CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 9, 2016 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, heads from Greenwood, South Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 5th annual Epson Classic at Raintree Country Club from May 13-15. The top 144 aspiring LPGA Tour players from the United States and 23 countries around the globe will compete for a $150,000 total tournament purse.

First-round play will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, May 13. Play will begin at 7:30 all three days of the tournament. There will be a cut to the top 60 and ties following second-round play on Saturday, May 14. The approximate finish time and trophy ceremony on Sunday, May 15 is 4:30 p.m.

The winner will earn $22,500 and make a significant move up the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top 10 on the year-end money list will earn LPGA membership for the 2017 season. The final event of the year is the Epson Tour Championship at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. from October 13-16.

The Epson Classic has shown a steady increase in purse over the years and this year, players will be competing for the largest purse in tournament history. From 2012-2014, the Epson Classic offered a $100,000 purse. In 2015, the purse increased to $110,000. Now, the purse jumps $40,000 to $150,000. The Epson Tour as a whole is playing for the largest total purse in the history of the Tour this year.

This is the sixth event of season and the second during a stretch of five events in a row. Last night, Madelene Sagstrom (Enkoping, Sweden) continued her brilliant start to the year with a six shot victory at the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic.

The Epson Classic has always provided great drama since the inaugural event in 2012 when Mi Hyang Lee, who won on the LPGA in 2014, topped Olivia Jordan-Higgins by one shot. In 2013, Laura Kueny edged three players by one shot. In 2014, Mallory Blackwelder held off Emily Talley by two shots and last year Haruka-Morita WanyaoLu topped Augusta James in a playoff. Kueny is the only defending champion in the field this year.

The field features 14 players that played college golf in the state of North Carolina. There are two from Duke (Candy Hannemann, Jennie Lee), three from N.C. State (Lauren Doughtie, Augusta James, Brittany Marchand), one from Wilmington (Ashley Tait), four from Wake Forest (Jean Chua, Marissa Dodd, Allison Emrey, Natalie Sheary) and four from UNC including current freshman Kelly Whaley, the daughter of Suzy Whaley. The three former Tar Heels are Allie White, Katherine Perry and Catherine O’Donnell.

The field also includes 25 players that have current LPGA Tour membership. Nine of the current top 10 on the money list are in the field this week. The only player not scheduled to compete is No. 9 Kana Nagai.

The second sponsor exemption this year is Madison Moosa, who will graduate in 2017 from Grace Academy in Charlotte. Moosa has collected 11 amateur wins and is a six-time North Carolina All-State selection in golf. Moosa ranks No. 31 in the class of 2017 according to Golfweek.

FORMER ARDREY KELL STAR READY FOR EPSON CLASSIC

Allison Emrey (Charlotte, N.C.) finished in the top five in the 4A individual state championship in North Carolina three times including winning the title in 2008 for Ardrey Kell. She led her team to the 2010 4A West Regional title and then a NCHSAA 4A State Championship. This week, Emrey will tee it up as a full-time member of the Epson Tour at Raintree Country Club.

“I am very excited to play in my hometown,” said Emrey on Sunday from Greenwood. “I grew up in Charlotte and after college have come back to live here. I love the area and have played Raintree a bunch. I am looking forward to playing in Charlotte as a professional and am thankful for the exemption and the experiences that came with it.”

In 2014, while still in school at Wake Forest, Emrey received an exemption to play in the Epson Classic. She missed the cut with two 75’s. Regardless of the outcome, nobody will have more comfort at Raintree than Emrey.

“I feel confident playing at Raintree because I have experience playing there competitively,” said the 22-year-old. “Growing up, I played middle and high school matches there and two years ago I was able to play in the Epson (Tour) event as a sponsors exemption.”

Emrey will have a familiar face on the bag this week, her dad David.

“I am really looking forward to having a home crowd following me this week,” said Emrey. “I have a lot of support from my home club, Providence CC, so it will be great to see familiar faces watching.”

Emrey currently ranks 94th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list through five events. Her best finish is a tie for 23rd at the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay.

RAINTREE MEMBER JUNEAU READY FOR CLASSIC

About a year and a half ago, Sara-Maude Juneau (Quebec, Canada) moved to Charlotte to play out of Raintree Country Club. She has the course logo on her golf bag.

“I am very excited to play Raintree,” said Juneau. “It is always fun to play at “home” and especially being able to sleep in my own bed is nice. I love the Raintree course and it is always in good shape so I think everyone will have a fun week.”

Juneau currently ranks 33rd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. She has one top 10 finish and two top 20 results. She missed the cut this past week at the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic.

2ND MOST CONSISTENT PLAYER ON TOUR?

Nobody is playing better than Madelene Sagstrom, that is obvious. The second most consistent player on Tour might be another rookie, Ally McDonald (Fulton, Ms.). She has finished inside the top 25 in all five events and has four top 15 finishes including a tie for third this past week in Greenwood.

McDonald now ranks fourth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. She finished T22 at 2015 LPGA Qualifying Tournament, narrowly missing full LPGA status and made a tough decision early to focus on the Epson Tour and that is paying off.

“I told myself that I am going to commit to the Epson Tour and my number goal is going to be top 10,” said McDonald. “There are definitely a lot of positives to take away from a T3.”

The one thing that McDonald wants to clean up for this week is her putting. She had nine three-putts during the four rounds in Greenwood. McDonald ranks sixth on Tour in scoring average, eighth in driving accuracy, tenth in greens in regulation and 65th in putting average.

FORMER ROCK THE PUTT CHAMP SHANNON FISH HAS FOUND HER GAME

In Shannon Fish’s first three years on the Epson Tour, she never finished better than 85th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. In fact, she has finished 85th each of the last two years.

This year, Fish has found her stroke. She ranks 13th on the money list after a solo fifth place finish (ties her career best) at the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic. She has already earned more money in five starts ($17,457) this year than she did in 18 starts last year ($12,306). In fact, she has almost earned more than she has in her entire career - 50 starts, $22,359.

“I’ve made every cut and I’ve given myself late opportunities on Sunday so this has definitely been the best start to a season,” said Fish. “I’ve put myself in good position to keep moving up the leaderboard and if you’re moving up the leaderboard you are moving up the money list. I’m proud of myself with how I’ve handled the early season.”

Beyond knowing the courses and the communities as a veteran, Fish said she finally believes in herself.

“It honestly comes down to me believing in myself more,” said Fish. “Once I started playing well, I was able to get more confidence.”

Fish played well at Raintree last year finishing in a tie for 12th. She carded a final-round 68 to move up the leaderboard.

DAUGHTER OF TRAILBLAZER WHALEY IN FIELD

Former LPGA Tour professional Suzy Whaley has always been a trailblazer. In 2003, she became the first woman in 58 years to qualify for a PGA TOUR event when she got in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open after winning the 2002 Connecticut PGA Championship. In 2014, Whaley was elected PGA Secretary and became the first woman to ever be elected as an officer of the PGA.

This week, her daughter Kelly will play in the Epson Classic. Kelly, a 3-time champion of the Connecticut Women’s Amateur, is finishing her freshman year at UNC. This past Saturday, she tied for 27th at the regionals and helped UNC qualify for the NCAA Championships. The last time the Tar Heels qualified for the NCAA Championship was in 2012 when Catherine O’Donnell, who is in the Epson Classic, took home the individual championship at the regional.

The NCAA Championships are May 20-25 in Eugene, Ore.

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