INDIANAPOLIS’ POTTER BIRDIES 18 TO POST A 70

Julia Potter (Indianapolis, Indiana) sped a 20-foot downhill putt right into the cup on hole 18 to card an opening-round 1-under, 70 in French Lick. She is playing this week on a sponsors exemption.

Potter is a two-time USGA Women’s Mid-Am Champion (2013, 2016) and played on the Epson Tour in 2010. She now works full-time as the Director of Member Services for Indiana Golf.

“It’s amazing, it takes me back to when I was on Tour,” said Potter after her first-round where she made four birdies. “It is definitely a lot less stressful because I will just go back to my job on Monday. It’s great to be out here at a wonderful venue and compete against the best in the world.”

Potter plans to play the rest of the weekend stress-free. The last time she was an exemption on the Epson Tour was 2014 and she missed the cut by one.

“I really have nothing to lose as there is no paycheck waiting for me regardless,” said Potter, who is an amateur. “I might as well really try and go for it. It’s one day at a time, I’m going to try and make the cut and then see where I am.”

COULDN’T BREAK 80 TO PROFESSIONAL GOLF

Victoria Morgan (Pasadena, Calif.) couldn’t break 80 in high school and went to USC for academics. She studied Politics, Philosophy & Law, which is lumped into one major at USC. Professional golf was off her radar. She got the opportunity to walk-on to the USC golf team during the spring of her freshman year and it changed the course of her life.

“It (being a walk on) gives me a chip on my shoulder and makes me want to work harder,” said Morgan, who posted a 2-under, 69 in the first round of the Donald Ross Centennial Classic at French Lick Resort. “I didn’t think I’d ever play for USC. Coach (Gaston) basically put me on the team to force the others to work harder. It was the Rudy story with no intentions of actually getting a snap.”

Morgan got more than a snap. She started to play in tournaments as a junior at USC and ended her career as a 2016-17 WGCA (Women’s Golf Coaches Association) Honorable Mention All-American. For the kid that couldn’t break 80, she finished with a 73.80 scoring average and four top 10 finishes as a senior.

“It’s still kind of hard to believe that I am here,” said Morgan. “Coach let me tryout for two weeks and let me onto the roster and I couldn’t break 80. I didn’t play junior golf or AJGA. I played for high school, but those were all just nine hole events. It all comes down to the amount of resources at USC and the coaching that you get.”

Morgan has made three cuts in five starts as a rookie on the Epson Tour. The 2-under, 69 is tied for her best opening round on Tour to date.

“I played really consistently today,” said Morgan. “Putting was good and I practiced that a ton going into this event because I heard from a few girls that the greens were really tough. I had no three-putts and that was the main point.”

The score sounds even better considering she woke up at 4:15 a.m. to drive an hour from her hotel to French Lick Resort. Fortunately for Morgan, her travel buddy Gabriella Then was on driving duty on Friday. Morgan is on driving duty on Saturday for their afternoon tee times.

She’s just happy to be living this professional journey.

CHICAGO NATIVE SZOKOL CARDS A 68 TO START

Elizabeth Szokol spent her off week at home near Chicago with friends and family. She even got to attend the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club. She went on Thursday and Sunday and followed friends like Brittany Altomare, a former running mate at Virginia.

After a 3-under, 68, Szokol talked a lot about the comfort of playing in the Midwest and being just five hours from home.

“I love playing in the Midwest, I’m comfortable with those types of courses,” said Szokol, who had her best finish in Indiana at the Four Winds Invitational (T2). “I was home with my family last week and I get to go see them again on Sunday. It’s great to have my families support outside of golf and it helps when I come out here to just have fun.”

Szokol made five birdies including three on the back nine between No. 12 and No. 16.

Szokol finished T9 at the 2013 Big Ten Championships, which were held on the Donald Ross Course, when she played at Northwestern. She transferred to Virginia after her sophomore year.

“I have great memories in part because the team won,” said Szokol. “I remember most of the golf course, the outline of the holes, but not really the hills. I had last week off and I knew the course so I was able to use that to my advantage in practice.”

MARCHAND TALKS COACH ANN LAVIS, FORMER PRO

Brittany Marchand took last week off to zero in on the Donald Ross Centennial Classic. She spent time in Canada working with one of her coaches, Ann Carroll, who used to play on the FUTURES Tour as Ann Lavis.

She won the 1996 Jupiter West Classic and is now the Assistant Coach for the Canadian National Team. Tristan Mullally, the head coach of the team, was in French Lick earlier this week.

“She coaches the development team and I used to be on that team,” said Marchand, who has worked with Ann since she was 14. “I can use both Ann and Tristan (Mullally), which is really nice. She really gets everything that we go through because she played.”

Marchand has four top 20 finishes on the Epson Tour this season, but still is in search of her first top 10. The highlight of her season was a strong performance on the LPGA Tour at the Manulife LPGA Classic when she was in the top 10 after three rounds.

“I obviously played well at Manulife, but the last two weeks I felt like I had to play well out here (Epson Tour),” explained Marchand. “I tried to just play and not have expectations today.”

NOTES

A total of 25 players finished under-par on Friday.
There are 14 players within two shots of the leader, Hannah Green.

Chicago Native Szokol Cards 68 and More from Round One in French Lick

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