Garden City Charity Classic
Buffalo Dunes Golf Course
Garden City, Kansas
September 10, 2014
Pre-Tournament News & Notes
Country Themed Pairings Party
Garden City Native Shaddix Ready
Player To Watch: Lindy Duncan
Blair O'Neal Appearance at Old Chicago
Notable Pairings
11 Big Break Invitational Players in Field
Last Week's Winner Talks
New Big Break Contestant in Field
GARDEN CITY, Kan., September 10, 2014 – The Epson Tour, the Road to the LPGA, is ready to tee off at the inaugural Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course. First-round play begins on Thursday, September 11 at 7:45 a.m.
This is the third Thursday start of the season. The only other tournaments that started on Thursday were the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic (Greenwood, S.C.) and the Epson Classic (Charlotte, N.C.).
The Garden City Charity Classic will feature the top up-and-coming professionals in the world vying for their share of the $100,000 purse. The winner will receive $15,000 while second place earns $9,392.
COUNTRY THEMED PAIRINGS PARTY: Crazy House, the Boot King of Kansas, hosted the pairings party on Tuesday night.
Sponsors, tournament organizers, Tour staff members and players joined together for food, fun and a live auction to select the pro-am teams.
The dress code was country. Jean Chua, Molly Aronsson and Kendall Wright pictured at the party (right).
GARDEN CITY NATIVE SHADDIX READY: Abbi Shaddix, the 18-year-old sponsor exemption into the field, is eager for the experience of playing amongst professional golfers.
“It’s amazing to get to play in this event,” said Shaddix, before her pro-am on Wednesday. “The experience I am going to get from this event is something that people don’t usually get, especially when you’re in college.”
This week will be extra special for Shaddix since she will be playing in front of her supportive community.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity, especially since it is in my hometown. I’m looking forward to being around my friends and family.”
So, how does she expect to perform?
“Since it is my home course, I have a comfort level but it is a very tough course. The wind and the weather will be a factor.”
PLAYER TO WATCH: LINDY DUNCAN: Lindy Duncan has finished inside the top-10 in three of the last four events. Further, she has finished in the top-30 in five straight tournaments and should contend again this week.
Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic – T8
Eagle Classic – T27
New England Charity Classic – T3
Credit Union Classic – 2
Duncan is now 13th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with $33,903 in earnings.
The former Duke golfer has been even-par or better in eight consecutive rounds dating back to the New England Charity Classic.
She has just one over-par round in the last five tournaments.
BLAIR O’NEAL APPEARANCE AT OLD CHICAGO: Epson Tour professional Blair O’Neal will make a special appearance at Old Chicago (1010 Stone Creek Drive) on Thursday from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Golf fans are encouraged to come to Old Chicago for an opportunity to meet O’Neal. She will be available for autographs and pictures.
NOTABLE PAIRINGS: Here is a look at some of the notable first-round pairings.
7:55 a.m., tenth tee: Big Break Florida contestant Lindsay Aho (Brush Prairie, Wash.) makes her Epson Tour debut paired with Taylor Collins (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Katie Mundy (Southhampton, England).
8:15 a.m., first tee: The winner of the AJGA Kansas Junior held at Buffalo Dunes, Courtney Dow, will be paired with Carleigh Silvers (Greeley, Colo.) and Ellen-Davies-Graham (Brisbane, Australia).
8:25 a.m., first tee: Volvik Race for the Card No. 9 Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.), who finished in a tie for second last week, will be paired with Casey Grice (College Station, Tx.) and Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.).
8:55 a.m., first tee: Volvik Race the Card No. 10, Sara-Maude Juneau (Quebec, Canada), who finished in a tie for second last week, will be paired with Lindy Duncan (Plantation, Fla.), who is No. 13 on the money list, and Dottie Ardina (Laguna, Philippines).
12:45 p.m., first tee: Garden City native Abbi Shaddix will play with Marta Silva (Santiago de Compostela, Spain), who ranks 27th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and Mia Piccio (Bacolod City, Philippines).
12:55 p.m., first tee: The winner of last week’s Prairie Band Casino & Resort Charity Classic, Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Jersey, Channel Islands UK), will be paired with Volvik Race for the Card No. 7 Kendall Dye (Edmond, Okla.) and Big Break Florida contestant Mary Narzisi (Omaha, Neb.).
1:15 p.m., first tee: Volvik Race for the Card No. 6 Jackie Stoelting, who won Big Break Florida, will be grouped with Madison Pressel (Boca Raton, Fla.), No. 20 on the money list and Veronica Felibert (Caracas, Venezuela), who is No. 11 on the money list.
1:15 p.m., tenth tee: Two-time winner Sadena Parks (Scottsdale, Ariz.) will be paired with Lee Lopez, who is No. 13 on the money list and Nicole Vandermade (Brantford, Ontario), who won the Four Winds Invitational earlier in the year.
11 BIG BREAK INVITATIONAL PLAYERS IN FIELD: There are 11 Epson Tour players in the field this week in Garden City that will compete in the first ever Big Break Invitational, which will air on Golf Channel from September 30 through October 3. The event will be held at Great Waters Course at Reynolds Plantation.
Forty total players, men and women, will be competing over four-rounds for a $300,000 total purse with the winner taking home $100,000.
The 11 in the field this week are Mallory Blackwelder, Maiya Tanaka, Taylor Collins, Blair O’Neal, Mary Narzisi, Emily Talley, Jackie Stoelting, Selanee Henderson, Stefanie Kenoyer, Sara Brown and Sadena Parks.
LAST WEEK’S WINNER TALKS: This morning, Olivia Jordan-Higgins, did a Skype interview with her hometown TV station, ITV Channel.
Jordan-Higgins moved to No. 18 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list after her impressive 12-under performance in Mayetta.
She will need another top finish in at least one of the final two events in order to get inside the top-10.
The last player to win back-to-back events was Ester Choe, who won the Sara Bay Classic and the Riviera Nayarit Classic during consecutive weeks in 2012.
NEW BIG BREAK CONTESTANT IN FIELD: Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.) is on the new Big Break Myrtle Beach, which premieres October 7 on Golf Channel.
The 25-year-old is playing in her second career Epson Tour event this week in Garden City. Detlefsen played college golf at the University of Central Florida.
Earlier in the week, she participated in the junior clinic at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course.
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