PERRINE FOR THE WIN
Three straight birdies down the stretch from Nos. 15-17 at Blackthorn Golf Club sealed the victory for Perrine Delacour (Paris, France) in the eighth annual Four Winds Invitational, as she captured the title by two strokes at 9-under par overall.
Delacour carded a final round 5-under par 67 to step into the winner’s circle for the first time in her professional career. The performance is also her fourth straight top-five and slides the 25-year-old into the No. 2 position in the Volvik Race for the Card.
“It was hard because I made the turn and was leading, then made a bogey on No. 11,” said Delacour, recounting the flow of action in the final round. “Jillian three-putted on No. 14 and from there I actually had a chance. I looked at the leaderboard after No. 15 and there were so many girls bunched together. Made good birdie on No. 15 and smoked my drive on No. 16, then another good birdie there and also birdie on No. 17. Told myself to make par on No. 18 and just enjoy the moment.”
The result caps a significant comeback from a 3-over par 75 in the first round. It also ends a long winless streak that dates back to the 2009 British Girls Amateur Championship. A 2013 Epson Tour graduate, Delacour now has the highlight of her career in hand.
“I’m going to keep this trophy with me and sleep with it tonight because it’s my baby now,” Delacour said with a big smile. “Means a lot because I was struggling at the end of last year, was at a good point in Q-Series and couldn’t make it. For two or three months, I didn’t want to play golf anymore and it was really hard. I had really great support from family and friends which helped a lot.”
POTAWATOMI CUP STANDINGS AFTER FIRST LEG
The eighth annual Four Winds Invitational marked the first leg of the 2019 Potawatomi Cup, a series of four events with bonus money available to players based on a points system through performance.
Later this month, Sweetgrass Golf Club in Harris, Mich. serves as the second leg of the series when it hosts the Island Resort Championship from June 21-23. Here is a look at the current top-10 heading into the next Potawatomi Cup tournament:
1. Perrine Delacour – 500 points
2. Jillian Hollis (Rocky River, Ohio) – 300 points
T3. Jenny Coleman (Rolling Hills Estates, California) – 162.50 points
T3. Maude-Aimee Leblanc (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada) – 162.50 points
T5. Kyung Kim (Chandler, Arizona) – 100 points
T5. August Kim (St. Augustine, Florida) – 100 points
T5. Maddie Szeryk (London, Ontario, Canada) – 100 points
T8. Linnea Johansson (Bastad, Sweden) – 77.50 points
T8. Malene Krolboll Hansen (Hedeland Golfklub, Denmark) – 77.50 points
T8. Mind Muangkhumsakul (Banphai, Thailand) – 77.50 points
T8. Prima Thammaraks (Bangkok, Thailand) – 77.50 points
VOLVIK RACE FOR THE CARD STANDINGS AFTER WEEK TEN
Following the 10th tournament of the 2019 Epson Tour season, the Volvik Race for the Card welcomes a fresh top-10.
The victory and $22,500 winner’s check move Delacour up two spots to No. 2, having earned $68,152 across nine starts this season. Here is a look at the current top-10 heading into the 35th annual Forsyth Classic presented by Decatur Park District at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur, Ill. from June 14-16:
1. Leona Maguire (County Cavan, Ireland) - $74,993
2. Perrine Delacour - $68,152
3. Julieta Granada (Asuncion, Paraguay) - $55,680
4. Nuria Iturrioz (Mallorca, Spain) - $55,250
5. Jillian Hollis - $54,327
6. Maddie Szeryk - $39,152
7. Maria Parra (Guadiaro, Spain) - $36,786
8. Kyung Kim - $33,518
9. Ssu-Chia Cheng (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) - $32,704
10. Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, Republic of Korea) - $31,661
NOTABLE QUOTES
Perrine Delacour (-9, 1st) on Epson Tour competition and what it took to win:
“You need to play really good golf and play pretty much every week. You definitely get tired, which you could see in my first round here. I was tired and not patient, so I shot 3-over then I came back into it yesterday. It’s really hard because you need to be patient and keep playing good golf, should be fine at the end of the year. I’m going to keep my mood right now and why not capture another victory.”
Jillian Hollis (-7, 2nd) on a runner-up finish and the week in South Bend as a whole:
“It was so special, nice having my grandma and mom here. It meant the world to me and today I was thinking how great it is to be out here playing, family here with me and grandpa in spirit. It’s awesome! Made a little mistake on No. 14 then had some birdie looks and just couldn’t capitalize. Happy to finish the way I did because if you had told me I’d shoot 3-under today, I would take it and thought it would be up there. Congratulations to Perrine, she played awesome and made so many birdies coming in so she totally deserved it. Really great week, yeah.”
August Kim (-5, T5) on the performance from the final grouping and expectations going forward:
“Today was a little more grinding than I wish I had to deal with, but had some awesome up and downs. The whole group was really in it the whole day and Perrine closed it out the last couple holes. She played awesome and that was great. I’m happy with my progress, just keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully someday soon I’ll close it out.”
PLAYER NOTES
Perrine Delacour
- Delacour, 25, is a native of Paris, France
- Rookie on both the Epson Tour and LPGA Tour in 2013
- Started playing golf at the age of nine and is a member of the French National Team
- Epson Tour graduate in 2013 thanks to four top-10 finishes to end the year at No. 8 in the Volvik Race for the Card
- Total of 68 starts on the LPGA Tour entering the 2019 season with career-best finish of solo fourth at the 2015 Kingsmill Championship
- Total of 16 starts on the Epson Tour entering the 2019 season with career-best solo second result in the 2013 Epson Tour Championship
- Fired a career-low score of 10-under par 62 in the second round of the 2017 Manulife LPGA Classic
)
)
)
)
