New England Charity Classic presented by PTC
Stonebridge Country Club
Goffstown, New Hampshire
August 4, 2014
Storylines

GOFFSTOWN, NEW HAMPSHIRE – The Epson Tour, the Road to the LPGA, continues the northeast swing with the New England Charity Classic presented by PTC from Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10 at Stonebridge Country Club.

The top 144 up-and-coming women’s golfers in the world will be competing for their share of the $100,000 total purse. The winner will earn $15,000 and take a significant step towards an LPGA Tour card.

The New England Charity Classic is the 16th event of the season. There are five events remaining and $550,000 still available as players chase a top-10 spot on the Volvik Race for Card money list.

The top-10 players on the money list at the end of the year receive their full-time exempt LPGA Tour cards for the 2015 season.

The Epson Tour has grown from 15 to 20 events since 2013 and the total purse has increased to $2.25 million, the largest in Tour history.

The Epson Tour has been coming to New Hampshire since 2004. The event was previously held at Beaver Meadow Golf Course in Concord.

Last year, P.K. Kongkraphan won the Northeast Delta Dental International in a playoff over Michelle Shin. Kongkraphan finished first on the Volvik Race for the Card money list last year and is playing full-time on the LPGA Tour this year.

There are six players in this week’s field with conditional LPGA Tour status. The six are Brittany Altomare, Lindy Duncan, Jamie Hullett, Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Marta Silva and Jackie Stoelting.

There will be players representing 25 different nations this week at the New England Charity Classic including the United States. There are 51 international players in the field including players from Kazakhstan (Jamila Jaxaliyeva) and Latvia (Krista Puisite) and 93 players representing the United States.

9 OF TOP-10 IN FIELD: The New England Charity Classic features nine of the top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The only player not in the field this week is number three, Cindy Feng. Following the Credit Union Classic, one through eight on the money remained the same. Mallory Blackwelder, now ninth on the money list, traded spots with Min Lee, who is now tenth.

The top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list account for a combined nine wins and 47 top-10 finishes.

Seven of the top-10 have on a win on their resume this year. The three that don’t are No. 7 Jackie Stoelting, No. 8 Lee Lopez and No. 10 Min Lee. All three have a second place finish.

BIG MONEY AT TOP OF TOUR: As mentioned above, players are competing this year for the largest total purse in Tour history. The top three on the money list (Min Seo Kwak - $64,650, Marissa Steen - $56,912 and Cindy Feng - $50,392) have all earned north of $50,000.

For comparison sake, no player earned over $50,000 during the entire 2013 season. The last time three players earned over $50,000 in a single-season was 2011 when Kathleen Ekey, Lisa Ferrero, Mo Martin and Sydnee Michaels each totaled over $50,000 in earnings.

The last time more than one player earned over $60,000 was 2010.

EXTREMELY TIGHT RIGHT OUTSIDE TOP-10: The race to get inside the top-10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list is tightening by the event. Below is a look at spots ten through 14 on the money list.

10. Min Lee $29,522
11. Veronica Felibert $27,941
12. Brittany Altomare $27,547
13. Emily Talley $27,504
14. Nicole Vandermade $27,394
No. 10 and No. 14 are separated by just $2,128.

MASSACHUSETTS OPEN CHAMP ALTOMARE IN FIELD: Brittany Altomare, from Schrewsbury, Mass., has five top-10 finishes on Tour this year and presently ranks 12th on the money list.

Altomare recently won the 24th annual Massachusetts Women’s Open at Meadow Brook Golf Club. It was the second time Altomare has won the Mass. Open.

The 23-year-old played college golf at Virginia and was named the 2013 ACC Player of the Year.

VERMONT NATIVE ARONSSON IN FIELD: Molly Aronsson has a win this season at the Island Resort Championship and ranks 21st on the Volvik Race for the Card money list.

She is from Shelburne, Vermont, which is just 160 miles northwest of Goffstown. Aronsson is the only player in the field from Vermont.

The win earlier this year in Harris, Michigan was her first as a professional.

Aronsson did not play last week to attend her sisters wedding.

BRITISH OPEN CHAMP MO MARTIN WON HERE: Mo Martin shocked the golf world in July when she won the RICOH Women’s British Open.

Martin won the 2008 USI Championship in Concord, New Hampshire.

Martin played for six years on the Epson Tour (2006-2011) and won three times.

The win at Royal Birkdale Golf Club was Martin’s first win on the LPGA Tour.

PAST BIG BREAKERS HAVING BIG SUCCESS: Over the years, a long list of Epson Tour players have participated in the Golf Channel reality show, Big Break. Success on Big Break has not always translated to success on Tour. However, this year several past Big Break contestants are in position to earn an LPGA Tour card. All of the names mentioned below will be in Goffstown for the New England Charity Classic.

Sadena Parks, who was a contestant on Big Break Florida, ranks sixth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Jakie Stoelting, the winner of Big Break Florida, ranks seventh on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Mallory Blackwelder, who appeared on Big Break Ireland and Big Break NFL Puerto Rico, ranks ninth on the money list. Emily Talley, who won Big Break NFL in 2013, is 13th on the money list.

In addition to Stoelting and Parks, Kristi O’Brien and Mary Narzisi from Big Break Florida are also in the field.

STRING OF FIRST TIME WINNERS CONTINUES: There have been 11 first-time winners on the Epson Tour this year including Veronica Felibert, who won last week at the Credit Union
Classic in Syracuse, New York.

Felibert’s win moved her from 42nd to 11th on the money list.

The last five winners have all enjoyed their maiden voyage into the winner’s circle. Madison Pressel won the Decatur-Forsyth Classic, Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational, Molly Aronsson won the Island Resort Championship, Sadena Parks won the SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills and Felibert won the Credit Union Classic.

THAILAND’S NUMA GULYANAMITTA COMING ON: Numa Gulyanamitta, who played college golf at Purdue, has performed well over the last two weeks. She finished in a tie for fifth at the SEFCU Championship at Capital Hills in Albany and a tie for third in Syracuse.

She has added $9,535 to her earnings over the last two events. She has improved her standing on the Volvik Race for the Card money list from 99 to 45 in two weeks time.

SECOND PLACE GETS DUNCAN INSIDE TOP-20: Lindy Duncan shot a 5-under 66 in the finalround of the Credit Union Classic to finish in solo second at 9-under 204. She jumped from 28th to 16th on the money list.

Duncan has finished in the top-10 in two of the last four events. The second-year Tour player also finished in a tie for fifth at the Four Winds Invitational.

CHEYENNE WOODS IN GOFFSTOWN: Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, will tee off in the New England Charity Classic in search of her first Epson Tour win.

Woods, 24, ranks 52nd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with one top-10 finish in Decatur.

Woods fired a 3-under 68 in the final-round of the Credit Union Classic last week to finish in a tie for 30th.

GOLF PROPRODIGIES IN FIELD: This week’s field includes 14-year-old Lauren Thibodeau from Hampstead, New Hampshire and 16-year-old Megan Khang from Rockhall, Massachusetts. Both received sponsor exemptions into the field.

Thibodeau has won four straight NWHGA Junior Girls Championship.

Khang has played in the U.S. Women’s Open twice and currently ranks 35th in the Rolex World Junior Rankings.

Thibodeau is entering the 9th grade in the fall while Khang will be a senior in high school.

Top Storylines from the New England Charity Classic presented by PTC

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