Page 4 - El Dorado Shootout

4 – Sunday, September 20, 2015 – El Dorado NEWS-TIMES
Tour serves as proving ground for pros
Murphy USA and Mystic Creek Golf Club are bringing the Syme- tra Tour and some of the best lady golfers in the world to El Dorado and Union County for the El Dora- do Shootout presented by PepsiCo
You may be familiar with the LPGA Tour featuring the biggest names in women’s golf like Mi- chelle Wie, Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park and Suzann Pettersen, to name
just a few. The Symetra Tour is the proving ground for women wanting to play on the LPGA Tour. Most of the world’s top women golfers first hit the stage and saw their earliest success on the Symetra Tour.
Women from every corner of
the globe compete on the Symetra Tour. Some have recently been college players. Others have been competing on distant international tours. There are those giving their hope of playing professional golf a second chance. But whatever the situation, every woman in the tour- nament is putting it all on the line for a chance to fulfill a dream that most of them have had since they were young girls.
One of the outstanding players coming to El Dorado in September is Lee Lopez. She is a 2013 UCLA graduate as well as a member of the 2011 NCAA Division I National Champion UCLA Bruins women’s golf team. Lopez grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier and first began to play golf at age 5. By age 12 she was competing and win- ning junior tournaments through-
Lee Lopez
out Southern California.
At 14, Lopez was a mem- ber of the American Junior Golf As- sociation. The AJGA conducts the most compet-
her family there to support and cheer her on, Lopez made history in the third round.
On the sixth hole, she made a rare hole-in-one. “There have only been 22 holes-in-one in the 70 years of the Women’s US Open,“ said Lopez. ”They took my golf ball to be on display at The World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida.”
The Symetra Tour is truly “The Road to the LPGA.” Each season, the top 10 players on the money
list ‘graduate’ and earn their LPGA card for the following year. If Lopez continues to play at the champion- ship level she has been playing all year she, along with nine other top finishers, will be on the LPGA Tour in 2016 putting her game up against the best in the world.
Lopez had the opportunity to meet and play with World Golf Hall of Fame member Nancy Lopez who reminded her to, “...keep up the
good work. I love seeing the name Lopez on leaderboards again.”
Meeting and playing rounds of golf with her heroes like Nancy Lopez and former world No. 1 Laurena Ochoa, has given her the confidence to know that her game is solid and ready for the LPGA.
When you come to The El Do- rado Shootout, take a moment to look around and appreciate the manicured beauty of Mystic Creek Golf Club. Feel the excitement of the tournament and its incredible atmosphere. Observe the precision and talent of the players and reflect on the years of dedication and
hard work required to compete at this very demanding level. Even if you’re not a serious golfer, go out and experience the excitement and drama of this world class sporting event — right here in our backyard! This year admission is free, so don’t miss it.
itive tour- naments for junior golfers in the
nation, and Lopez continued to ex- cel and draw national attention. As is often the case, it was her father that was instrumental in getting her started in the game and en- couraging her as she improved and matured. He continues to be one of her biggest fans and supporters as she competes on the Symetra Tour.
Lopez is currently the No. 1 player on the Symetra Tour’s money
list. Known for her precision and consistency, this year she has 6 top five finishes, 4 runner-up finishes and has made the cut in all but one event this season.
Her stellar play was rewarded
as she qualified this past July for the Women’s US Open in Lancast- er, PA. Not only did she make the cut competing against the world’s top players, she finished ahead of former US Open winners Paula Creamer and Laura Davies. With
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