IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa
Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon
Beaumont, California
February 17, 2016
Wednesday Pre-Tournament Notes

BEAUMONT, Calif., February 17, 2016 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, kicks off the 2016 season this week with the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon from February 19-21. This is the first of 23 events in a season that will culminate with the Epson Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla. October 13-16.

First round play begins at 7:15 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 19. All three rounds will begin at 7:15 a.m. Final round play will conclude at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21 with the trophy ceremony to follow on the 18th green. Tickets are free to the public all three rounds. On Sunday, the first 100 fans will receive a free Taylormade adjustable hat.

NELLY KORDA TURNS PROFESSIONAL ON WEDNESDAY: The sister of LPGA star Jessica Korda, Nelly, decided to turn professional on Wednesday and will make her debut this week at the IOA Championship. Korda was the No. 10 ranked amateur in the world according to the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) entering the event.

She posted on Instagram just before 7:00 a.m. PST making the announcement that she has turned professional.

“I’ve made a lot of great memories in my amateur career, but today is the day I take the next step and start the adventure of playing golf as a professional,” Korda wrote. “One more step towards chasing my childhood dream.”

Less than 30 minutes later, Jessica tweeted “As of today, me little sis is a #pro and good luck this week on the @Road2LPGA”

When Nelly, 17, arrived at the course for her Wednesday pro-am, she was all smiles.

“It truly hasn’t sunk in yet, I love having pro next to my name,” said Korda. “It will be fun this week.”

Korda said she made the final decision on Monday over breakfast.

“I don’t really have any expectations this week because I just started playing,” said Korda after practicing putting. “Wherever it goes, I will be happy.”

Korda took about one month off after Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament, but started working with her coach, David Whelan, on her technique shortly after the break. She just started playing holes about one week ago. On the way to the course, Nelly was exchanging text messages with Jessica.

What did big sister say?

“She was like ‘oh my gosh, I’m so happy for’,” said Nelly. “She was like ‘get your butt out here (LPGA) now’.”

FORMER SCGA GOLFER BACK AFTER HAND INJURY: Desiree Dubreuil (Santa Ana, Calif.) is just happy to be back swinging a club. In November of 2014, while hitting golf balls on the range in the middle of a Cactus Tour event, she felt something in the palm of her right hand “pull” and the pain got so severe that she had to withdraw.

Like many athletes, she took time off and then tried to work her way back for the 2015 Epson Tour season, but the pain intensified the more she played. After eight Epson Tour events in 2015, she pulled the plug on the season and took a medical.

“The pain was getting worse and worse and it got to the point where I played my U.S. Open qualifier and I had to withdraw after nine holes,” said Dubreuil near the practice bunker at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon. “I was stopping in the middle of my swing, I was topping the ball off the tee, it was bad.”

Dubreuil went to three different hand surgeons and they all gave her the diagnosis of carpal tunnel. The doctors wanted to cut her hand open and take a look. She decided against surgery.

“I had six months after taking time off (to prepare for the 2016 season) and it (surgery) was going to be a three, four, five month recovery process before I could even hit golf balls again,” said Dubreuil. “I decided against it and I’ve been doing physical therapy three times a week since May. It has been a little bit of a struggle.”

Just to clear her mind, Dubreuil got a job in the pro shop at Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach.

She has only been taking full swings for a little over a month and now wears a protective brace that covers most of her palm and extends halfway up her forearm.

“My swing now feels OK, but it will get a little tired,” said the former Texas golfer. “I need to take more days off than I did before because my whole right side will get tight. That is what ends up causing the pain.”

The IOA Championship will be her first competitive round since the 2015 Epson Classic (May 21-23).

“This is a super important year for me, obviously my number one goal is to stay healthy throughout the season,” said Dubreuil. “I just haven’t played enough golf post injury to know how it is going to react and this week will be a good test.”

DEFENDING CHAMP KEMPTER LIKES TUKWET CANYON: Of course Katie Kempter (Albuquerque, N.M.) has fond memories of Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon. She birdied the final three holes last year and won on the second playoff hole.

“There are a lot of pleasant memories, especially the final round when I was so in the moment,” said Kempter. “I remember being so focused on finishing the round because it was so cold and so windy.”

What she remembers most is the moment before her five footer to save par on the second playoff hole.

“It was clear skies and the sun had just popped out and I just took a deep breath and was like this is where you want to be,” said Kempter after her pro-am on Wednesday. “I wasn’t afraid and I wasn’t nervous and it wasn’t a feeling I ever thought I’d experience. I always thought I’d be amped up. There was just this peace so thinking back on it is a nice feeling.”

Kempter played 18 holes on Tuesday and 18 holes in the pro-am on Wednesday and says she forgot how much she likes Tukwet Canyon.

“It’s a firm and fast course, it’s even firmer and faster than last year, but I love the greens,” said Kempter. “I enjoy this golf course a lot.”

Kempter said that Tukwet Canyon reminds her a lot of a course back in Albuquerque called Twin Warriors, a course she has always enjoyed playing.

“The layout is similar, it’s kind of open with little rolling hills and tough greens,” said Kempter. “I always play well at Twin Warriors too.”

Her first professional win last year was made extra because her dad was her caddie and her mom was a spectator.

“My dad is back on the bag and mom will be watching,” said Kempter. “I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the last year on my playing career and my age. To have my dad on the bag was really special and to have my mom watching was awesome. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized how lucky I am to have supportive parents.”

Quick Hits

Catherine O’Donnell (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) made a hole-in-one of the par-3 15th hole during her practice round on Tuesday. With the wind at her back, she used an 8-iron from 167-yards. The ball hit on the front of the green and then rolled in. She was playing with Samantha Richdale and defending champion Katie Kempter.
Noemi Jimenez (Malaga, Spain) will make her Epson Tour debut this week. Last week, she finished T8 at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open on the Ladies European Tour. Jimenez closed with a three-day score of 5-under, five strokes back of the winner Lydia Ko.

Pre-Tournament Notes: IOA Championship

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