NORTH PORT, Fla. — Only 15 days remain until the inaugural SKYiGOLF Championship kicks off the Epson Tour season and 2019 “Road to the LPGA”, but this afternoon Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail welcomed players and tournament officials for media day.
Several local and national news outlets attended the press conference, luncheon and round of golf at the host course. Representatives for the first Epson Tour event of the year included SKYiGOLF Founder and CEO Rich Smith, SKYiGOLF Chief Championships Officer Ben Herring and Epson Tour Senior Director of Tournament Business Affairs Tim Kramer.
“When we decided to partner with the Epson Tour, we really wanted this event to feel like a major and kickstart the year for the young professional women that are trying to earn a LPGA Tour card,” Smith said. “Course conditions are fantastic, our community is behind the event. Being a great purse and 72 holes with a good Pro-Am event, it’s going to feel like a major and we want to have that impact as they advance their career.”
In addition, three-year Epson Tour veteran and Tampa native AJ Newell, as well as 14-year-old tournament sponsor exemption Alexa Pano made the trip to Sarasota County for the festivities.
“We’ve been waiting for this since the last tournament wrapped up last year,” said Newell, a University of Tennessee alumna. “I went home and there was a ton of things I was excited to work on. I’ve been doing that for a couple months, but after a couple weeks you start wondering about testing it in competition. It’ll be good to get on the course, under a little bit of pressure, see how the game reacts and be ready for the season.”
The SKYiGOLF Championship is set for March 7-10 with a 132-player field eager to compete for a purse of $250,000. Among the individuals ready to tee it up is Pano, one of two sponsor exemptions for the event.
“It’s a super good learning experience, especially getting to compare your game to their game,” said Pano, who played in her first Epson Tour tournament as a sponsor exemption at the 2018 Four Winds Invitational. “Even if it’s little things, you learn a lot. It has helped me through the end of my summer, into the fall and winter, has definitely made a difference. I’m excited to play another Epson Tour event."
PLAYER NOTES
AJ Newell
- Newell, 25, is from Tampa, Florida
- Named a Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Honorable Mention All-American as a senior at the University of Tennessee in 2015
- Finished T32 at the Final Stage of the 2017 LPGA Qualifying Tournament to earn Priority List Category 17 membership for the 2018 LPGA Tour season
- Total of 28 career starts on the Epson Tour entering 2019 with a career-best finish of T4 at the 2017 Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY
- Enjoys studying World War II history and visiting historical sites during her travels
Alexa Pano
- Currently sits at No. 11 in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rankings and is just 14 years old
- Born in Westborough, Massachusetts, but resides in Lake Worth, Florida
- Two-time winner of her respective division at the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship
- Runner-up at 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, member of the victorious East Team at the 2018 Wyndham Cup and helped lead Team USA to the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup title
- Competed in the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic and Four Winds Invitational last year, her first events on the LPGA Tour and Epson Tour
- Accepted invitation to participate in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur from April 3-6, 2019 with the final round to take place at Augusta National Golf Club
- Appeared in the Netflix documentary “The Short Game” as a 7-year-old
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