Decatur-Forsyth Classic presented by Tate & Lyle and Decatur Park District
Hickory Point Golf Course
Decatur, Illinois
June 12, 2014
Pre-Tournament News & Notes
DECATUR, ILLINOIS, June 12, 2014 – The 30th anniversary Decatur-Forsyth Classic presented by Tate & Lyle and Decatur Park District begins on Friday, June 13 at Hickory Point Golf Course. The event, which is the longest running on the Tour, dates back to 1985.
The 144-player field will be competing for their share of the $100,000 total purse with the winner taking home $15,000.
The event is the start of the second half of the year.
10 PLAYERS WITH LPGA STATUS: With the LPGA on an off week, there are ten players in the field at the Decatur-Forsyth Classic with LPGA status.
Brittany Altomare – Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Dottie Ardina – Laguna, Philippines
Brianna Do – Lakewood, California
Lindy Duncan – Plantation, Florida
Veronica Felibert – Caracas, Venezuela
Emma Jandel – Dayton, Ohio
Maude-Aimee Leblanc – Sherbrooke, Canada
Jane Rah – Torrance, California
Marta Silva – Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Jackie Stoelting – Vero Beach, Florida
KWAK AND STEEN GO FOR A THIRD: Min Seo Kwak (Volvik #1) and Marissa Steen (Volvik #2) have all but solidified spots in the top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with two wins apiece.
A third win would give them LPGA status in 2014.
The last player to win three events in one year was Cindy LaCrosse, who won three times in 2010.
TWO STRAIGHT FOURTH PLACE FINISHES FOR DYE: Kendall Dye ranks fifth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.
She has finished fourth in back-to-back events. She placed in a tie for fourth with a 72-68-70 in the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship and a solo fourth 68-70-72 at the Epson Classic.
Her last over-par round came three tournaments ago at the Friends of Mission Charity Classic.
She has been at or under-par in eight of her last nine rounds.
POWER OF POWERS: Caroline Powers has finished inside the top-30 in three of her last four events to move up to 22nd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.
She had her best finish of the year, a tie for fourth at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship last week. It was her second top-10 finish of the year.
Powers played her college golf at Michigan State.
ROOKIES MAKING IMPACT: Five Epson Tour rookies rank inside the top-30 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list at the midway point of the season.
The top earning rookie is Demi Runas, who ranks 14th on Tour with $18,791. Laura Gonzalez Escallon (16), Min Lee (17), Casey Grice (19) and Lee Lopez (28) also rank in the top-30 on the money list.
SHASTA AVERYHARDT IN FIELD FOR FIRST EVENT: Shasta Averyhardt is playing in her first Epson Tour event of the season in Decatur this week.
She has played on the Tour for parts of four years with her best finish coming at the 2012 Four Winds Invitational when she finished in a tie for fourth.
Averyhardt had status on the LPGA Tour in 2011 and played in six events.
In 2011, when she had her LPGA Tour card, Averyhardt became just the fourth African American player in LPGA history.
This week, there are five African American players in the field including Averyhardt. The other four are Cheyenne Woods, Ginger Howard, Sadena Parks and Vanessa Brockett.
A CONVERSATION WITH ELOISE TRAINOR: Thirty-four years ago, Eloise Trainor had a vision to give women more opportunities to play professional golf.
The founder of the Tampa Bay Mini Tour, which turned into the Futures Tour and now the Epson Tour was in town this week celebrating the 30th anniversary of this event.
“I have a lot of satisfaction,” said Eloise about the 30th year in Decatur and 34 years of the Tour. “It’s great to see people enjoying what we started over 30 years ago.”
When Trainor started the tour, she had a clear vision.
“When I started the Tour, there was nothing for professional women’s golfers to play so starting the Tour was to fill a void in the ranks of women’s golf. The vision was to allow professional women’s golfers to gain experience, work on their games, develop their games and get good enough to get onto the LPGA.”
The goal and vision of the current Tour and where it started has not changed.
“We wanted to give players the experience of travelling around the country, living out of their car, doing the laundry, playing different terrains, grasses and elevations. This way, when they got on the LPGA, they weren’t like holy crow.”
Trainor worked in the Tampa Bay area for approximately six years before she started the tour. She worked on a golf course mowing greens and also worked on her golf game. When the Tampa Bay Mini Tour started, it was a true mini tour.
“Players put up an entry fee and played for a portion of it. I set a schedule, then I set another schedule and I was nuts enough to keep setting schedules and then once it was in writing I had to go through with it.”
The Tampa Bay Mini Tour lasted for three years.
“We knew we had to go national and give the players the complete experience. So, we guaranteed purses and that made a big difference.”
So, how did the Decatur event come about?
“When we were young as a Tour, I used to ask players if they thought their hometown would host a tournament. Penny Hammel told me to try Decatur because her dad worked for the Park District.”
Hammel served as the connection between Trainor and Decatur. Thirty years later, this tournament is still going strong.
“Women’s golf has grown and being part of that growth is great. The players are as strong as ever, as qualified as ever. Just being part of this whole evolution is something to be proud of.”
RANTOUL NATIVE SPEAKS: Katie Jean, a rookie on the Epson Tour, played her college golf at Illinois State University and grew up in Rantoul, Illinois. She will play in her fourth Epson Tour event this week in Decatur.
“I was in Battle Creek last week and when the field got released I was the 13th alternate for this event,” said Jean. “By the time Friday rolled around I was in the field and knew I would be staying home for another week which is kind of nice.”
Jean will be commuting back and forth from Rantoul to Hickory Point Golf Course. It’s the first time since last Christmas that Jean is able to spend a significant time at home.
“It’s nice, I got to see some friends this weekend and I’m going to have some people come out Saturday to be in the gallery. It’s nice to have some home-cooked meals, I told my mom that last week I was sick of eating out at restaurants.”
The simple things have Jean excited to be in her home state.
“It’s great to be able to sleep in my own bed and relax when I get off the course.”
Jean’s father, Rick, will be her caddie this week.
“He knows my swing really well and he’s a pretty good influence,” said the 23-year-old. “He can usually get things straightened out in the middle of a round without having any issues so it’s always nice to have him on my bag; it’s a comfortable situation.”
2001 WINNER ANGELA BUZMINSKI HAS BEEN FEATURED: Epson Tour golfer Angela Buzminski has been busy this week in Decatur. Buzminski won in Decatur in 2001 and has been a staple at this event over the years.
She spoke at the 30th Anniversary “Par-Tee” on Tuesday and has done several interviews with the local media.
Buzminski, who has played on the Epson Tour for parts of 17 years, spoke highly of the talent currently on Tour.
“We have a couple players that have been bouncing back between the LPGA and the Epson Tour and they have said that they are surprised at how good everyone is out here,” said Buzminski. “It (talent pool) just gets deeper every year.”
Buzminski also spoke of the great camaraderie that exists amongst players on the Epson Tour.
“There is a lot more support between players out here versus the LPGA Tour. You can see when someone wins out here everyone comes out and supports them.”
Buzminski, who has won five times on the Epson Tour, made it clear that she desires to win again and continue to be around golf even when she’s done playing.
“I love golf, I truly love it and even when I’m done playing I can’t imagine not doing something in golf.”
The Oshawa, Ontario native has played on the Epson Tour since 1995.
“It’s (the Epson Tour) the best it has ever been. I would say in the past two years with Mike Nichols coming on board and Heather Daly-Donofrio from the LPGA, I think they get the right people to come on the road and work. The Tour is only going to get better”
MIN SEO KWAK SELECTS AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: On June 8 in Battle Creek, Michigan, Min Seo Kwak accomplished a lot. For starters, she shot a 7-under 65 to win the inaugural FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship.
By virtue of her second win this season, Kwak won the Epson Swift Award, given annually to the player that occupies the number one spot on the money list at the midway point of the season.
Each year, Epson makes a $1,000 donation in the players name to the charity of her choice. On Wednesday, Kwak selected the American Cancer Society. Part of her decision to select the American Cancer Society was the fact that her first win this year came at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial, whose principal beneficiary was the American Cancer Society.
“I’m excited to have won the Epson Swift Award; it was a nice bonus for me,” said Kwak. “It has always been a goal of mine to help people, and I’m thankful that Epson is making a $1,000 donation on my behalf to the American Cancer Society.”
A VISIT TO THE GIRL SCOUTS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS: Tonya McCall and Krisiti O’Brien, both former girl scouts, paid a visit to the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois in Decatur on Wednesday to speak to the scouts about goal setting.
They also participated in a short question and answer session and helped the girl scouts make play dough.
“We both were Girl Scouts when we were little, and we know how important it is to have people to look up to,” McCall said. “This is a way for us to give back; it’s worth it if even one of these girls is inspired to do what they want to do.”
The program manager of the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, Robin Howard, saw great value in the visit from the professionals.
“A lot of girls thought golf was just a man’s game and didn’t know much about female athletes,” Howard said. “They showed them that hard work and striving to accomplish goals can get them where they need to go to follow their dreams.”
Media Contact
Bret Lasky, Coordinator, Epson Tour Media, bret.lasky@lpga.com, 386-679-1292
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