MONTEVALLO’S WOOD MAKING PRO DEBUT

Elaine Wood (Spanish Fort, Alabama) has spent the last four years as a part-time pro shop attendant at The Lakewood Club, the only private course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

This week, she makes her professional debut at the Guardian Championship on a sponsor’s exemption.

“I’m very honored to get the sponsor’s exemption to play and I hope to represent Alabama well,” said Wood. “The goal is to play professionally so this is big for me.”

After a very successful career at Montevallo, Wood turned professional on August 1 and went to LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I. While she didn’t advance to Stage II, she did earn Epson Tour membership for the 2018 season.

“This week is a great way to see where my game is,” said Wood, while chipping at the practice area on Tuesday. “I played pretty well at Q-School and I saw things that I did just as good (as the rest) and things I should work on. I’m excited to see where my game is going this week.”

Wood was a three-time Division II All-American at Montevallo and was a two-time Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year. She also finished 15th at the national championship as a junior. In addition to her success in college, Wood also has three state amateur titles including the last two.

As a kid, Wood used to watch the LPGA Tour play at Magnolia Grove, another course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Mobile.

“I thought it was the coolest thing when I would go watch the LPGA players and I knew then that this is what I wanted to do.”

Wood, who walked down the aisle at Montevallo in August, got a jump start on the week by playing a few practice rounds this past weekend.

“The golf course is in very, very good shape and the greens are very fast,” said Wood. “It’s going to take hitting it in the right quadrant here and you have to be below the hole to really play well.”

Her caddy this week will be the man that taught her the game, her dad Chuck Wood. Wood said that she will work to gain better status on the Epson Tour next year and expects to also play some NWGA events as well.

PLAYERS TALK BIG GREENS AND LPGA COURSE

The first thing players began to discuss on Tuesday as official practice rounds got underway are the size of the greens at Capitol Hill. The player that manages the greens best will likely leave Alabama with some hardware.

“The greens are huge so I think you’ll see a lot of girls on the greens this weekend, but sometimes you’d rather not be on them,” said Alex Milan. “I think managing the big greens will be key, you just have to break them up into quadrants and try to hit the specific area the pin is on that day.”

Clariss Guce, a two-time Epson Tour winner, echoed Milan’s comments about hitting the right section of the greens.

“Sometimes it might be better to be aggressive and chip rather than have a 150-foot putt,” said Guce. “Strategy will be really important this week, but the greens are great, they are fast and are rolling really well.”

The Epson Tour professionals are all well aware that Capitol Hill hosted the LPGA Tour from 2007-2016 and names like Lorena Ochoa, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson have all won here.

“I think it is great that our Tour is playing some of the courses the LPGA has played,” said Allison Emrey, who has five top 10 finishes this season. “I think it will help us feel more prepared once we reach the LPGA Tour.”

‘I’D LOVE TO PLAY WITH SHANSHAN’ ON TOUR

There are two players from China in the top 16 on the Epson Tour this year and both have a chance to join Shanshan Feng on the LPGA Tour next year. Feng is the only player from China in the top 90 in the world (No. 6) and has helped grow the sport in China.

When Yu Liu won the Tullymore Classic earlier this season, she became just the third player from China to ever win on the Epson Tour.

Ruixin Liu, 18, is the second player from China in the top 20 and one of the youngest on Tour. The two are not related. While Yu ranks eighth on the money list, Ruixin ranks 16th.

“It’s an honor to compete for a card and she (Yu) has been on the Tour for three years so she has experience and she has taught me a lot,” said Ruixin Liu. “I’m pretty thankful for her because she’s a good friend.”

Ruixin has also become friendly with Shanshan over the last four years.

“She’s a good friend and I’d love to play the LPGA with her,” said Ruixin. “She’s someone I can text or call if I have any issues and we also just talk non-golf too.”

Players Talk Course and more from Prattville, Alabama

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