BROCKTON, Mass., May 24, 2016 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, returns to Brockton for the 2nd annual W.B. Mason Championship at Thorny Lea Golf Club from May 27-29. The top 132 professionals from the United States and 28 countries around the globe will compete for a $125,000 purse, which is up $15,000 over 2015.
Play gets underway on Friday, May 27 at 7:30 a.m. There will be a cut made to the low 60 and ties following second-round play on Saturday, May 28. The trophy ceremony will take place on the 18th green at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 29.
The winner of the W.B. Mason Championship will earn $18,750 and move up the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top 10 on the final Epson Tour money list will earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2017 season.
3 IN W.B. MASON CHAMPIONSHIP HAVE QUALIFIED FOR U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN
Liv Cheng (New Zealand) qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open last Tuesday at a local qualifier at The Woodlands Country Club Players Course in The Woodlands, Texas.She shot a 75-68 to finish in second place to earn a spot in the major. This week, Cheng is excited to tee it up in the W.B. Mason Championship fresh off qualifying. She will play in the U.S. Women’s Open (July 7-10) for the first time.
“In the morning round, I carded a 3-over so I knew I needed to play a lot better,” said Cheng after working a women’s clinic at Thorny Lea. “I got off to a good start on my second 18 with birdie-birdie and just played my way back into it.”
Cheng had to compete for the second spot in a sudden death playoff with two others. One player made bogey on the first hole and was eliminated and then Cheng missed a 4-footer for birdie on the second hole that would have secured the spot. They had to suspend play after that due to darkness.
“I barely slept that night, maybe a couple of hours,” said Cheng. “We came back in the morning and I wound up making an up-and-down for par on the fifth playoff hole to win it. It is surreal, I am really excited.”
Cheng is currently inside the top 60 (No. 56) to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games representing New Zealand. A bid into the U.S. Women’s Open will only help her cause.
“I think if I have a pretty good week at the U.S. Open I could secure my spot,” said Cheng. “The Olympics are still top of mind, but all I can do is focus on playing every Epson Tour tournament as best I can. I just need to keep my ranking as high as possible.”
Jackie Stoelting, who is also in the W.B. Mason Championship, also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open. She finished second at the Dunwoody Country Club qualifying site in Dunwoody, Ga.
Nelly Korda, also in the field, qualified for the U.S. Open at Bradenton Country Club. Korda earned medalist honors by five strokes.
QUICK NOTES
- Twin sisters Jenny and Kristin Coleman are now both in the W.B. Mason Championship. They played together for the first time on the Epson Tour last week at the Gosling’s Dark ‘n Stormy® Classic. Both missed the cut in Milton, Ga. The two played college golf together at the University of Colorado.
- Jenni Jenq played college golf at the Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
- The only players that finished in the top 10 last year at the W.B. Mason Championship that are in the field this year are Brittany Benvenuto (T2) and Katelyn Sepmoree (T8).
- There are now two former Maryland Terrapins in the field as Emily Gimpel and Juliet Vongphoumy are both in the W.B. Mason Championship.
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