The Epson Tour returns to Battle Creek for the sixth running of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship at Battle Creek Country Club. Tournament play begins on Friday, August 17 with the final round scheduled for Sunday, August 19.

The field of 133 players will be competing for a $100,000 total purse with a top prize of $15,000.

Volvik Race for the Card Players to Watch

Players to watch this week in Battle Creek, with eight of the top 10 on the current Volvik Race for the Card money list scheduled to compete you’ll see some shuffling in the standings.

Dottie Ardina has a firm hold on the top spot in the Volvik Race for the Card standings, and with her fourth runner-up result on the year, she’s nearly a lock to earn her LPGA Tour card for the 2019 season. Ardina has accumulated almost $70,000 in earnings without the benefit of a win.

After her second top-10 finish on the Epson Tour, Carlie Carr moved up 24 spots in the Volvik Race for the Card standings. Carr posted three rounds in the sixties to finish in a share of third, a career-best, at last week’s PHC Classic in Milwaukee. With another solid week, she has a great chance to move up the money list this week at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship.

Kendall Dye posted a 3-day total of 10-under 206 at the PHC Classic to finish in a share of sixth and move up from No. 20 to No. 15 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Dye has three top 10 finishes, including a win at the Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY in July.

Second-year member Karen Chung has turned it up several notches of late with one top 10 and two top 18 finishes in the last four events to get to ninth in the Volvik Race for the Card standings. Chung has posted four additional top 16 results in her sophomore season.

A Week for a Repeat?

Through fourteen events, nobody has won multiple times in 2018. This week ten of the fourteen winners are in the field in Battle Creek looking to become the first two-time winner of the season. Winners include IOA Championship champion Stephanie Meadow, IOA Invitational winner Elizabeth Szokol, Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic champion Vicky Hurst, Valley Forge Invitational winner Louise Ridderstrom, Four Winds Invitational champion Maia Schechter, The Forsyth Classic presented by the Decatur Park District winner Isi Gabsa, Island Resort Championship champion Ruixin Liu, Prasco Charity Championship winner Muni He, Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic champion Eun Jeong Seong and Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY.

By this same point in the schedule of the 2017 season, Nanna Koerstz Madsen had won three times. Her first victory came at the Epson Classic in April, her second of the season at the Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY in June, and her third coming in week fourteen at the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic at French Link in July. Last year’s champion, Erynne Lee, secured her second win of the season at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship.

How important is a second win? Since 2008, 28 players have won multiple times in a single-season and 27 secured their LPGA Tour cards for the following season.

No. 1 Ardina Securing Her Place at the Top

Volvik Race for the Card No.1, Dottie Ardina, has posted 25 rounds at or under-par heading into the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. Of the 27 rounds, 17 are under par. Her last over par round was in July in the first round of the Donald Ross Classic at French Lick Resort.

Ardina has four top 10 finishes in 10 starts and ranks second on Tour in scoring average (70.24), third in putting average (29.07) and putts for GIR (1.75).

Former Champion Min Seo Kwak is Back

Min Seo Kwak carded a 7-under 65 in the final round in 2014 to pick up her second Epson Tour victory of the season. Kwak cruised past the field and finished at 12-under par for the tournament, three strokes clear of Daniela Iacobelli.

Kwak ranks tenth on the money list. Her best finish in 2018 is a tie for second at the Island Resort Championship; she had three additional top 10 results on the season.

FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship - Field Breakdown

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