Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo
Mystic Creek Golf Club
El Dorado, Ark.
Sept. 25, 2015
First Round Notes

EL DORADO, Ark., Sept. 25, 2015 - Heather Bowie Young (Ft. Worth, Texas) holds a one shot lead after the opening day of play at the inaugural Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo at Mystic Creek Golf Club. Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:30 p.m. with eight players still out on the course.

“I was just lucky,” Bowie Young admitted. “You’re right on the edge all day. It’s a very very hard golf course. I had some shots that ended up close but it’s a very tough test and I’m very happy with my round.”

Bowie Young registered six birdies against a trio of bogeys for her 3-under, 69, round.

“You need to stay very patient and not get frustrated,” Bowie Young explained. “It’s hard. You try to just do your work and stay in the moment and really just take it one shot at a time because this course demands that.”

The former LPGA winner (2005 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic) with over $3 million career earnings on the LPGA Tour has competed in six events on the Epson Tour this season with her season-best T13 finish coming last week at the Garden City Charity Classic.

“I’m kind of a long way,” Bowie Young admitted. “I just started back at this in July so every day for me is work. I’ve just got to work my way back into shape. I think I’m getting better mentally I don’t know physically. My scores would probably say that I’m better but I’ve just got a better outlook on things.”

Bowie Young credited her better outlook on the time she spend working with The First Tee in her hometown of Ft. Worth.

“I worked six months at The First Tee of Ft. Worth and just what we ask the kids to do and how we ask them to be mentally and character wise I just try to do what I’ve asked them to do.”

Looking to chase Bowie Young down will be Ally McDonald (Fulton, Miss.) and Ani Gulugian (Irvine, Calif.) who each sit a shot back at 2-under.

Round one play will resume at 8 a.m. while round two will begin, as scheduled, on Saturday at 7:30 a.m.

CALL THE HOGS! EMILY TUBERT THREE BACK AFTER FIRST ROUND
University of Arkansas grad Emily Tubert sits in a tie for fifth after firing an even par 72 during her opening round at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo.

“I shot even with a double so I was pleased,” Tubert said. “It can be difficult. This is a course that demands focus and attention with every shot and if you stop thinking or lose focus for one second you can make a big number. I was proud of the way I hung in there and stayed focused.”

Tubert tallied three birdies against two bogeys and the aforementioned double to sit three shots back of Heather Bowie Young’s lead.

“I started on the back nine today and I really feel like the back nine of this course is really just about playing smart and course management,” Tubert explained. “You can hit a perfect shot at the pin and it can roll off the green. This course reminds me a lot of my home course in Fayetteville, The Blessings, where you need to get creative with the slopes. I like this kind of stuff. I like fast greens.”

The California native, who ranks second on Tour in driving distance, chose to take a more conservative approach to her round and it paid off as Tubert hit 15 of 18 greens.

“I played a lot more conservatively today than I did in the practice rounds or the pro-am. I hit a lot more 4-irons off tees and 3-woods and hybrids because the course is firm and the ball rolls and like I said it’s about keeping it out of trouble and keeping it in play,” Tubert said. “I definitely played more conservative today and I learned a lot. I always feel like that first round in competition you learn so much more and I definitely learned a lot about my gameplan today.”

The Razorback will be getting some reinforcements from Fayetteville for the weekend as her good friend and former U of A teammate Megan Roberts will be driving in to caddie for Tubert on the weekend.”

“I’m so excited,” Tubert said with a smile. “We’re five hours away from Fayetteville but I told her that I’d be in Arkansas and she decided to come. She’s in school and working so she had a test today and couldn’t caddie today but she’s driving down this afternoon. I’m really looking forward to it. She caddied for me in the LPGA event in Northwest Arkansas for my professional debut and that was a lot of fun. We get along really well. I think it will be good to have her on the bag just for comfort. She’s a good player. She knows the game well and she knows my game well plus she’s good at reading greens. Megan’s great we get along fantastic and I’m looking forward to having her out here.”

SPONSOR INVITE ALLY MCDONALD MAKING THE MOST OF HER OPPORTUNITY
Sponsor invite Ally McDonald (Fulton, Miss.) capped her day in style with an eagle on the 18th to shoot a 2-under, 70, during the first round of the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo.

“I think throughout the day I picked some really good lines and hit a lot of greens,” McDonald explained. “I thought I hit the ball really well and my placement was really good so I’m overall very pleased and of course an eagle on the last hole was the icing on the cake.”

The Mississippi State grad had 165 yards to the pin and hit a flush 6-iron to 10-feet to set up her walk-off eagle which was part of a day that also included three birdies, a bogey and a double.

“It’s a clean slate everyday especially on this course you can’t give it anything other than the utmost respect because you can’t be too bold with your lines and you have to be soft with your touch,” McDonald said. “You just have to give this golf course a lot of respect. So hopefully tomorrow I can go out and pick good lines, hit the ball well and hopefully roll in some putts.”

McDonald is making her Epson Tour debut this week and has her dad Jamie McDonald on the bag for her.

“It means a lot,” McDonald said of having her dad out there with her. “Back in the day, he couldn’t caddie but now that I’ve gotten older and he’s gotten older too we get along a little bit better. A lot of it is just to have someone for support. He understands the game, maybe not as much as a Tour caddie, but he keeps me calm out there and we can talk about anything to get my mind off of golf. We’re just trying to have fun out there and enjoy some father-daughter bonding.”

OF NOTE
Only five players sit under par at the conclusion of play on Friday...Emily Tubert was the low player with Arkansas connections as the former Razorback shot even par 72...University of Central Arkansas grad Julia Roth (Karlskrona, Sweden) shot 74 (+2), UALR’s Megan Vaughn (Lake Village, Ark.) shot 79 (+7) and Amanda McCurdy (El Dorado, Ark.) finished her day at 13-over, 85...The day began with a ceremonial first tee shot from Chief Customer Officer Pepsi Beverages, PepsiCo, Mark Rogers.

Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by Pepsico Round One News & Notes

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