Garden City Charity Classic
Buffalo Dunes Golf Course
Garden City, Kansas
September 18, 2015
First-Round News & Notes
GARDEN CITY, Kan., September 18, 2015 - Four years ago, Vicky Hurst (Melbourne, Florida) was playing on the 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup team at Killeen Castle in Ireland. Her road to recovery and a return to full status on the LPGA Tour took another step in the right direction on Friday as she carded a 2-under 70 to stand in a four-way tie for the lead at the Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes. Jennifer Yang (Busan, South Korea), Carly Werwie (Kenosha, Wisconsin) and Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Maryland) share the lead with Hurst.
Wind was a major factor on Friday as gusts reached as high as 40 miles an hour several times throughout the day. Players dealt with sustained winds of 20-25 miles an hour for the majority of the day.
Connelly and Werwie were the only players that finished under par in the morning wave. A total of four
players including Hurst and Yang finished under par from the afternoon wave.
Hurst, 25, will likely be assured of earning one of the ten available LPGA Tour cards at the end of the year if she wins this week. She currently ranks 14th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and would jump inside the top five with three events remaining.
“I just tried to stay true to my swing and my routine and not freak out about the wind,” said Hurst. “I tried to use the wind to my advantage and stay patient.”
Hurst had a steady first nine when the wind was at its strongest making eight pars and one birdie on the 16th hole. She made four birdies and three bogeys on her back nine to close at 2-under. Hurst twice ran her total to 3-under during a four-hole stretch when she made three birdies. She closed with a three-putt bogey on nine after a stellar approach from right of the fairway.
“My tee shots on my front nine were very good and my putting was solid,” said Hurst. “I started out solid which was key on a windy day.”
Hurst has been on a tear since finishing solo second at the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic in mid-July. She has finished inside the top 15 in six straight events, which includes her win at the W.B. Mason Championship in Brockton.
Hurst won four times on the Epson Tour in 2008 and led the money list to graduate to the LPGA. She played full-time on the LPGA Tour from 2009-2014 and netted nine top 10 finishes and nearly $1.5 million in earnings. She was slowed by a wrist injury in 2014 and also has undergone swing changes over the last year and a half.
“My swing has definitely gotten a lot better,” said Hurst. “My goal isn’t to get back to the old Vicky Hurst, I just want to be the best I can be now. The swing feels better each and everyday and the scores are coming.”
ENGAGED, HAPPY AND USES CREAMER AS MOTIVATION: Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) had a breakthrough round in some of the toughest conditions all year. She posted a 2-under 70 to share the 18-hole lead at the Garden City Charity Classic.
Connelly, 28, hit 13 of 14 fairways and stayed out of trouble. She made birdie on the third and fifth holes and her lone bogey on the front nine came on the tough ninth hole. Connelly stumbled early on the back nine with a bogey on 12 before finishing strong with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes.
“I really just tried to stick with my gameplan, especially when the wind really started to pick up,” said
Connelly, who now resides in Jacksonville, Florida. “There are some dog leg holes where some of the bigger hitters can think about cutting corners, but I don’t really have that option so I just wanted to place the ball and then pick the right club into greens. I hit the ball solid so I was able to get it on my target line.”
Connelly also had the putter working as she needed just 28 putts on the day.
The former Ohio State and Central Florida golfer, who ranks 124 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, admits it has been a tough year. She has made just six cuts in 14 starts and her best result is a tie for 39th.
“I haven’t had the best year and I’ve felt like I have been playing well, but I haven’t seen the results so it has been tough,” admitted Connelly. “I’m trying to be patient, but sometimes I overthink a lot.”
One recent event that has cleared her mind was when her boyfriend, Adam, proposed.
“I’m really excited, it has given me something to think about and do off the golf course,” said Connelly. “The engagement has given me a distraction. Now, I get my work done at the golf course and then go have fun off the course and think about other things like my wedding.”
Before her round, Connelly got the chance to watch her friend since junior golf, Paula Creamer, team with Morgan Pressel to polish off the first point for the U.S. in the Solheim Cup.
“We’ve been friends since junior golf, IMG Academy and AJGA,” said Connelly, who qualified for the U.S. Open earlier this year and played some practice rounds with Creamer. “I haven’t had a chance to play
practice rounds and do dinners with her as a professional so that was a lot of fun.”
“I was really excited that she got picked for Solheim and she did a great job this morning,” continued
Connelly. “I woke up and saw her and Morgan got the win and was like I know she has been struggling, but she did well so I was like now it is time for me to go out there and do my thing.”
Connelly has kept busy all week in Garden City. On Tuesday, she spoke at the Garden City Chamber of Commerce breakfast and on Thursday she was an honorary captain at the Garden City Community College football game.
“It’s fun seeing the same people at the game out at the course,” said Connelly. “I know President Swender said he was going to come watch this weekend. It’s a lot of fun to explore the towns we go to because we go a lot of different places and it is nice to check some things off your bucket list.”
CARLY WERWIE HAS THE PUTTER WORKING: Carly Werwie (Kenosha, Wisconsin) needed just 23 putts to complete a 2-under 70. She said the wind actually helps her slow down.
“I feel like it helps because I have to think about my takeaway and it has to be a little slower,” said Werwie. “I have to pick my targets and let the wind do its thing. When it is calm, sometimes I try to force shots. When it’s breezy, swing easy.”
Werwie, who played college golf at Wisconsin, made birdie on two of her final three holes to finish strong.
Simliar to Connelly, Werwie has felt close, but hasn’t seen the results. She has missed five of the last six cuts and ranks No. 128 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.
“I have a new putting coach that I started with towards the end of June and that has helped,” said the 26-year-old Werwie. “I’m also working with a new sports psychology guy so adding those two components has been good. It’s definitely a game of inches and I need to just keep making putts.”
OF NOTE: Jennifer Yang’s best finish in five career Epson Tour events is a tie for 11th at the Tullymore Classic. She is at the top of the leaderboard for the first time as a rookie. Yang was All-Pac 12 First Team in 2015 at the University of Washington. She posted 15 career top 10 finishes...Only 17 of the 132 players in the field shot even par or better on one of the toughest scoring days of the season.
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