Benyapa Niphatsophon, the No. 1 player on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, won the Potawatomi Cup this year and received her trophy on Wednesday at the Garden City Charity Classic. The Potawatomi Cup is a four-tournament series where players earn points based on performance at the four events sponsored by Potawatomi nation tribes.
Niphatsophon finished in the top five in three of the four Potawatomi Cup events to edge out Erynne Lee. She finished T4 at the Four Winds Invitational, T2 at the Island Resort Championship, second at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship and T31 at the PHC Classic.
The Potawatomi Cup offers a $40,000 pool of money that players can earn based on how many points they earn. The player that wins the cup earns a $6,000 bonus. Including the bonus, Niphatsophon pocketed $14,250 through the Potawatomi Cup. The 20-year-old earned 705 points while Lee finished in second with 697.5 points.
“The Potawatomi Cup events are definitely some of the best on Tour,” said Niphatsophon. “I’m grateful that they give us a second opportunity to make more money based on performance. I'm most proud of the consistency I’ve shown this season and I think that has been the key to being No. 1 on the money list and winning the Potawatomi Cup.”
Niphatsophon will play in the final five events including the Garden City Charity Classic starting on Friday. Last week at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, she become the third player in Tour history to crack $100,000 in single-season earnings.
She has five second place finishes and nine total top 10’s in 15 starts. She has already secured her LPGA Tour card for the 2018 season.
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