GREENWOOD, South Carolina, May 8, 2017 - The Epson Tour, the official qualifying Tour for the LPGA, returns to action after a week off with the fourth annual Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic at The Links at Stoney Point from Thursday, May 11 through Sunday, May 14. This is the seventh tournament of the 2017 season.

Play begins Thursday, May 11 at 7:30 a.m. from the first and tenth tees. There will be a cut made to the low 60 and ties following Friday’s second round. Play will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The field of 144 players from the United States and 29 countries around the globe will compete for a $200,000 tournament purse, the second largest on Tour. The winner will earn $30,000 and will likely move into the top five on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top 10 on the final money list after the Epson Tour Championship (October 5-8) will earn LPGA membership for the 2018 season.

The Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic is one of the most important events because of the purse. Based on the current money list, anyone in the top 45 could move to No. 1 on the money list with a win this week.

This is the first 72-hole event of the 2017 season. There are five four-day events on the schedule.

Last year, Madelene Sagstrom blitzed the field in Greenwood winning by six shots at 10-under, 278. She posted rounds of 66-67-71 on the first three days to build a nine-shot lead heading into the final round and cruised to victory. She went onto shatter the single-season earnings record ($167,064) to win Epson Player of the Year honors. Sagstrom is now playing on the LPGA Tour where she has made two cuts in six starts thus far. Wei-Ling Hsu won the inaugural event in Greenwood while Alejandra Llaneza won in 2015. Hsu has played on the LPGA Tour for the last two seasons and has earned over $400,000 while Llaneza played on the LPGA in 2016, but is back on the Epson Tour this year.

The tournament has been extremely successful in raising money for local women’s and children’s charities in the Lakelands region (Beyond Abuse, Bowers Rodgers Children’s Home, Greenwood Pathway House, Piedmont Technical College Foundation, Lander Foundation, Greenwood Promise, Burton Center, Connie Maxwell, YMCA and the Salvation Army). In just three short years, the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic has raised over $750,000 for local charities. The tournament is expecting to exceed $1 million after this year’s event.

The field this week is strong with nine of the top 10 and 18 of the top 20 on the current money list scheduled to compete. With the LPGA off this week, there are 39 LPGA Tour members in the field.

The only player in the field that hails from the state of South Carolina is Kristy McPherson (Conway), who has 16 career top 10 finishes during her LPGA career. McPherson also played college golf in the state at South Carolina where she won seven times. Laura Wearn (Charlotte, N.C.) also played college golf in the state at Furman.

The highest ranked player in the field according to the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings is Nanna

Koerstz Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), who won the last event and now is No. 75 in the world. Koerstz Madsen has a realistic chance to make the 2017 Solheim Cup for Team Europe if she continues to impress captain Annika Sorenstam.

2015 CHAMP CALLS VICTORY ‘LIFE CHANGING’ IN GREENWOOD

It took a near perfectly executed greenside bunker shot on hole 18 on Sunday for Alejandra Llaneza to claim her first Epson Tour victory in Greenwood in 2015.

“I still remember the feeling walking up the 18th green where everything was on the line,” said Llaneza, as she prepares to return. “I remember how my friends and host parents poured water on me after I won. It was hot outside so it felt great.”

Llaneza called the win “life changing” because it helped her earn an LPGA Tour card and qualify for the Olympics in 2016.

“It was definitely a life changing tournament since not only did it help me get my card, but it also gave me a lot of points to qualify for the Rio Olympics,” explained Llaneza. “I love going to Greenwood, it is a beautiful place and I love seeing the warm reception we get and how involved everyone in the community is with the tournament.”

Llaneza also spoke highly of The Links at Stoney Point and the degree of focus it demands.

“It’s a good challenge that makes you think your way around the course,” explained Llaneza. “This course keeps you involved and focused. You have to know when to be aggressive and when to play conservative.”

‘FEELS LIKE A MAJOR’

Veteran players that have been to Greenwood understand that the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic has a bigger feel than most tournaments. Shannon Fish, who finished fifth in Greenwood last year, perfectly explained the reason.

“Mr. (Jim) Medford and all the volunteers have made this event feel like a major for us year after year,” said Fish, while en route to Greenwood. “I feel like this is where the money list makes a crucial impact on players going forward for the rest of the season.”

Fish, who grew up near a lake in Texas similar to Lake Greenwood, said that the community makes this week special.

“I would frequent a lake in the summers similar to Lake Greenwood so it’s a bit of a nostalgic feeling for me,” said Fish, who currently ranks 23rd on the money list. “The par-3 13th is by far one of the most unique holes we play all year, especially over the weekend when the boats pull up to cheer us on. I’ve made lasting friendships in this quaint community that I look forward to revisiting all year.”

WIN IN GREENWOOD EQUALS AN LPGA CARD

Historically, a very simple formula has proven true in Greenwood: win and earn an LPGA card. In 2014, Wei-Ling Hsu won the inaugural event and finished sixth on the money list. In 2015, Alejandra Llaneza won and finished seventh while Madelene Sagstrom won in 2016 and was the Epson Player of the Year.

It is also interesting to note that the second place finisher in Greenwood has also gone onto earn a Tour card. Solo second place is a payout of $19,363. Last year, Wichanee Meechai finished second in

Greenwood and finished fourth on the money list. In 2015, Casey Grice fell a stroke short in Greenwood, but wound up finishing ninth to earn her Tour card. In 2014, three players tied for second including Min Seo Kwak, who finished second on the money list.

The only tournament on Tour that offers a bigger purse is the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge (August 31-September 3), which carries a $210,000 purse.

#1 NIPHATSOPHON HAS FOUR TOP 10’S IN FIVE STARTS

Benyapa Niphatsophon (Bangkok, Thailand) has proven to be the top player on Tour through the first third of the season. In just five starts, she has four top 10 finishes and her worst result is a tie for 19th. Niphatsophon is in her first year on Tour and has earned $34,639 with three second place finishes.

The 19-year-old has been under-par in ten of her 14 rounds this season. She leads the Tour with a scoring average of 70.25.

15-YEAR-OLD QUALIFIES AT PKBGT QUALIFIER AT STONEY POINT

About a month ago, 15-year-old Pittsburgh native Lauren Freyvogel won the first Women’s Health Classic Junior Challenge on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour at The Links at Stoney to earn a spot in the Epson Tour event.

“I’m so excited to play in my very first professional golf tournament,” said Freyvogel, who is a high school sophomore. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity provided by the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. Medford, and the LPGA Epson Tour. I’m honored to represent the Peggy Kirk Bell Golf Tour (PKBGT) as well. I can’t wait to tee it up with the professional ladies. I believe it will be an incredible experience to be able to be inside the ropes and play in this event. I plan to soak up as much knowledge as I can from these professional golfers.”

She finished the 36-hole qualifier at 3-over, 147 to earn the spot. Five-time LPGA winner Cindy Rarick was in Greenwood to present Freyvogel with the trophy.

“It was super exciting to qualify for the sponsor exemption,” said Freyvogel. “I played a really solid first round, shooting 2-under 70, and had a four shot lead. My lead increased to nine shots during the final round, but then I dropped a few shots and other girls made some birdies. My lead dropped to only three shots at one point, but I was able to finish strong and win by four shots.”

STACKHOUSE MOVES UP TO 11TH ON MONEY LIST

Mariah Stackhouse (Riverdale, Ga.) finished second in the last event (Epson Classic) to vault up to 11th on the money list. It was the best finish of her professional career. She has three top 25 finishes in five starts on the Epson Tour. While she fell short of winning, Stackhouse posted her low round of the season, a 6-under, 66.

“Obviously I am disappointed as I played well all week,” said Stackhouse after falling short of her first win. “The fact of the matter is I made some significant mental and technical changes to my game last week and came right out and shot 9-under, which is by far the best performance I’ve had this spring.”

Stackhouse has also made two starts on the LPGA.

She made headlines in 2016 when she turned professional and signed with KPMG, the same company that endorses Stacy Lewis and Phil Mickelson. She won 97 times as an amateur/junior and four times in college at Stanford. She also led the Cardinal to the 2015 NCAA national title.

OF NOTE

Six of the top 10 finishers last year in Greenwood wound up earning their LPGA Tour card at the end of the season.
There are ten different countries represented in the top 10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list (Thailand, Ecuador, Denmark, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States and China).
There are five teenagers in the field (Lauren Freyvogel - 15, Ruixin Liu - 18, Mind Muangkhumsakul - 18, Benyapa Niphatsophon - 19, Budsabakorn Sukapan - 19) and three 20 year olds (Hannah Green, Csicsi Rozsa and Princess Superal).
The oldest player in the field is Nicole Jeray (45).

Feels Like a Major and More from Greenwood

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