PINEHURST, NC — A total of 84 players will take on the challenge that Pinehurst No. 9 presents starting Wednesday with the first round of the inaugural Carolina Golf Classic presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Three featured groups highlight the competition for the ninth event of the 2020 Epson Tour season.
Anna Redding, Ana Belac, Laetitia Beck (No. 1 tee, 9:58 a.m.)
Currently No. 4 in the Volvik Race for the Card, Anna Redding (Concord, North Carolina) enters the ninth week on the road with $35,345. In her rookie season so far, Redding has claimed three top-five finishes including second place at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. In 2015, she was a semifinalist at the North and South Women’s Amateur Golf Championship at Pinehurst.
Meanwhile, Ana Belac (Portoroz, Slovenia) is back in North Carolina, what she considers her “home-away-from-home.” Competing for the Blue Devils at Duke University, Belac was a two-time All-ACC selection and led her team to the 2019 NCAA Championship team title. Last Spring, she competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Belac has three top-10 finishes this year and has a season-best T5 finish at the IOA Golf Classic presented by HomeValue.com.
Rounding out the group is Laetitia Beck (Caesarea, Israel). The four-time All-ACC selection Blue Devil finds herself returning to her collegiate stomping grounds in North Carolina as well. Beck is the first player to compete on the LPGA Tour from Israel and represented her native country in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Beck has a season-best of T3 finish at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa.
Allison Emrey, Lauren Coughlin, Laura Wearn (No. 10 tee, 9:36 a.m.)
Wake Forest University alumna Allison Emrey (Charlotte, North Carolina) gets things started for this featured group. In 2009, Emrey won the North & South Junior Championship at Pinehurst. The North Carolina native collected eight top-10 results and was named to the 2015 All-ACC Team while competing for the Demon Deacons.
Lauren Coughlin (Charlottesville, Virginia) is coming off her career-best finish on the LPGA Tour last week as she tied for 34th at the Drive On Championship – Reynolds Lake Oconee. With three top-10 finishes this year on the Epson Tour, Coughlin sits at No. 20 in the Volvik Race for the Card. This week DJ Piehowski, of No Laying Up (one of Coughlin’s Sponsor), is stepping in to caddie at Pinehurst No. 9.
Finally, Laura Wearn (Charlotte, North Carolina) has one win in the 2020 season and tied for 23rd at the Epson Classic. The Furman University alumna was a two-time All-Southern Conference performer for the Paladins. The three-time Epson Tour Champion claimed her first title in 2016 at the Gosling’s Dark n’ Stormy Classic.
Cheyenne Woods, Brittany Marchand, Lori Beth Adams (No. 1 tee, 10:31 a.m.)
After starting the year off with a hole-in-one at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic Cheyenne Woods (Phoenix, Arizona) has not missed a cut on the Epson Tour. The Wake Forest University alumna has a season-best T6 finish at the Four Winds Invitational. In 2011, Woods won the ACC Championship with the Demon Deacons. Claiming two professional wins in her career, one on each the Ladies European Tour (LET) and Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour (ALPG Tour), Woods is looking to find her first win on the “Road to the LPGA.”
A member of Team Canada, Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ontario) joins the final featured group. While competing for NC State, Marchand was named the 2014 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the year, three-time All-ACC selection and 2014 NGCA All-American. This member of the Wolfpack started the year strong with a T8 finish at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.
Lori Beth Adams (Burlington, North Carolina) is a University of North Carolina Wilmington alumna. The North Carolina native was runner-up at the 2014 North & South Amateur contested on Pinehurst Resort’s No. 6 and No. 8. Adams was a two-time All-CAA first-team member and the 2015 Carolina Golf Association’s Player of the Year.
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