 16, a birdie on 17 and a par on 18 to make the turn at
4-under for the day. After a par on one, Sheils caught fire with four consecutive birdies between the second and fifth holes.
“That stretch was awesome, I saw a lot of putts go in and I didn’t necessarily have the best ball striking of my life by any means,” said Sheils. “I kept putting myself in position.”
Sheils made a 20-footer on the second, a 4-footer on the third, a 35-foot “bomb” on the fourth as they were playing in front of the group ahead and then she rolled one in from 12-yards out on the fringe on five.
The 26-year-old has steadily improved over her three years on Tour. She finished 62nd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list in 2013, 42nd in 2014 and is knocking on the door of the top 10 this year. Sheils earned her first career win this year at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship and has more top 10’s (4) than her first two years combined (3).
“I’ve played well all year long and I’ve gotten better every single week it seems like,” said Sheils. “This was a great time for the scorecard to show it, but regardless of how I played I wasn’t going to be afraid to fail.”
Sheils is aware that she needs some big finishes to get into the top 10. She is currently $10,545 outside the top 10. A first place check would likely get her into the top 10, but even a solo second place check would not be enough to get her into the top 10 before the final event. All that said, Sheils is avoiding all the number crunching and just trying to play her own game.
“I don’t want to put pressure on myself and give myself tough expectations to live up to,” said Sheils. “I know that I’ve gotten really good this year and I’m just trying to let my game shine through. Putting extra pressure never helps.”
Sheils recently hired veteran Tour caddie Jorge Olguin, who was on the bag last year when Demi Runas made her run into the top 10 in Daytona.
“We work well together and we communicate well together,” said Sheils. “He works hard and I really can trust his decisions so I think we make a great team.”
HEATHER BOWIE YOUNG SURPRISED WITH $10,000 CHECK FOR ACE: Heather Bowie Young (Fort Worth, Texas) made an ace on the par-3 fourth hole in the pro-am on Wednesday. It was the hole that had a hole-in-one prize of a new car for any amateur that made an ace.
On Saturday after her round, Bowie Young was completely surprised with a $10,000 check courtesy of John Ritenour and the IOA Foundation, Craig Johnson and FCCI Insurance Group and Joe Rossi from Orlando Kia.
“This is a big deal because playing on the Tour is financially challenging,” said Bowie Young, who was so overwhelmed that she began to tear up. “This will pay for Q-School and that is what I was trying to do in these seven events on the Epson Tour, really just get ready for that. Paying for Q-School is one less thing I have to worry about now.”
Bowie Young’s 14th career hole-in-one is going to be most memorable now.
“I actually made one during the Evian Championship one year where there was a car, but it was worth less than $10,000,” said Bowie Young. “This is just incredibly special.”
The whole thing is almost fate. Four is her favorite number and she made the ace on hole four. Her favorite race car driver is Tony Stewart, who drives number fourteen.
“I am completely blown away,” said Bowie Young. “This has been an emotional week, I didn’t play as well as I would have liked. I’ll just fight again next week.”
Bowie Young is a longtime LPGA Tour veteran. She has made 334 starts on the big Tour and has 27 career top 10 finishes with a victory at the 2005 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
SUNDAY BRINGS HUGE VOLVIK RACE IMPLICATIONS: Three players in range of the top 10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list are in the top seven at the IOA Golf Classic. No. 17 Madeleine Sheils leads the tournament at 9-under, No. 18 Brianna Do is two back and in a tie for fourth and No. 13 Lindy Duncan is 6-under and T7.
A win by any of the three will likely move them into the top 10. A second place finish for Duncan would also likely be enough to move her into the top 10. Duncan would not move into the top with a third place finish.
Sheils and Do would only move into the top 10 with a victory.
Lee Lopez (No. 3), Dani Holmqvist (No. 4) and Daniela Iacobelli (No. 5) each posted strong rounds to find themselves in the top 10 after two days. A strong finish could secure a Tour card before the Epson Tour Championship.
24,000 MORE MEALS PACKED ON SATURDAY: The “Swinging Away at Child Hunger” food packing continued on Saturday in the tent behind the 18th green. A total of 24,000 more meals were packed bringing the two-day total to 53,000 meals for those in need in Orlando.
The food-packing project will continue on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The project is a collaboration between the IOA Golf Classic, U.S. Hunger and Feeding Children Everywhere.
The goal is 100,000 meals by tournament end.
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