Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic
Firekeeper Golf Course
Mayetta, Kansas
September 8, 2015
Tuesday News & Notes
MAYETTA, Kan., September 8, 2015 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, is in Mayetta for the second annual Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic at Firekeeper Golf Course. The 54-hole event begins on Friday, September 11 at 7:45 a.m. Practice rounds began on Tuesday as players got their first look at the course.
Dani Holmqvist, who finished second last week at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, played a practice round with the winner, Caroline Westrup, and Stephanie Connelly.
“Just looking at the numbers, it was huge,” said Holmqvist about her second place result. “A lot of people are telling me that I should be good (to get her card) for the rest of the year, but I have never played the Epson Tour before so I don’t know."
Holmqvist’s paycheck of $19,376 moved her from 17th to sixth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Still, she really wanted to claim her second victory of the year.
“Over the last 24 hours, I was a little grumpy because I really wanted to win,” said Holmqvist, who held the lead early on the back nine. “The best person I could have lost it to is a good friend.”
Although Holmqvist and Westrup never played on the Swedish National Team together, they played in the same junior tournaments and both won the European Championship as amateurs.
With five events left, Holmqvist says the pressure is definitely on.
“If you’re in the top 30, I think you feel the pressure especially if you are sitting there around ninth or tenth on the money list,” said Holmqvist. “Last week was huge, I got a bigger check out of that than winning the Island Resort Championship.”
Holmqvist now lives in Jupiter, Florida and spends her off weeks playing with 5-time PGA TOUR winner Jesper Parnevick.
AUSSIE JAYDE PANOS HAS THE COURSE KNOWLEDGE: Rookie Jayde Panos is staying in Topeka this week with her former teamatte at Oklahoma State Lauren Falley, who grew up taking lessons at Firekeeper Golf Course with teaching professional Josh Nahm. Falley is going to caddie for Panos this weekend.
“One summer, I came up here and stayed with her and we played this golf course two or three times,” said Panos. “When I saw this event on the schedule, I was like ‘this is awesome’ I get to stay with a former teammate and I get to play a golf course I’ve played before. As a rookie, all the golf courses are brand new and finally I know one.”
Panos said she likes the course and thinks longer players will have the upper hand.
“I really like the course and I think you can be aggressive and shoot at flags,” said Panos. “If you can use the contours of the greens, you can score out here.”
Panos’s caddie this week has played Firekeeper many times.
“Lauren has the course knowledge, which is great,” said Panos. “For me, it’s just nice to come to a course and know where the restrooms and the change rooms are.”
Amy Ruengmatekkhun, another former Oklahoma State golfer in the field, is also staying with the Falley family this week. Former Epson Tour professional Kelsey Vines is going to be on the bag for Amy.
MADDIE SHEILS CAN LOCK UP POTAWATOMI CUP: Former Nebraska golfer Maddie Sheils has a chance to win the Potawatomi Cup this week. The Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic is the last of five Potawatomi Cup events. Sheils won the first Potawatomi Cup tournament, The FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, and has held the points lead throughout.
Sheils has 712 points through four events. Dani Holmqvist is second with 573 points. The winner of the Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic will earn 500 points. The player with the most points after this week will pocket a $6,000 bonus. Sheils has already earned $12,000 through the Potawatomi Cup. If she holds the points lead, she’ll earn $3,000 for the week and a $6,000 bonus for winning the cup.
The four other Potawatomi Cup events are the FireKeeper Casino Hotel Championship, the Four Winds
Invitational, the Island Resort Championship and the PHC Classic.
OF NOTE: Min Lee finished second at the inaugural event in Mayetta last year. She also won the Garden City Charity Classic the following week and earned a total $22,112 in the state of Kansas. Lee went onto finish fifth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and is playing on the LPGA Tour. There is a total of $200,000 on the line during the Kansas swing...Rules official Annie Giangrosso (Leawood) played college golf at nearby Kansas from 2004-2008. She was a rules official on the Epson Tour in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, Giangrosso was promoted to the LPGA Tour as a rules official. This week, she is back in Mayetta to help the officials.
)
)
)
)
