GARDEN CITY, Kan. — The 17th stop of the Epson Tour season and second in the Million Dollar Drive takes the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour to the Sunflower State for the fifth annual Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course from Sept. 7-9.

Greeting the 132-player field in Garden City, Kan. is a total purse of $150,000, tied for the eighth highest on Tour this season. Individuals are set to compete in a 54-hole stroke play format with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes.

“Following the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, two players from outside the Volvik Race for the Card top-10 jumped into the mix and that was just the start of what is going to be a crazy sprint to the finish,” said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of the Epson Tour. “As we continue the stretch, Garden City offers a challenging venue and a true hidden gem in Buffalo Dunes Golf Course.”

With only five tournaments now left on the “Road to the LPGA,” the Million Dollar Drive is the run of six consecutive events to end the season. They have a cumulative purse of greater than $1 million, roughly one-third of the total prize money for 2018.

Defending champion Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec, Canada) is not among the competitors this week, as she was a 2017 Epson Tour graduate. However, all members of the current Volvik Race for the Card top-10 are set to tee it up in Kansas this week.

Meanwhile, the event is particularly special for Great Plains native Kendall Dye (Edmond, Oklahoma). Of all the competitors none hail from Kansas, so Dye is the “local talent” when it comes to where she is based in proximity to Garden City.

“I’m happy to be playing near my home state of Oklahoma and it’s good to be back in this neck of the woods,” Dye said. “I’ve got my dad coming up to watch me play which is always special. I’ll be able to have a few days at home in Oklahoma City after Kansas, so that will be nice to see family before the final month of the season.”

Furthermore, most recent Epson Tour champion Linnea Ström (Hovas, Sweden) looks to become the first two-time winner this year following her victory at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge on Sunday.

“I’ll remember last week and look back on it for motivation and to continue to do well,” said Ström. “That’s what I did when I won in college, look back at the wins and tell myself, ‘Ok, I want to do that again and focus on the goal.’ At the same time, I can’t control what other people are doing. I might have my best week, but someone might be better, so you never know. I do know that last week was my week and I’m happy about that.”

Action gets underway at 8 a.m. CT all three rounds, with play beginning off No. 1 and No. 10 tees each day and groups comprised of threesomes.

FINKELSTEIN, HURST BACK AS PAST CHAMPIONS

Among those in the field this week for the Garden City Charity Classic is Dana Finkelstein (Chandler, Arizona) and Vicky Hurst (Melbourne, Florida), defending champions of the event and current top-25 performers in the Volvik Race for the Card.

It was 2016 when Finkelstein came away the victor at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course. She still owns the 54-hole tournament scoring record at 10-under par.

“I’m excited to get back, the win was a couple years ago and I didn’t return last year because I was on the LPGA Tour,” said Finkelstein, currently No. 22 in the Volvik Race for the Card with $31,432 earned across 13 starts. “Winning there is all I remember. The golf course is nice, a hidden gem I would say.”

The win also came at a difficult time for Finkelstein, so returning to the site of her first Epson Tour title is sure to stir up all the feels and make for a challenging reunion with the venue.

“During the week I won, I found out my dog [Perry] had cancer and I played the first four holes with the wrong pin sheet, that’s how fogged my brain was,” Finkelstein said. “It was very emotional, but I ended up winning and he held on for another six months. It was all good, but I had thought I was going to lose him earlier.”

For Hurst, when she won in 2015 it was her sixth time in the winner’s circle on the official qualifying tour of the LPGA, but the first (and only) time in Garden City for the 8-time Epson Tour champion.

“I remember it was pretty tough, but the golf course is awesome,” said Hurst, who is No. 14 in the Volvik Race for the Card at $38,047 through nine starts. “It’s a small town out in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a nice surprise when you get there. A lot of fescue and trouble once you get off the fairway, but I played smart and won with course management. That is what I’m going to need to do again.”

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