Depth. Parity. Every year during the NCAA basketball tournament, you hear Dick Vitale basically scream at you on television about how there are so many teams that have a chance to win the tournament. And that’s of course “awesome baby, with a Capital A”, right? The excitement of the unknown, the upsets, the underdog story makes for a magical month.
It’s happening now on the Epson Tour. Laura Gonzalez Escallon and Clariss Guce are the perfect examples of how the depth of talent on the Epson Tour has grown.
Let’s start here. On June 24th, Gonzalez Escallon and Guce both missed the cut at the Island Resort Championship, which is the 11th event of the year. Let’s call it half way through the season.
At that point, Gonzalez Escallon was 43rd on the money list and Guce was 88th. In other words, neither was truly contending for a spot in the top 10 after 11 events. Incredibly, but maybe not surprisingly, both are inside the top 10 and firmly in position to earn LPGA membership for 2017. Guce ranks fourth and Gonzalez Escallon ranks sixth and both have won twice. Both are clearly talented, but just needed to get the talent to translate. Winning also breeds confidence of course.
Laura Gonzalez Escallon
| DATE | TOURNAMENT | ROUNDS | TOTAL | TOT STROKES | TOT ROUNDS | SCORE AVG | FINAL POS | OFFICIAL MONEY | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
| 08/19/16 | PHC Classic | 68 (-4) | 70 (-2) | 68 (-4) | - | 206 (-10) | 3167 | 44 | 71.977 | 1 | $15,000 |
| 08/12/16 | Decatur-Forsyth Classic | 70 (-2) | 71 (-1) | 67 (-5) | - | 208 (-8) | 2961 | 41 | 72.220 | 2T | $10,803 |
| 07/29/16 | Kansas City Championship | 66 (-6) | 73 (+1) | - | - | 139 (-5) | 2753 | 38 | 72.447 | 6T | $3,091 |
| 07/22/16 | FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship | 65 (-7) | 64 (-8) | - | - | 129 (-15) | 2614 | 36 | 72.611 | 1 | $15,000 |
| 07/14/16 | Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic | 73 (+1) | 74 (+2) | 73 (+1) | 70 (-2) | 290 (+2) | 2485 | 34 | 73.088 | 37T | $1,244 |
| 07/01/16 | Tullymore Classic | 70 (-2) | 72 (E) | 67 (-5) | - | 209 (-7) | 2195 | 30 | 73.167 | 7T | $2,587 |
Clariss Guce
| DATE | TOURNAMENT | ROUNDS | TOTAL | TOT STROKES | TOT ROUNDS | SCORE AVG | FINAL POS | OFFICIAL MONEY | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
| 08/19/16 | PHC Classic | 73 (+1) | 69 (-3) | 67 (-5) | - | 209 (-7) | 2608 | 36 | 72.444 | 4T | $4,096 |
| 08/12/16 | Decatur-Forsyth Classic | 67 (-5) | 68 (-4) | 71 (-1) | - | 206 (-10) | 2399 | 33 | 72.697 | 1 | $19,500 |
| 07/29/16 | Kansas City Championship | 74 (+2) | 66 (-6) | - | - | 140 (-4) | 2193 | 30 | 73.100 | 9T | $2,297 |
| 07/22/16 | FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship | 73 (+1) | 73 (+1) | - | - | 146 (+2) | 2053 | 28 | 73.321 | CUT | $0.00 |
| 07/14/16 | Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic | 70 (-2) | 69 (-3) | 71 (-1) | 67 (-5) | 277 (-11) | 1907 | 26 | 73.346 | 1 | $30,000 |
| 07/01/16 | Tullymore Classic | 70 (-2) | 71 (-1) | 74 (+2) | - | 215 (-1) | 1630 | 22 | 74.091 | 35T | $689 |
I think it shows the amazing talent pool on Tour. I’m sure there are players outside the top 40 right now that have the game to do exactly what Gonzalez Escallon and Guce have done over the last six weeks. Heck, maybe there is someone outside the top 80 still that has it in ‘em.
Because of the deep talent, it is harder and harder to find a spot in the top 10. There are now four players that have won two tournaments this year – Madelene Sagstrom (#1) and Jackie Stoelting (#2) - are the other two.
The top 15 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list have separated themselves from the pack at the moment. Another good showcase of the depth of the talent are the players that haven’t won yet. There are three players in the top 10 that haven’t won – Ally McDonald (#3), Marissa Steen (#9) and Sophia Popov (#10) - and another four in the top 15 – Wichanee Meechai (#11), Augusta James (#12), Dana Finkelstein (#14) and Pavarisa Yoktuan (#15). Nobody has ever earned more than McDonald without winning a tournament. Yes, in the history of the Tour.
That was a long preamble to tell you that the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge is a huge opportunity for another “underdog” to step to the forefront. The $210,000 purse offers a $31,500 payday to the winner. So, anyone inside the top 33 on the money list could (depends on what others do) move inside the top 10 with a victory.
Based on what we’ve seen this year, there is someone out there that will put together a six-event stretch that mirrors what Gonzalez Escallon and Guce just scripted to potentially earn a card.
Enjoy the finish!
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