FORSYTH, Ill., August 8, 2016 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, returns to action with the 32nd annual Decatur-Forsyth Classic Presented by Tate & Lyle and Decatur Park District at Hickory Point Golf Course from August 12-14. The Decatur-Forsyth Classic begins a stretch of eight tournaments in ten weeks to conclude the 2016 season. The tournament was first played at Hickory Point Golf Course in 1985.
The top 144 aspiring LPGA Tour stars from the United States and 26 countries around the globe will compete for an increased purse of $130,000. The winner will earn $19,500 and more importantly move up the Volvik Race for the Card money list. With just eight events left in the season, each dollar earned is significant. The top ten on the final money list after the Epson Tour Championship from October 13-16 will earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2017 season.
First-round play begins on Friday, August 12 at 7:30 a.m. from the first and tenth tees. The final-round is Sunday, August 14 and play will begin from the first tee only in groups of two. The estimated finishing time is 3:45 p.m. and the trophy ceremony will follow on the 18th green. There will be a cut to the low 60 and ties following second-round play on Saturday.
The sprint to finish inside the top 10 will be fascinating to watch over the final two months. Currently, No. 10 Augusta James (Bath, Ontario) has just a $1,349 cushion over No. 11 Wichanee Meechai (Thailand). The top three on the money list - Madelene Sagstrom (Enkoping, Sweden, $123,678), Ally McDonald (Fulton, Mississippi, $72,574), Jackie Stoelting (Vero Beach, Florida, $71,744) - have really separated themselves. Stoelting is $33,172 in front of No. 11 on the money list. However, the final stretch of the season always produces incredible drama and since 2006 someone from outside the top 10 has moved inside the top 10 at the final event of the year.
The $130,000 total tournament purse and $19,500 payout for the winner are the highest in the history of the Decatur-Forsyth Classic. The purse is up from $115,000 in 2015 and $100,000 in 2014. The previous highest winner’s payout was from 2009-2011 when the winner earned $17,500.
“As the longest running tournament on the Epson Tour, we are pleased to be able to increase the purse to $130,000 as we continue to find ways in our 32nd year to make the Decatur-Forsyth Classic match the increased level of talent coming to the area,” said Cindy-Deadrick Wolfer, tournament director. “We know the communities of Decatur and Forsyth will be out in full force as the professionals arrive and compete over the weekend to try and inch closer to their LPGA dreams.”
The field is very strong this year as nine of the top 10 on the current Volvik Race for the Card money list are scheduled to compete. The only player of the ten not in the field is No. 1 Madelene Sagstrom, who has not competed since the Island Resort Championship (June 24-26). In fact, 18 of the top 20 on the money list are in the field.
There are also 26 LPGA Tour members.
The three most famous winners in the history of the Decatur-Forsyth Classic are Lorena Ochoa (2002), who was the No. 1 female golfer in the world from 2007-2010 and won 27 times on the LPGA, Vicky Hurst (2008), who played on the 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup team and Jennifer Song (2010), who is currently No. 66 on the Race to the CME Globe on the LPGA. Song famously donated a third of her winnings in 2010 to three local children’s organizations. The community now has a Jennifer Song Spirit Award, given to a Macon County resident who exhibits enthusiasm, integrity and perseverance beyond the ordinary to help children in the community develop their dreams through selfless giving — be it talent, money or time.
Winners of the event have gone onto win 34 LPGA Tour events and have finished in the top-10 in 259 LPGA Tour events. Tammie Green, who won the first two in 1985 and 1986, won seven LPGA events including a win at the du Maurier Classic in 1989, an LPGA major at the time.
THREE PAST CHAMPIONS IN THE FIELD: The Decatur-Forsyth Classic has always been a special home for past champions with the longevity of the tournament and the support from the community. There are three past champions in the field this week - Madison Pressel (2014), Sue Kim (2013) and Nicole Jeray (1998, 2000). In 2014, Madison Pressel captured her first career win on the first playoff hole by sinking a 20-footer from the top of the green. Madison is the younger sister of LPGA star Morgan Pressel. In 2013, Sue Kim captured her first career win in Decatur. She has won once more since and currently ranks 46th on the money list. Jeray, who is one of only two multiple time winners of the Decatur-Forsyth Classic, has been playing on Tour since 1993. She has 32 career top 10 finishes on the Epson Tour and three victories.
STRONG ILLINOIS CONNECTIONS IN THE FIELD: There are three players in the field this week that have strong ties to the state of Illinois. Ember Schuldt is from Sterling, Illinois and played her college golf at the University of Illinois. She was a Second Team All-Big Ten performer as a senior at Illinois in 2013-14. She became the first three-time NCAA Regionals participant in school history. Prior to Illinois, she was the 2008 Illinois Junior Golf Association (IJGA) Junior Girls Champion and finished runner-up in 2009. Schuldt was also a four-time IHSA (Illinois High School Association) State Qualifier, placing 3rd as a junior and senior.
Schuldt has played in seven events this year on the Epson Tour and has made three cuts including each of her last two starts.
Samantha Richdale, who ranks 17th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list and won the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic earlier this year, played college golf at Illinois State. Richdale was the Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week five times while at ISU and was named the Illinois State Female Athlete of the Year in 2005-06.
Samantha Postillion of Burr Ridge is the third strong tie to the area. Postillion graduated from the University of Illinois following her redshirt-senior campaign in 2014. She left Illinois with the third lowest career scoring average in school history (76.69). Prior to Illinois, she finished seventh at the 2008 IHSA state championship after firing rounds of 77-74. Postillion has made five starts this year on the Epson Tour. She is playing this week on a sponsors exemption.
TOP COLLEGE PLAYER DEBUTS THIS WEEK: Mariah Stackhouse, a four-time All-American at Stanford, is making her Epson Tour debut this week at the Decatur-Forsyth Classic. She will play in four other Epson Tour events on exemptions.
Stackhouse, who helped the Cardinal win the 2015 NCAA national championship, made her professional debut in June on the LPGA at the Cambia Portland Classic and made the cut.
Stackhouse picked up national headlines when she signed a global brand ambassador deal with KPMG, whose other two golfers are Phil Mickelson and Stacy Lewis.
Stackhouse became the youngest African-American to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2011 as a 17-year-old. She also became the first African-American to play on the U.S. Curtis Cup team in 2014.
Stackhouse appeared on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive last week to discuss her upcoming schedule.
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