Featured Golf News
Canadian Wins Louisiana Futures Tour Event
Samantha Richdale
Samantha Richdale from Kelowna, B.C., captured victory on Sunday in the rain-shortened Louisiana Pelican Classic on the Duramed Futures Tour. Richdale fired a 6-under par 66 in the final round and coasted to a three-shot win over runner-up Christine Song of Fullerton, Calif.
Heavy thunderstorms that saturated the course on Saturday forced tournament officials to reduce the event to two rounds. Play on Sunday had to be delayed until the (appropriately named) Wetlands course in Lafayette could absorb several inches of standing water that covered much of the facility.
The 24-year-old Richdale, a fourth-year player on the tour, fired a 70 and a 66 over the two rounds to finish at 8-under par. She earned $12,600 and moved into second place on the tour's all-important season money list. The top-five finishers on that list at the end of the 17-event season will earn high priority playing status on the LPGA tour in 2010. The Louisiana Pelican Classic was the third event of the season. The tour now moves to Texas with events in Brownsville and San Antonio over the next two weeks.
This was Richdale's second career victory on the tour. She won last year at the Gettysburg Championship in Gettysburg, Pa. She played her college golf at Illinois State University and currently has low playing status this season on the LPGA. Richdale would have been eligible to play later this week in the LPGA's Corona Championship in Morelia, Mexico, but has opted to play in the Brownsville.
Side notes on the Louisiana Pelican Classic:
Lisa Ferrero, a Futures tour player featured in a cybergolf.com article last week (http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/consistency_the_elusive_goal_for_players_on_the_futures_tour) had a strong finish in the Louisiana event. She shot 70-71 over the two days and ended the tournament tied for fifth. Her finish moved her up three spots, to 14th on the money list.
Hannah Yun, who this week became the youngest touring professional in the country, made her fist check as a pro golfer. Yun, featured in another recent cybergolf.com article (http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/hannah_yun_the_youngest_touring_pro_in_the_us), earned $534 with her T-54 finish. She shot 73-75 over the two days and finished at 4-over par.
