Cindy LaCrosse Earns First Tour Victory In Mexico
Press release from the Duramed Futures Tour
NUEVO VALLARTA, NAYARIT, MEXICO, March 28, 2010 - A year ago this time, Cindy LaCrosse was taking her final swings as a collegiate player at the University of Louisville and dreaming about her life as a pro. Today, the Floridian carded a bogey-free round of 5-under 68 to win her first title on the Duramed FUTURES Tour at the $150,000 Riviera Nayarit Challenge.
LaCrosse posted rounds of 70-71-68 to win at 10-under 209, one shot better than Jennie Lee (72) of Henderson, Nevada at 210 (-9), and two strokes ahead of rookie Chelsea Curtis (69) of New Seabury, Massachusetts, at 8-under 211 in the Tour's second tournament of the season and its first full-field international event.
"It feels amazing," said LaCrosse, 22, of Tampa, Florida, who charged from three shots back to catch Lee. "Last year, I came out of college and got into contention a few times, but just couldn't get the last round right. What feels great today is to get into contention and to finally close with a good round."
For most of today's final round on the 6,433-yard El Tigre Golf & Country Club, Lee, a former Duke University All-American, held at least a two-shot lead and appeared to be building momentum at the nine-hole turn. Lee rolled in a 10 footer for birdie on the third hole, and added another birdie on No. 7 to lead LaCrosse by three shots.
But playing two groups ahead was Curtis, the hard-charging first-year pro out of Georgetown University, who carded birdies on holes 4, 5, 6, and 9, and then cut Lee's lead to only one shot with another birdie on hole No. 10. Curtis took advantage of the par-73 course's longer holes, making birdie on the first four par-five holes.
"The par-5s are where it's at on this course," said Curtis, 22, who hit 14 greens in regulation today. "It's all about your drives and wedge shots."
The rookie had three birdie chances on the back nine, but could not get her putts to fall. On the 18th, her approach sailed into the right greenside bunker, and then rolled 15 feet past the cup on her shot from the sand. Curtis took bogey, but knew going into the final hole that she had to give it a rip if she wanted to try to catch the leader.
"I had a feeling that 10 under would be the number to beat and I knew, at one point, that I was tied for the lead," said Curtis, a two-time winner at Georgetown. "I'm not here to come in second, so I went for the pin on 18, and just didn't get it."
The back nine came down to a duel between LaCrosse and Lee, playing in the same pairing. Lee had put together identical bogey-free rounds of 69 in the first two days and entered today's final round feeling no letup.
"I peeked at the scoreboard on No. 9 and just told myself to keep doing what I was doing," said Lee, 23, a former U.S. Curtis Cup Team member. "I also thought about playing more conservatively on the back nine because the wind was picking up and there's more water back there."
Lee stiffed her approach shot to two feet on the 10th hole for birdie and moved to a two-stroke lead over LaCrosse. But then she gave back two shots with bogeys on holes 11 and 12 to drop into a three-way tie with Curtis and LaCrosse at 9 under after LaCrosse rolled in birdies from eight feet and 20 feet on holes 14 and 15, respectively.
LaCrosse was picking up speed and Lee was starting to wobble late in the round. But the turning point for the Florida pro came on No. 16, a hole that had proved to be her nemesis all week. On Friday, LaCrosse had double-bogeyed the 16th, and on Saturday, she posted a bogey. To keep her tee shot in play today, she opted for a hybrid club. Her tee shot landed in a small ditch in the fairway and LaCrosse watched in dismay as her approach shot once again sailed over the green, landing in a back bunker. It was a treacherous lie from the sand to a downhill green bordered by water, but LaCrosse stepped up and hit it to one foot to save par.
"It was the bunker shot of my life," she said.
When Lee three-putted from 30 feet on the 17th for bogey, the door again swung open for LaCrosse. This time, all she had to do was walk through it to win.
"I was trying to get my hands and arms to stop shaking, and my heart was beating out of my chest," said LaCrosse, a rookie 2010 LPGA Tour member who two-putted for par and the win. "It's good to know what it feels like to win out here. It's good to know I've accomplished what I've been thinking about doing."
And as her friends doused the quiet player with champagne on the 18th green in the tropical sunshine of this coastal Mexican paradise, LaCrosse hugged her fellow contestants, picked up her golf bag crowned by her Louisville Cardinals head cover and headed to the scoring tent to sign the scorecard for her first win on the developmental tour. In less than a year, a dream had come true.
For scores and more information, visit duramedfuturestour.com.
Final round scores and money Sunday in the Duramed FUTURES Tour's
$150,000 Riviera Nayarit Challenge at the 6433-yard, par 37-36 - 73
El Tigre Golf & Country Club, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit Mexico (a-denotes amateur):
1 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 70-71-68 - 209 $21,000
2 Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 69-69-72 - 210 $15,000
3 Chelsea Curtis (New Seabury, Mass.) 69-73-69 - 211 $10,688
T4 Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.) 70-73-69 - 212 $6,876
Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 71-71-70 - 212 $6,876
6 Jane Rah (Torrance, Calif.) 73-69-71 - 213 $4,701
T7 Garrett Phillips (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 73-70-71 - 214 $3,688
Carolina Llano (Medellin, Colombia) 71-71-72 - 214 $3,688
T9 Kristie Smith (Perth, Australia) 73-72-70 - 215 $2,436
Adrienne White (Red Deer, Alberta) 72-72-71 - 215 $2,436
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 70-73-72 - 215 $2,436
Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 72-71-72 - 215 $2,436
Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) 69-72-74 - 215 $2,436
T14 Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 71-76-69 - 216 $1,814
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 74-68-74 - 216 $1,814
T16 Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.) 74-73-70 - 217 $1,453
Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 75-71-71 - 217 $1,453
Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 72-74-71 - 217 $1,453
Danah Ford Bordner (Indianapolis, Ind.) 74-70-73 - 217 $1,453
Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 74-69-74 - 217 $1,453
T21 Kristina Langton (Ada, Mich.) 72-74-72 - 218 $1,251
Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.) 69-76-73 - 218 $1,251
Victoria Elizabeth (Orlando, Fla.) 79-72-67 - 218 $1,251
Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) 71-72-75 - 218 $1,251
T25 Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 70-76-73 - 219 $1,200
Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.) 73-71-75 - 219 $1,200
T27 Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 71-77-72 - 220 $1,129
Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 74-73-73 - 220 $1,129
Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) 73-74-73 - 220 $1,129
Ryann O'Toole (San Clemente, Calif.) 73-74-73 - 220 $1,129
Veronica Felibert (Caracas, Venezuela) 77-70-73 - 220 $1,129
Juli Erekson (Chicopee, Mass.) 70-80-70 - 220 $1,129
Katie Miller (Jeannette, Pa.) 78-73-69 - 220 $1,129
Sophie Jang (Seoul, South Korea) 75-76-69 - 220 $1,129
T35 Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 73-76-72 - 221 $1,057
Jennifer Bermingham (Long Beach, Calif.) 72-77-72 - 221 $1,057
Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 72-72-77 - 221 $1,057
Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio) 70-72-79 - 221 $1,057
Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 73-69-79 - 221 $1,057
T40 Carrie Riordan (Spring Valley, Ill.) 76-71-75 - 222 $1,010
Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 76-73-73 - 222 $1,010
Tracy Stanford (Midland, Texas) 73-76-73 - 222 $1,010
Melissa Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa) 71-74-77 - 222 $1,010
Erica Moston (Belmont, Calif.) 78-73-71 - 222 $1,010
Dori Carter (Valdosta, Ga.) 70-73-79 - 222 $1,010
T46 Jenny Lee (Simi Valley, Calif.) 72-75-76 - 223 $959
Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) 70-76-77 - 223 $959
Janice Olivencia (Caguas, Puerto Rico) 73-76-74 - 223 $959
Ale Martin del Campo (Guadalajara, Mexico) 79-71-73 - 223 $959
Kendall Dye (Edmond, Okla.) 76-74-73 - 223 $959
Marijosse Navarro (a) (Atizpan, Mexico) 76-74-73 - 223
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 74-76-73 - 223 $959
Amanda Costner (Claremore, Okla.) 75-75-73 - 223 $959
Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) 78-73-72 - 223 $959
T55 Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) 71-75-78 - 224 $911
Leanne Bowditch (Queensland, Australia) 71-75-78 - 224 $911
Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 74-72-78 - 224 $911
Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 77-74-73 - 224 $911
Elisa Serramia (Barcelona, Spain) 76-75-73 - 224 $911
Sara Ovadia (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 75-76-73 - 224 $911
Daniela Iacobelli (Viera, Fla.) 75-76-73 - 224 $911
T62 Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) 75-73-77 - 225 $876
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 77-72-76 - 225 $876
Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 78-72-75 - 225 $876
Jennifer Ackerson (Dallas, Texas) 77-74-74 - 225 $876
Perry Swenson Livonius (Charlotte, N.C.) 74-77-74 - 225 $876
T67 Marina Choi (Los Angeles, Calif.) 73-74-79 - 226 $861
Pamela Ontiveros (Gomez Palacio, Mexico) 74-77-75 - 226 $861
T69 Victoria Alimonda (Sao Paulo, Brazil) 76-73-78 - 227 $849
Ana Alicia Malagon (a) (Tampico, Mexico) 76-74-77 - 227
Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 78-73-76 - 227 $849
Kim Welch (Sacramento, Calif.) 76-75-76 - 227 $849
T73 Marlowe Boukis (Lutherville, Md.) 75-73-80 - 228 $567
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 73-78-77 - 228 $567
T75 Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.) 74-76-79 - 229 $562
Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.) 72-79-78 - 229 $562
Kirby Dreher (Fort St. John, Canada) 75-76-78 - 229 $562
Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 75-76-78 - 229 $562
79 Alexandra Braga (Los Angeles, Calif.) 74-74-84 - 232 $555
NUEVO VALLARTA, NAYARIT, MEXICO, March 28, 2010 - A year ago this time, Cindy LaCrosse was taking her final swings as a collegiate player at the University of Louisville and dreaming about her life as a pro. Today, the Floridian carded a bogey-free round of 5-under 68 to win her first title on the Duramed FUTURES Tour at the $150,000 Riviera Nayarit Challenge.
LaCrosse posted rounds of 70-71-68 to win at 10-under 209, one shot better than Jennie Lee (72) of Henderson, Nevada at 210 (-9), and two strokes ahead of rookie Chelsea Curtis (69) of New Seabury, Massachusetts, at 8-under 211 in the Tour's second tournament of the season and its first full-field international event.
"It feels amazing," said LaCrosse, 22, of Tampa, Florida, who charged from three shots back to catch Lee. "Last year, I came out of college and got into contention a few times, but just couldn't get the last round right. What feels great today is to get into contention and to finally close with a good round."
For most of today's final round on the 6,433-yard El Tigre Golf & Country Club, Lee, a former Duke University All-American, held at least a two-shot lead and appeared to be building momentum at the nine-hole turn. Lee rolled in a 10 footer for birdie on the third hole, and added another birdie on No. 7 to lead LaCrosse by three shots.
But playing two groups ahead was Curtis, the hard-charging first-year pro out of Georgetown University, who carded birdies on holes 4, 5, 6, and 9, and then cut Lee's lead to only one shot with another birdie on hole No. 10. Curtis took advantage of the par-73 course's longer holes, making birdie on the first four par-five holes.
"The par-5s are where it's at on this course," said Curtis, 22, who hit 14 greens in regulation today. "It's all about your drives and wedge shots."
The rookie had three birdie chances on the back nine, but could not get her putts to fall. On the 18th, her approach sailed into the right greenside bunker, and then rolled 15 feet past the cup on her shot from the sand. Curtis took bogey, but knew going into the final hole that she had to give it a rip if she wanted to try to catch the leader.
"I had a feeling that 10 under would be the number to beat and I knew, at one point, that I was tied for the lead," said Curtis, a two-time winner at Georgetown. "I'm not here to come in second, so I went for the pin on 18, and just didn't get it."
The back nine came down to a duel between LaCrosse and Lee, playing in the same pairing. Lee had put together identical bogey-free rounds of 69 in the first two days and entered today's final round feeling no letup.
"I peeked at the scoreboard on No. 9 and just told myself to keep doing what I was doing," said Lee, 23, a former U.S. Curtis Cup Team member. "I also thought about playing more conservatively on the back nine because the wind was picking up and there's more water back there."
Lee stiffed her approach shot to two feet on the 10th hole for birdie and moved to a two-stroke lead over LaCrosse. But then she gave back two shots with bogeys on holes 11 and 12 to drop into a three-way tie with Curtis and LaCrosse at 9 under after LaCrosse rolled in birdies from eight feet and 20 feet on holes 14 and 15, respectively.
LaCrosse was picking up speed and Lee was starting to wobble late in the round. But the turning point for the Florida pro came on No. 16, a hole that had proved to be her nemesis all week. On Friday, LaCrosse had double-bogeyed the 16th, and on Saturday, she posted a bogey. To keep her tee shot in play today, she opted for a hybrid club. Her tee shot landed in a small ditch in the fairway and LaCrosse watched in dismay as her approach shot once again sailed over the green, landing in a back bunker. It was a treacherous lie from the sand to a downhill green bordered by water, but LaCrosse stepped up and hit it to one foot to save par.
"It was the bunker shot of my life," she said.
When Lee three-putted from 30 feet on the 17th for bogey, the door again swung open for LaCrosse. This time, all she had to do was walk through it to win.
"I was trying to get my hands and arms to stop shaking, and my heart was beating out of my chest," said LaCrosse, a rookie 2010 LPGA Tour member who two-putted for par and the win. "It's good to know what it feels like to win out here. It's good to know I've accomplished what I've been thinking about doing."
And as her friends doused the quiet player with champagne on the 18th green in the tropical sunshine of this coastal Mexican paradise, LaCrosse hugged her fellow contestants, picked up her golf bag crowned by her Louisville Cardinals head cover and headed to the scoring tent to sign the scorecard for her first win on the developmental tour. In less than a year, a dream had come true.
For scores and more information, visit duramedfuturestour.com.
Final round scores and money Sunday in the Duramed FUTURES Tour's
$150,000 Riviera Nayarit Challenge at the 6433-yard, par 37-36 - 73
El Tigre Golf & Country Club, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit Mexico (a-denotes amateur):
1 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 70-71-68 - 209 $21,000
2 Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 69-69-72 - 210 $15,000
3 Chelsea Curtis (New Seabury, Mass.) 69-73-69 - 211 $10,688
T4 Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.) 70-73-69 - 212 $6,876
Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 71-71-70 - 212 $6,876
6 Jane Rah (Torrance, Calif.) 73-69-71 - 213 $4,701
T7 Garrett Phillips (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 73-70-71 - 214 $3,688
Carolina Llano (Medellin, Colombia) 71-71-72 - 214 $3,688
T9 Kristie Smith (Perth, Australia) 73-72-70 - 215 $2,436
Adrienne White (Red Deer, Alberta) 72-72-71 - 215 $2,436
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 70-73-72 - 215 $2,436
Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 72-71-72 - 215 $2,436
Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) 69-72-74 - 215 $2,436
T14 Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 71-76-69 - 216 $1,814
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 74-68-74 - 216 $1,814
T16 Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.) 74-73-70 - 217 $1,453
Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 75-71-71 - 217 $1,453
Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 72-74-71 - 217 $1,453
Danah Ford Bordner (Indianapolis, Ind.) 74-70-73 - 217 $1,453
Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 74-69-74 - 217 $1,453
T21 Kristina Langton (Ada, Mich.) 72-74-72 - 218 $1,251
Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.) 69-76-73 - 218 $1,251
Victoria Elizabeth (Orlando, Fla.) 79-72-67 - 218 $1,251
Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) 71-72-75 - 218 $1,251
T25 Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 70-76-73 - 219 $1,200
Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.) 73-71-75 - 219 $1,200
T27 Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 71-77-72 - 220 $1,129
Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 74-73-73 - 220 $1,129
Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) 73-74-73 - 220 $1,129
Ryann O'Toole (San Clemente, Calif.) 73-74-73 - 220 $1,129
Veronica Felibert (Caracas, Venezuela) 77-70-73 - 220 $1,129
Juli Erekson (Chicopee, Mass.) 70-80-70 - 220 $1,129
Katie Miller (Jeannette, Pa.) 78-73-69 - 220 $1,129
Sophie Jang (Seoul, South Korea) 75-76-69 - 220 $1,129
T35 Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 73-76-72 - 221 $1,057
Jennifer Bermingham (Long Beach, Calif.) 72-77-72 - 221 $1,057
Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 72-72-77 - 221 $1,057
Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio) 70-72-79 - 221 $1,057
Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 73-69-79 - 221 $1,057
T40 Carrie Riordan (Spring Valley, Ill.) 76-71-75 - 222 $1,010
Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 76-73-73 - 222 $1,010
Tracy Stanford (Midland, Texas) 73-76-73 - 222 $1,010
Melissa Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa) 71-74-77 - 222 $1,010
Erica Moston (Belmont, Calif.) 78-73-71 - 222 $1,010
Dori Carter (Valdosta, Ga.) 70-73-79 - 222 $1,010
T46 Jenny Lee (Simi Valley, Calif.) 72-75-76 - 223 $959
Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) 70-76-77 - 223 $959
Janice Olivencia (Caguas, Puerto Rico) 73-76-74 - 223 $959
Ale Martin del Campo (Guadalajara, Mexico) 79-71-73 - 223 $959
Kendall Dye (Edmond, Okla.) 76-74-73 - 223 $959
Marijosse Navarro (a) (Atizpan, Mexico) 76-74-73 - 223
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 74-76-73 - 223 $959
Amanda Costner (Claremore, Okla.) 75-75-73 - 223 $959
Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) 78-73-72 - 223 $959
T55 Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) 71-75-78 - 224 $911
Leanne Bowditch (Queensland, Australia) 71-75-78 - 224 $911
Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 74-72-78 - 224 $911
Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 77-74-73 - 224 $911
Elisa Serramia (Barcelona, Spain) 76-75-73 - 224 $911
Sara Ovadia (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 75-76-73 - 224 $911
Daniela Iacobelli (Viera, Fla.) 75-76-73 - 224 $911
T62 Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) 75-73-77 - 225 $876
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 77-72-76 - 225 $876
Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 78-72-75 - 225 $876
Jennifer Ackerson (Dallas, Texas) 77-74-74 - 225 $876
Perry Swenson Livonius (Charlotte, N.C.) 74-77-74 - 225 $876
T67 Marina Choi (Los Angeles, Calif.) 73-74-79 - 226 $861
Pamela Ontiveros (Gomez Palacio, Mexico) 74-77-75 - 226 $861
T69 Victoria Alimonda (Sao Paulo, Brazil) 76-73-78 - 227 $849
Ana Alicia Malagon (a) (Tampico, Mexico) 76-74-77 - 227
Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 78-73-76 - 227 $849
Kim Welch (Sacramento, Calif.) 76-75-76 - 227 $849
T73 Marlowe Boukis (Lutherville, Md.) 75-73-80 - 228 $567
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 73-78-77 - 228 $567
T75 Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.) 74-76-79 - 229 $562
Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.) 72-79-78 - 229 $562
Kirby Dreher (Fort St. John, Canada) 75-76-78 - 229 $562
Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 75-76-78 - 229 $562
79 Alexandra Braga (Los Angeles, Calif.) 74-74-84 - 232 $555
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