The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, begins the 2017 season with the ninth annual Florida’s Natural Charity Classic at the Country Club of Winter Haven. The 54-hole tournament begins on Friday, March 10 and concludes on Sunday, March 12. The Tour takes center stage as both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET) are off this week.

The field of 132 players from the United States and 27 countries around the globe will compete for a $125,000 purse. The winner will earn $18,750 and assume the top spot on the first Volvik Race for the Card money list. The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic is the first of 21 events with a 22nd tournament expected to be announced in April. The season concludes with the Epson Tour Championship from October 5-8 in Daytona Beach. The top 10 on the final Volvik Race for the Card money list will earn LPGA membership for the 2018 season.

Play will begin at 7:15 a.m. on Friday and Saturday while the final-round is scheduled for 8:30 a.m to accommodate the 4:00-6:00 p.m. Facebook Live broadcast on Sunday. The professionals will start from the first and tenth tees on Friday and Saturday while a single-tee start is scheduled for Sunday.

There will be a cut made after the second round to the low 60 and ties.

NO. 66 IN WORLD KOERSTZ MADSEN PLANS TO PLAY EPSON TOUR
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark) is the highest ranked player in the field at No. 66 according to the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. She has played the Ladies European Tour (LET) since turning professional in 2015. She finished sixth on the LET Order of Merit in 2016 and represented Denmark in the Olympics. This year, she plans to focus on the Epson Tour.

“My goal is to get to the LPGA and this is a good opportunity to get there,” explained Koerstz Madsen on Wednesday near the practice putting green. “I’ll try to play as much as I can on the Epson Tour and still play a few on the LET, but mostly on the Epson Tour.”

The 22-year-old said that her second-place finish at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open has her believing she can compete.

“I played well and it just gave me confidence that I can compete against the best,” said Koerstz Madsen. “There have been a lot of good things happening in the last year including winning on the LET and the Olympics, but there have been downs too. That’s golf, some up and some down.”

Koerstz Madsen played three months of college golf at South Carolina before deciding to turn professional. She hasn’t played on Bermuda grass much at all.

“I only played one tournament as a junior in the U.S.,” said Koerstz Madsen. “I don’t really like the Bermuda grass, but I have to get used to it. That’s definitely the most important thing for me.”

VERONICA FELIBERT HOPING FOR THREE WINS
For veteran players on the Epson Tour, the goal is always to move to the LPGA as quickly as possible. Veronica Felibert, who won the 2014 Credit Union Classic in Syracuse, said on Tuesday that she has three wins and a “Battlefield Promotion” to the LPGA on her mind.

“The goal is just to get my card and move up,” said Felibert, who has 12 career top 10’s on the Epson Tour since her rookie season in 2009. “The sooner, the better, winning three times would be amazing. Other than that, I want to take one day at a time and enjoy the process.”

Felibert, who has also made 43 LPGA starts with one top 10, said that short game will be key this week at Country Club of Winter Haven.

“There are a lot of elevated greens and it can be windy and the course is not playing short,” explained Felibert, who marveled at the changes the course has undergone since it was known as Lake Region. “It’s a good length golf course for us so the short game will be important.”

MEIER PART OF BIG MICHIGAN STATE CONTINGENT
Christine Meier (Rochester Hills, Michigan) is one of five former Michigan State golfers (Liz Nagel, Lindsey McPherson, Allyssa Ferrell, Christine Meier and Laura Kueny) in the field this week.

“It’s really cool to have everyone out here, we all kind of graduated around the same time,” said Meier. “We’ve kind of grown up playing and now we’re all playing together at this level.”

They all played for the recently elected hall-of-fame coach Stacy Slobodonik-Stoll and Meier credits her with developing her game in four years in East Lansing.

“Year after year, she has great teams and pushes out great players,” said Meier. “She is such a good recruiter and then once you get there she is great at developing your game. No way would I be at this level if I didn’t go there.”

Meier, who lives in Tampa during the offseason, is excited to start the season so close to home.

“It’s great to play just an hour from home and it’s great to be in Winter Haven, the greens are phenomenal,” said Meier. “Everything is really crowned (greens) so I think the ball strikers will be do really well this week.”

Meier said she struggled with her mental game in 2016 and worked hard on in the offseason.

“I’m also hitting a much lower, driving shot now which will help me hit a lot more greens and be more consistent this year.”

QUICK HITS

Olympian and LPGA Tour winner Julieta Granada withdrew from the tournament on early Tuesday morning. She did not provide a reason for the WD.
Polk County natives Erica Popson (12:39 p.m., tenth tee) and Shelby Brauckmuller (7:48 a.m., first tee) are headliners in the field this week.

Florida's Natural Charity Classic Pre-Tournament Notes

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