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Continued From Home page Kathleen Ekey Begins Professional Career at U.S. Women's Open
With the June session of summer classes just ending, Ekey departed for the Saucon Valley Golf Club on Sunday, July 5. Ekey got her first taste of the par-71 Old Course with nine holes today after Laib walks and scouts the course. The 6,740 yard Old Course was the first of three golf courses built at the Saucon Valley Country Club in 1922. It has hosted five USGA national championships including most recently the 2000 U.S. Senior Open. This year is the first U.S. Women's Open held at the course. On Tuesday, Ekey will play a full 18-hole round before dialing down with another nine holes on Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon will be used to practice and prepare mentally for the start of the tournament. "I'll do lots of putting and lots of chipping," Ekey said. "Leading up to the tournament I'm just trying to get a good feel for the greens. That's so important. That's one of the biggest things I learned last year - touch around the greens is imperative." Ekey's college coach agrees with her assessment that her play around the greens will go a long way toward her success. "To be successful in the Open, Kathleen is going to have to drive the ball in the fairway - you just can't play out of the rough in the U.S. Open - and she has to putt well," Alabama women's golf coach Mic Potter said. "That has been the key throughout her career - the way she putts is the way she plays. If she can have a good putting week, she can have a good tournament." Ekey's family support system will be out in full force once again, with her mother flying in on Monday and her father planning to drive in on Wednesday night. Ekey also hopes that her brother can make an appearance at some point though a scheduling conflict could cause him to miss out. "Byron arranged this Lynyrd Skynyrd concert with his friends," Ekey said. "Tough decision right? He doesn't want to back out on them though, but he'll probably show up at some point during the week. He may even bring some of them. They get really into the golf thing too." With another year of experience, her family there for support and a Hall of Fame caddy by her side, Ekey appears poised to improve on last year's U.S. Open finish and make a successful professional debut.
Nov. 5, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn junior Cydney Clanton has been named the Southeastern Conference Women's Golfer of the Week, league officials announced on Thursday. Clanton is the only golfer in the SEC to hold the honor this season as she has swept the first two. Clanton, a native of Concord, N.C., is currently ranked second in the nation by Golfweek and has led Auburn in all four of its tournaments this season, compiling a 70.10 stroke average. The Tigers are ranked No. 3 in the latest Golfweek standings and No. 4 in the Oct. 28 Golf World/NGCA Women's Top-25 Coaches' poll. Clanton wrapped up the fall season Oct. 23-25 by winning the individual title at the NCAA Fall Preview at the Country Club at Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. Playing in an 18-team field that included 17 ranked teams, nine of which were in the top 10, Clanton carded 70s in each of the three rounds to finish at 6-under-par 210. She also led the team to a tie for second in the top-ranked field. The victory was the second for the season for Clanton as she also won medalist honors at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship. She also finished in the top five of all four of Auburn's fall tournaments. The SEC Golfer of the Week honor is her second of the season after winning it on Oct. 21. She was also named the Golfweek National Golfer of the Week on Oct. 26.
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LPGA Final Qualifier to Resume Play on Sunday at 8 a.m.
Dec. 5, 2009 By Zach Stipe, Media Relations Graduate Assistant DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The third round of the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament will resume at 8 a.m. on Sunday after inclement weather made the courses at the LPGA International unplayable on Saturday. Four former Lady Vols, Young-A Yang, Angela Oh, Jessica Shepley and Nicole Smith, are looking to either secure LPGA Tour membership or improve their status for the 2010 Tour. The third round was originally suspended on Friday because of heavy rains striking the Daytona Beach area. At the conclusion of round three, players will begin round four. Doug Brecht, LPGA Vice President of Rules and Competitions, said the goal is to still complete all 90 holes of the five-round tournament. The top 70 players at the conclusion of the fourth round will move on to the final 18 holes. Yang remains in the best position of the former UT stars, as she is tied for 20th. The Tae-Gu City, South Korea, native was 2-over through six holes on Friday, but is just 1-over-par for the tournament. Shepley was also 2-over at the start of the third round, but the Ontario, Canada, native is through just four holes. She is 5-over for the tournament and tied for 59th. Oh has slowly worked her way up the leaderboard after firing a 79 on the first day, and was 1-under-par through six holes before the delay to tie with Shepley at 5-over heading into Sunday. Smith dropped to tied for 77th after shooting 2-over-par through seven holes of the third round. The top 40 finishers in the tournament will earn membership on the 2010 LPGA Tour. The top 20 players will earn Priority in Category 11 membership, while players finishing 21st through 30th will receive Priority in Category 16 and places 31st through 40th will receive Priority in Category 20. Oh, Shepley and Yang all played in the tournament last season with Oh tying for 40th to earn her LPGA Card. Shepley also gained membership on the 2009 Tour after finishing seventh on the Duramed FUTURES Tour money list in 2008. Yang has played on the LPGA Tour since 2003, making 72 cuts, while earning nearly $700,000 in prize money. Smith is taking her first shot at the LPGA after wrapping up her UT career in 2009. For more information or to follow live scoring of the tournament go to LPGA.com.
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