Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by Pepsico
Mystic Creek Golf Club
El Dorado, Ark.
Sept. 22, 2015
Tuesday Pre-Tournament Notes

EL DORADO, Ark., Sept. 22, 2015 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, makes its first trip to the state of Arkansas for the inaugural Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo at Mystic Creek Golf Club on September 25-27.

The top 132 up-and-coming professionals from the United States and around the world will compete for a $100,000 total tournament purse in the 54-hole stroke play format. The winner of the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout will earn $15,000 and take a big step up the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top 10 on the end-of-season money list will earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2016 season.

Play is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 25 at 7:30 a.m. from the first and tenth tees. The final round on Sunday will begin from the first tee only. There will be a cut to the top 70 and ties after second round play on Saturday.

ARKANSAS NATIVE MEGAN VAUGHN HOPING FOR HOME STATE ADVANTAGE

Little Rock native Megan Vaughn will be one of the hometown favorites this week at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo.

“It’s very exciting,” Vaughn said. “Since I’ve started playing out here on the Epson Tour I’ve been interested in having an event in Arkansas and I think it’s awesome for the community and for Arkansas.”

Vaughn, who graduated from the University of Arkansas Little Rock, was able to take advantage of living within driving distance of Mystic Creek and came up yesterday to check out the course.

“This is my first time playing the golf course here. I’d heard a lot of great things about it and it’s everything and more than I’d heard,” Vaughn said with a smile. “I’ve played it the past two days and it’s in great shape. I play a lot in Little Rock and it reminds me a lot of here.”

Vaughn is hoping that competing in her home state will provide a little of good luck this week.

“It’s like home to me so it’s a nice feeling and I’m hoping it will be an advantage for me,” Vaughn said. “I got into the tournament at the last minute so I’m just out here to have fun and hopefully they have a lot of people come out and support the tournament.”.

JULIA ROTH BACK IN HER SECOND HOME

Julia Roth may be from Sweden but after graduating from the University of Central Arkansas she considers the Natural State her second home.

“I’m super excited it’s like my second home,” Roth said. “I’ve been here now for two weeks. I went back to see my coaches at UCA and it’s just good to be back.”

While she was back in Conway, Roth was able to get in some work with her coach Natasha Vincent, who serves as the head coach at UCA.

“We just caught up on some work that we haven’t done in a while and it was really good,” Roth explained.

Vincent will be part of a large contingent of Bear’s supporting coming to support Roth this weekend.

“It means a lot,” Roth said of the support she will be receiving from UCA. “I’m from Sweden so my family and friends don’t really get to see me play much but the team is coming down on Saturday and the coaches and AD are coming too so that’ll be a lot of fun.”

SEC! SEC!
This week’s inaugural Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo will have an SEC flavor to it as 18 competitors are alums of schools that compete in the Southeastern Conference, including both sponsor exemptions Amanda McCurdy (Arkansas) and Ally McDonald (Mississippi State). Below is the list of players who competed collegiately in the SEC.

Golfer	School
Ashleigh Albrecht	Kentucky
Hannah Collier	Alabama
Kathleen Ekey	Alabama
Lindsay Gahm	LSU
Natalie Gleadall	Ole Miss
Megan Grehan	Vanderbilt
Katy Harris	LSU
Haley Italia	Ole Miss
Ashley Knoll	Texas A&M
Meghan McChrystal	LSU
Amanda McCurdy	Arkansas
Ally McDonald	Mississippi State
Mia Piccio	Florida
Jenna Pearson	South Carolina
Erica Popson	Tennessee
Jean Reynolds	Georgia
Emily Tubert	Arkansas
Kendall Wright	Georgia

FOUR OF 10 2016 LPGA TOUR CARDS ARE LOCKED UP
With their solid showings at last week’s Garden City Charity Classic a pair of golfers, Dani Holmqvist (Stockholm, Sweden) and Vicky Hurst (Melbourne, Florida), locked up their spots in the top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

The duo joins Giulia Molinaro (Treviso, Italy) and Annie Park (Levittown, N.Y.) as players who have secured their LPGA Tour cards for 2016.

Holmqvist, Hurst and Molinaro are all in the field at this week at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo.

HURST EXCITED TO BE HEADING BACK TO LPGA
Vicky Hurst’s victory at last week’s Garden City Charity Classic was enough to secure her full LPGA Tour membership for the 2016 season.

“I’m very excited, I’m a little bit relieved too because we only have three tournaments left and if it wasn’t here, it (finishing in the top 10) would only get tougher and tougher,” said Hurst about locking up her card. “I’m really proud of myself for playing well this week and the last couple of months and I’m looking forward to next year.”

The 25-year-old started her year on the LPGA and once her status dwindled, she decided to focus on earning her full card back through the Epson Tour.

“The road back has been tough, anyone that plays professional golf knows,” said Hurst. “Last year, I had a little rut in my game and to be able to improve from that and build something positive this year has been huge. I’m excited to be heading back to the Tour and play with the big kids again.”

Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by Pepsico Pre-tournament Tuesday Notes

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