The Epson Tour hits Florida for the final stretch with Alaqua Country Club playing host to the fifth annual IOA Golf Classic. Tournament play begins on Friday, September 28 with the final round scheduled for Sunday, September 30.

The field of 108 players from the United States and around the globe will compete for a $150,000 total purse and a $22,500 winner’s payout.

The Best of the Best to Compete

With just one week remaining until the season-ending event and $275,000 on the line, this week's IOA Golf Classic boasts 25 of the top-25 players in the Volvik Race for the Card standings as they make final adjustments heading into the Epson Tour Championship. Although there are no guarantees the top four players, No. 1 Dottie Ardina, No. 2 Ruixin Liu, No. 3 Linnea Strom and No. 4 Stephanie Meadow, are in great position to earn their LPGA Tour card. The other cards are still up for grabs as the Tour is experiencing another competitive season with only one repeat winner and nine 2018 winners currently outside the top 10.

Who’s hot near the top

Min Seo Kwak only moved from 16th to 11th on the money list with her tie for second, but the $12,465 in prize money brought her closer to the top 10. Kwak has finished inside the top 10 five times this season, three of which were top 3 results.

Ruixin Liu, No. 2 on the money list, is coming off a tie for second finish last week in Alabama. She has four top 10 finishes including a win at the Island Resort Championship in June. She finished T36 in 2017 at Alaqua Country Club.

Winning Ways

Eighteen winners of the 2018 Epson Tour season are in the field this week in Longwood, all looking to add hardware to the trophy case. This season’s only multiple winner, Kendall Dye, is joined by first-time winners Lauren Kim, Stephanie Meadow, Elizabeth Szokol, Jenny Haglund, Louise Ridderstrom, Maia Schechter, Isa Gabsa, Ruixin Liu, Muni He, Stephanie Kono, Eun Jeong Seong, Marta Sanz Barrio, Linnea Strom, and Allyssa Ferrell each looking to pick up their second win in 2017. Dye looks to go back-to-back for win number three in 2018.

Fond Memories

Two former winners of the IOA Golf Classic will return looking to duplicate the good luck they found in Longwood. 2014 champion Kendall Dye and 2015 winner Jackie Stoelting are in the field this week. Dye fired three sub-par rounds in 2014 to secure the victory and hopes to improve on her T-8 finish of 2017.

IOA Golf Classic - Field Breakdown

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