Notable Friday Pairings – Round 1
The 2014 Epson Tour begins on Friday, February 21 with the first round of the Visit Mesa Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club. The 120-player field will compete in a three-day tournament.
The field is highlighted by the defending champ Jaclyn Sweeney, who finished No. 10 in the Volvik Race for the Card and Cheyenne Woods, who recently won the Volvik RACV Australian Ladies Masters.
This week’s event is the first in the expanded schedule of events for the 2014 season. Players will compete in 20 events for a total purse exceeding $2 million for the first time in tour history.
Take a look at some of the notable pairings for Friday’s round one. A full listing of pairings>>
1st Group – 7:30 AM (Casey Grice, Dawn Shockley, Kendall Wright)
- Grice is a Epson Tour rookie who played college golf at the University of North Carolina
- Shockley turned professional in 2010 and finished T31 at last year’s Epson Tour Championship
- Wright turned professional in 2012 and played college golf at the University of Georgia
2nd Group – 7:30 AM (Brittany Benvenuto, Anna Jang, Madison Pressel)
- Benvenuto played college golf at nearby University of Arizona
- Jang is in her second year as a professional and played at Princeton
- Pressel is the younger sister of Morgan Pressel, who is currently No. 11 on the LPGA Tour money list
4th Group – 7:40 AM (Stephanie Connelly, Ashley Tait, Mary Narzisi)
- Connelly has four career top 10 finishes
- Tait played in 15 events last year on the Epson Tour
- Narzisi is on the cast of Big Break Florida
9th Group – 8:10 AM (Kim Kaufman, Ginger Howard, Megan McChrystal)
- Kaufman won the Island Resort Championship and finished just outside the top 10 on last year’s Epson Tour money list (No. 12)
- Howard had three top 10 finishes in 2013
- McChrystal won the Epson Tour Championship in 2013
10th Group – 8:10 AM (Sara Brown, Lindy Duncan, Rachel Connor)
- Brown, a former Big Breaker, played and currently coaches college golf at Univ. of Arizona
- Duncan made all seven cuts in the events she competed last season including an 8th place finish at the Credit Union Classic
- Connor has two career top 10 finishes since turning professional in 2010
12th Group – 8:20 AM (Laura Kueny, Kendall Dye, Garrett Phillips)
- Kueny won the Epson Classic and finished No. 14 on the Epson Tour money list last season
- Dye finished No. 19 on the Epson Tour money list in 2013
- Phillips is in her second year as a professional
13th Group – 8:30 AM (Madeleine Sheils, Marissa Steen, Stefanie Kenoyer)
- Sheils had one top 10 in her rookie season on the Epson Tour in 2013
- Steen had four top 10 finishes on the Epson Tour in 2013 and finished No. 16 on money list
- Kenoyer, who appeared on Big Break Mexico, had three top 10 finishes on tour last year
14th Group – 8:30 AM (Brittany Altomare, Hannah Yun, Jackie Stoelting)
- Altomare finshed seventh at the Decatur-Forsyth Classic in 2013
- Yun won the Volvik Championship in 2013 and had seven top ten finishes
- Stoelting, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, is on the cast of Golf Channel’s Big Break Florida
15th Group – 8:40 AM (Louise Friberg, Jaclyn Sweeney, Cheyenne Woods)
- Friberg was a member of the LPGA Tour from 2008-2011
- Sweeney, the defending Visit Mesa Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club champ, finished No. 10 on the Epson Tour money list last year
- Woods, the niece of PGA star Tiger, won the Volvik RACV Australian Ladies Masters on Feb. 9
22nd Group – 11:50 AM (Min Lee, Sadena Parks, Kelsey Vines)
- Blackwelder, a former Big Breaker, had four top 10 finishes on the Epson Tour in 2013
- Chang had one top 10 finish on tour last year
- Rah, who has played on the LPGA Tour, finished No. 11 on the money list in 2010
26th Group – 12:10 PM (Joanna Coe, Nicole Jeray, Jessy Tang)
- Coe had one top 10 last year on the Epson Tour
- Jeray made eight cuts on the LPGA Tour last year including a T38 finish at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer
- Tang had one top ten finish on the Epson Tour in 2013
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