IOA Golf Classic
Alaqua Country Club
Longwood, Florida
October 8, 2015
Thursday Pre-Tournament Notes
LONGWOOD, Fla., October 8, 2015 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, begins first round play of the IOA Golf Classic at Alaqua Country Club on Friday at 7:45 a.m. Players will tee from the first and tenth tees. The afternoon wave of play will start at 12:10 p.m.
The field of 118 professionals and two amateurs are competing for a total tournament purse of $100,000. The winner, excluding the amateurs, will pocket $15,000 and take a late-season step up the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top 10 on the money list after the Epson Tour Championship (Oct. 15-18) earn LPGA membership for the 2016 season.
One of the favorites this week is 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup team member Vicky Hurst, who ranks seventh on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Hurst was well on her way to a long and successful career on the LPGA before a wrist injury slowed her in 2013. Hurst gave an update on her wrist on Thursday before
playing in the pro-am.
“If I hit a lot of balls or if the ground is really firm, I’ll feel something, but nothing serious,” said Hurst. “After a tough workout I might feel something, but it is much better now.”
In most years, Hurst’s two wins at the W.B. Mason Championship and the Garden City Charity Classic would have sealed a spot on the LPGA. This year has been a year like non-other so she still has work to do.
“The best way to not think about it (money list) is to focus on the hole I’m on and the shot I have,” said Hurst. “I need to just stick with my routine and game plan, especially on this golf course. This course is tough with narrow fairways.”
Hurst has improved dramatically throughout the course of the season. She missed the cut in two of her first three Epson Tour starts and ranked No. 127 on the money list in mid-July. She found her groove in Rochester with a second place finish and has reeled over two wins in her last five starts.
“I think my entire game has improved from ball striking to accuracy off the tee,” said Hurst. “I think my short game has improved a lot because of the injury. I haven’t been able to hit as many balls and I’ve been on the putting green a lot.”
Hurst, who dominated the Epson Tour in 2008, said she’s seen great growth in the Epson Tour since her first year as a professional.
“The competition is better, the courses are better and it has really grown into a very competitive tour,” said Hurst. “All around, the Epson Tour has improved so much.”
NO. 8 GRICE FOCUSING ON WHO IS AHEAD: Casey Grice, No. 8 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, says the key to avoid “money list watching” is focusing on those in front of you instead of those behind.
“What I’ve tried to do this year is to keep moving up a few spots each event,” said Grice. “It has worked so far so I’m just going to keep trying to move up.”
Grice has finished inside the top 10 in four straight events and is now $3,732 in front of No. 11 on the money list.
“We did some swing changes at the end of last season and I’ve felt that my swing has been pretty consistent this year,” said Grice. “I’ve been fighting a little right wrist injury that has forced me to rest a little more this year and that has been huge because I’ve played every event.”
For example, instead of playing 18 holes on Tuesday and Wednesday, Grice has cut her schedule to nine holes each day.
“I’m just taking it a lot slower on practice days than I have in the past,” said Grice. “I’m just thinking through my schedule better this year so that my tournament days are my best days.”
OF NOTE: A total of 16 different players have won a Epson Tour event this season including sponsor exemptions Hannah O’Sullivan and Brooke Henderson. Only two players have won multiple times (Annie Park - three times and Vicky Hurst - twice). Eleven of the top 17 players on the money list have won at least once...Eighteen players have currently earned over $40,000 for the season. In 2014, only 11 players earned more than $40,000 at seasons end...Lindy Duncan finished 12th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list in 2014. She is currently 13th on the money list with two events to go...Charlotta Sorenstam, the sister of Annika, was forced to withdrew from the tournament on Thursday due to a bad back. Tracy Stanford has replaced Sorenstam in the field.
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