USC’S POPOV PUSHING FOR A WIN IN 2017

Former USC star Sophia Popov (Heidelberg, Germany) was close to earning an LPGA Tour in 2016. She finished 14th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with five top 10 finishes. With improved putting this week, she posted a 5-under, 67 to start the IOA Championship.

“The front nine was solid, I actually dropped a few putts and made some up-and-downs when I had to,” said Popov. “I made a long par putt, a long birdie putt and finished with a long putt on 18 so putting was what made the big difference.”

Popov finished T51 at the season opener in Florida. She attempted 28 putts in the first round. It’s a small family affair this week for the Popov’s as her brother - who lives in Los Angeles - is her caddy and her mom is also with her.

“He never really gets to see my play and he asked if he could caddy and I was like ‘why not’,” said Popov. “It is kind of nice to have someone that is not a golfer. All he says are funny things so I was laughing the whole time.”

While Popov knows she has a great chance to earn her card this year, she is avoiding putting pressure of herself.

“The worst thing I can do is put pressure on myself because of how close I got,” explained Popov. “Of course I want to win this year, I was close two or three times last year and one of those could have made the difference.”

Popov, who has battled stomach issues for over a year, spent much of the offseason visiting doctors and putting together a fitness and nutrition plan to stay healthy.

“Health wise, I wasn’t at 100 percent this offseason and I’m still fighting my stomach issues,” said Popov. “I went to Germany to see a few doctors and we put together a nutrition plan for me and some homeopathic medications. I’m hoping I’ll be in good shape in the early season and then be able to workout more towards the middle of the year.”

RICHDALE CREDITS LOCAL HOST/CADDY FOR 67

Samantha Richdale, a four-time winner on the Epson Tour, made six birdies and turned in a 5-under, 67 on Friday. She made sure to credit her host dad, Jerry Wilson, who was her caddy.

“I’ve stayed with them the last few years and he knows all the reads out here,” said Richdale. “He knows all the tricky reads, which helps a lot.”

Richdale attempted just 28 putts on the day.

Richdale finished ninth at the season opener in Florida.

ACC PLAYER OF YEAR POSTS 70 WITH COURSE EMPLOYEE AS CADDY

Lauren Coughlin (Charlottesville, Va.) had a dream final season at the University of Virginia in 2016. She won the ACC Championship on the final hole - defeating the No. 1 amateur in the world Leona Maguire - then got
engaged immediately following the round and was named ACC Player of the Year.

On Friday, she posted a 2-under, 70 with course employee Kody Cline as her caddy. Coughlin planned on having no caddy this week, but she forgot her push cart at home and it would have cost $200 for her
parents to rush it to Beaumont. So, she asked around and was teamed with Cline, who caddied for Brittany Benvenuto in 2015 when she finished third.

“I asked around in the pro shop and they told me about Kody and that he caddied for a girl that did well and he was a lot of fun,” said Coughlin. “He kept me relaxed out there and even though my push cart arrives today, I’m going to keep Kody.”

Coughlin, who won the Tennessee and Colorado state open’s in 2016 after graduating from UVA, has her sights set on a spot in the top 10 during her rookie season.

“My goal is the top 10 and I definitely think it is very attainable,” said Coughlin. “I’m a very consistent
player, but it’s definitely an adjustment from college to professional.”

Things like staying in host families, renting cars are all part of what Coughlin is getting used to in the early season.

Coughlin said she is self-funding her first year through her two state open wins and the internship with the Virginia football team that she did during her senior year of college. Coughlin’s masters program was in sports administration. One semester she worked with the Director of Football Operations and one semester she helped with recruiting.

In January, she started seeing Patrick Reed’s swing coach, Kevin Kirk, at The Woodlands in Houston.

“I have really short term goals and Kevin has really helped me long term,” said Coughlin, who was a late bloomer in golf and never dreamt of the LPGA until late in her college career. “With how I played last year, it is still kind of hard for me to be like, ‘wow, I am good enough to do this’.”

MAO LIVING IN RANCHO MIRAGE POSTS 69

Briana Mao (Folsom, Calif.) has been living in Rancho Mirage for the last two months in part because of the cold and rainy weather in Northern California. She posted a 3-under, 69 on Friday.

“I’m really happy with how my round went because I have been really struggling with putting,” said Mao, who attempted close to 40 putts at the Monday Qualifier for the Kia Classic this week. “I just switched my putter to a mallet from a blade for the first time in years. The last few weeks I have really been struggling with my short putts and today I only missed one early and after that I felt comfortable and everything was great.”

The highlight of her day came on the par-3 eighth when she stuffed a 5-iron from 169 yards to an inch.

Mao has struggled so much with her putting that she told her dad to bring three old putters to the IOA Championship two days ago.

“I tried them during my practice round and I felt comfortable with the one I’m using now,” explained Mao. “I like my old putter, but I just needed to look at something different.”

Mao played in 14 LPGA Tour events last year and seven Epson Tour events. She retained partial LPGA Tour status, but expects to focus a little more on the Epson Tour this year.

“The only way I’d focus on the LPGA is if I can get into an event before the reshuffle,” explained Mao. “I’m going to try to Monday Qualify for a couple more events and if I qualify and do well then I will probably go back on the big tour. Otherwise, I want to stay out here to be consistent.”

Mao’s coach, Bryan Lebedevitch, is based in Palm Desert at La Quinta PGA West.

USC’S KYUNG KIM HAS STRONG START

Kyung Kim (Chandler, Ariz.) just did not have a good week at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying Tournament and missed advancing. Therefore, she has poor Epson Tour status. She has done well on the Cactus Tour and has received sponsor exemptions into the next two events.

She took full advantage in the first round with a 3-under, 69.

“Definitely excited, I started birdie-birdie and that got me going,” explained Kim, who has three Cactus Tour wins. “I fell off a little in the middle, but I was happy to get it back together towards the end.”

Kim couldn’t explain her 79-74-72 at Qualifying Tournament.

“I honestly don’t know what happened, I played a few Cactus Tour events before Q-School and I was playing well and I just kind of fell apart, maybe nerves got to me,” said Kyung. “It was just not good.”

Kim has a great opportunity over the next few weeks to play herself into full status. It’s exactly what Erynne Lee did last year with her win.

USC’s Popov Pushing for a Win in 2017, Richdale Credits Local Host/Caddy for 67 and More from Beaumont

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