MILTON, Ga. — A total of 144 players will take on the challenge that Atlanta National Golf Club presents starting Thursday with the first round of the second annual IOA Invitational.
Three featured groups highlight the competition for the sixth event of the 2019 Epson Tour season.
Jean Reynolds, Harang Lee, Jillian Hollis (No. 1 tee, 1:04 p.m.)
This trio features three University of Georgia alumna and Jean Reynolds (Newnan, Georgia) leads the pack. Back in her home state, she has made five cuts in five starts including a season-best tied for fourth showing at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. A two-time Epson Tour champion, Reynolds spent one year on the women’s golf team during her time in Athens.
Harang Lee (Bilbao, Spain) was a two-time All-SEC First Team selection for the Bulldogs and two-time Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American, including a Second Team performer as a junior in 2016. Off to a blistering start in her third season on the Epson Tour, she has made four straight cuts and earned a season-best result of tied for seventh at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout.
Finally, Jillian Hollis (Rocky River, Ohio) is the youngest of the Bulldogs and set to walk at graduation on Friday. She stepped into the winner’s circle for the first time in her professional career earlier this season in Beaumont, Calif. at the IOA Championship. Currently at No. 3 in the Volvik Race for the Card, Hollis has finished inside the top-25 in all four starts with two top-10 results.
Maria Parra, Cydney Clanton, Min Seo Kwak (No. 1 tee, 8:21 a.m.)
Last season, Maria Parra (Guadiaro, Spain) competed in 20 events as a rookie and made only seven cuts. So far through five starts in 2019, she has played the weekend each time and even found her way to a career-best result of tied for ninth at the Windsor Golf Classic. The 2015 European Ladies’ Amateur Championship winner, Parra competed on the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour in 2017.
Most recent Epson Tour champion Cydney Clanton (Concord, North Carolina) jumpstarts this featured group. In her first event of the year in El Dorado, Ark., the former Auburn University standout captured a $22,500 winner’s check to crack the Volvik Race for the Card top-10 at No. 6. She’ll attempt to become the first two-time winner on the Epson Tour this year when she tees it up at the IOA Invitational.
Rounding out the group is Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, Republic of Korea). She is coming off a solo third performance in the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout and has not missed a cut in five starts this season. She’ll look for a stronger showing at Atlanta National Golf Club this week after missing out on the weekend in 2018. Kwak sits at No. 10 in the Volvik Race for the Card entering week six.
Julieta Granada, Robynn Ree, Leona Maguire (No. 1 tee, 1:26 p.m.)
With $48,259 amassed through four starts, Julieta Granada (Asuncion, Paraguay) has season earnings already greater than what P.K. Kongkraphan (Khonkaen, Thailand) accumulated in 2013 when she finished No. 1 on the money list and was named Epson Tour Player of the Year. Granada reached her current total thanks to three runner-up finishes and a tied for 11th performance so far on the season.
Next piece to this featured group is Robynn Ree (Redondo Beach, California), a two-time All-Pac 12 First Team member for the University of Southern California. She finished tied for fifth at the Final Stage of the 2017 LPGA Qualifying Tournament to earn Priority List Category 12 status for the 2018 LPGA Tour season. This year on the Epson Tour, Ree is searching for a third straight top-10 in her fourth start.
The Epson Tour sophomore campaign for Leona Maguire (County Cavan, Ireland) has been phenomenal, securing three consecutive top-five performances and her first professional title at the Windsor Golf Classic. An alumna of Duke University, she competed on the Ladies European Tour the past couple weeks to keep her game sharp and returns stateside after a tied for fifth showing in Dubai.
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