Mo Martin Claims Second Professional Victory At
USI Championship

CONCORD, N.H., July 27, 2008 – Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif., claimed her second professional victory, firing a 5-under-par 67 in the final round to win by four strokes at the $80,000 USI Championship. Martin finished the tournament at 12-under-par 204, four shots ahead of runner-up Gerina Mendoza (69) of Roswell, N.M., who closed at 8-under-par 208.

Finishing third was rookie Whitney Myers (67) of York, Pa., who finished at 6-under-par 210, while Maru Martinez (70) of Maracaibo, Venezuela, and LeAnna Wicks (69) of Brighton, Mich., tied for fourth with a three-day score of 5-under-par 211.

Scattered thunderstorms hit the Concord area overnight and produced nearly an inch of rain, but skies were sunny as final-round play began off split tees at 7:30 a.m. this morning.

The soft greens played right into Martin’s hands and a putter she affectionately calls “Mona” as she earned a check of $11,200 to move into 10th on the season money list. As an added bonus, Martin was also presented with a Bulova diamond watch and commemorated with flowers between the 16th and 17th holes on Beaver Meadow Golf Course for her win.

Martin finished off her second win on the Duramed FUTURES Tour by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt as fans surrounding the 18th green erupted. It was a storybook ending for Martin, who was embraced by family and friends walking off the course, led by her mother and 96-year-old grandfather, Lincon.

“This feels like a fairytale,” Martin said. “It still hasn’t set in. I’ve been just trying to take it one day at a time, because I’ve learned nothing comes if you expect it.”

One day after setting the course record at Beaver Meadow Golf Course with a 6-under-par 66 in Saturday’s second round, Martin broke the three-year tournament record by three strokes, previously held by Tour alum Charlotte Mayorkas of Las Vegas and her 54-hole score of 9-under-par 207 in 2006.

Martin sent a text message to Mayorkas to let her friend know she broke the record and was given a celebratory shower when fellow players poured water over her on the 18th green.

It represented the second win on the Duramed FUTURES Tour for Martin, who won the 2007 El Paso Golf Classic in a sudden-death playoff with darkness approaching over Caroline Larsson of Stockholm, Sweden. She carried a two-shot lead over Mendoza heading into Sunday’s final round, and was relieved she finished this win in daylight.

“I feel like I had time to sleep on the lead,” Martin said. “I’m not going to say this one is more legitimate, but it feels more like the ending of a golf tournament.”

Martin opened her round with a birdie on the first hole to move to 8-under par. She added two more birdies on the front nine and didn’t slow down making the turn, leading by as many as four strokes over Mendoza with birdies on No. 12 and 14, before they both made bogey on the par-4, 15th hole.

Mendoza made birdie on her second hole to keep Martin’s lead at two strokes. She trimmed the deficit to one stroke with a birdie on No. 5, but that was the closest she would get to Martin the rest of the day. Mendoza still recorded four birdies and one bogey that resulted in a career-best finish to earn $8,000.

“I didn’t want to force things because birdies turn into bogeys,” Mendoza said. “I was just trying to stick within myself and play my game.”

Competing in just her third professional event, Myers put together a bogey-free round with five birdies and finished in sole possession of third. In her first two events, Myers tied for 13th at the CIGNA Golf Classic in Bloomfield, Conn., and tied for fifth last week in Syracuse, N.Y., at the Alliance Bank Golf Classic. She tied Martin and Jessica Carafiello of Coral Springs, Fla., for the low round of the day with a 67 (-5).

“It’s been absolutely surreal,” said Myers, who tied for 18th at the Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament in November. “I knew I had it in me and I had made it a goal to make the cut in the events I played in, but to be doing this well -- I couldn’t see it coming.”

The Duramed FUTURES Tour is idle next week before heading to London, Ky., for the Falls Auto Group Classic, set for Aug. 8-10.

For complete scores and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Carafiello Latest Winner of Duramed Sunday Low Round Award

Jessica Carafiello of Coral Springs, Fla., posted a 5-under-par 67 in her final round to receive an Apple 8 GB iPod Touch as Duramed’s season-long promotion of the Sunday Low Round Award continued at the USI Championship.

It was another boost of confidence for Carafiello, who will be competing in the LPGA’s CN Canadian Women’s Open in August. Despite a 6-over-par 78 sandwiched between Friday’s first round (68) and Sunday’s low round, she finished tied for 13th, a career-best finish on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

“My putting was so much better than yesterday,” Carafiello said. “There wasn’t a huge difference between the first and second rounds, but I couldn’t make a single putt yesterday.”

Carafiello edged out Whitney Myers and Mo Martin in tiebreak criteria based on first-round scores. Carafiello registered a 4-under-par 68, Myers fired an even-par 72 and Martin carded a 1-under-par 71 in first-round play.

Weather: A mix of clouds and sun with a high temperature of 81 degrees and winds blowing southwest up to 15 mph. 

Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-214-9726, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.