DECATUR, Ill., June 14, 2009 – For most of the 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour season, eyes and headlines focused on five-time winner Vicky Hurst of Florida. Hurst moved on to the LPGA this year, winning the developmental tour’s 2008 Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors on her way to the major league.

And while that was happening, one of her former amateur competitors in Monterey, Calif., was taking note -- watching Hurst’s every move, and measuring herself against the smooth-swinging player who had turned pro. Today, that Californian, Mina Harigae, made sure that her name would be engraved right under the name of Hurst as the winner of the $125,000 Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship – the only major championship on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

Harigae carded a final-round score of 4-under-par 68, fighting her way into a tie with leader Sofie Andersson (69) of Angelholm, Sweden, and then forcing a playoff when the two deadlocked in regulation at 277 (-11). Harigae closed out the win on the first playoff hole at Hickory Point Golf Club when Andersson’s sudden-death putt for par missed on the left edge. She earned $17,500 for the victory.

“It was pretty much matchplay between Sofie and me,” said Harigae, 19, of her win at the 25^th annual tournament, following Hurst’s win here in 2008. “Sofie was tough because she was making everything. I feel really good about this one because I fought for this win.”

Andersson began today’s final round with a one-shot lead over Harigae, Sunny Oh (71) of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Christi Cano (71) of San Antonio. But the third-year pro rolled in a birdie putt to take the lead on the second hole, and then rolled in another birdie on No. 4 to build a two-shot advantage on the 6,594-yard course.

But while the Swede was picking up momentum, Jean Reynolds of Newnan, Ga., who won earlier this season, was blistering the front nine holes with a score of five-under 31. When Andersson bogeyed the 10^th, she and Reynolds moved into a share of the lead at nine under – one shot ahead of Harigae.

Andersson regained the lead with a birdie on the 11^th, but Harigae rolled in a birdie on the 12^th to move into a tie with Andersson at 10 under with six holes to play. Reynolds went on to post a 7-under-par final-round score of 65 to finish third at 279 (-9).

But with Reynolds in the clubhouse, the back nine was going to come down to a nip-and-tuck match between Harigae, the rookie pro, who had turned professional after less than one semester at Duke University -- and who was fresh off her first Tour win last week in Marion, Iowa -- and Andersson, the more experienced pro, and a former collegiate winner at the University of California-Berkeley, whose last professional win came in 2007. Both were hungry to win and both had taken dramatically different routes to get here today.

Harigae took a one-shot lead when Andersson bogeyed the 13^th, but the Swede stormed back into a tie with Harigae when she stuck her approach to two feet on the 15^th and rolled in another birdie putt on the 15^th. Harigae inched ahead again for a one-stroke advantage with a birdie on the 16^th hole, but Andersson answered when she drained a 40-footer on the 17^th to once again pull even with Harigae heading into the 72^nd hole.

“Coming into the final round, I knew that par golf would not win today,” said Andersson. “I knew it was going to take birdies and more birdies. I knew that somebody could come from behind to win.”

On the 18^th hole, Andersson drove into the left rough. Her approach shot landed in the short, right bunker and from the sand, she still came out short, some 25 feet below the hole. But for what looked to be an improbable putt, the Swede slammed home the par saver to force a playoff. Harigae’s perfectly played approach shot to five feet seemed to signal the end of this head-to-head match, but Harigae’s birdie attempt steered slightly right and pointed, instead, to sudden death.

Returning to the 18^th tee for the extra hole, both players found the fairway off the tee to the right center. Andersson’s approach shot hit the green and spun back to the edge of the apron, leaving a 35-foot putt uphill. Harigae’s approach landed 10 feet from the flagstick. Putting for birdie, this time the rookie burned the left edge and rolled two feet past. She putted out for par. Andersson’s 35-foot birdie attempt stopped four feet shot of the hole. When her par putt missed on the left edge, Harigae had earned her second consecutive title in as many weeks.

“It stinks that it came down to that little four footer,” said Andersson, who hit only two fairways today. “Mina hits it straight down the fairway and straight onto the green. I was everywhere and she was right down the middle.”

Indeed, Harigae is right down the middle of where she wants to be this year. She’s right on target to follow Hurst down the same path to the LPGA, winning the Tour’s only major championship in Decatur, cruising to the top of the list for rookie honors, where she is currently No. 1, and holding her position at the top of the money list for Player of the Year honors, where she is currently poised at No. 1 with earnings of $51,801 -- $14,651 ahead of No. 2 Jean Reynolds.

“Yeah, I expect to win, but there was a lot more pressure this week,” said Harigae. “I’m a bit surprised to win because I missed a lot of putts today, but maybe I’m following in Vicky’s footsteps.”

And perhaps soon, breathing down her collar.

For scores and more information, visit duramedfuturestour.com.

Weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures around 80 degrees with a slight breeze.

Reynolds Wins iPod Touch For Sunday’s Low Round
 
Jean Reynolds of Newnan, Ga., was the recipient of a new 8 GB Apple iPod Touch to continue Duramed’s season-long promotion of the Sunday Low Round Award with her final-round score of 65 (-7). Reynolds buzzed up the leaderboard from a tie for 24th to third place with her total score of 279 (-9) at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur, Ill. Her bogey-free round featured seven birdies with a score of five-under-par 31 on the front nine.

Johnson Gets Second Chance For 18-Hole Speed Record

Maybe she didn’t win the tournament, but when Malinda Johnson of Eau Claire, Wis., drew the first-round, two-player pairing for the second consecutive day in today’s final round of the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship, she met fellow competitor Christine Cho on the first tee and issued a rather unusual challenge.

“I told Christine that the 18-hole record out here for a twosome in the first group was three hours and six minutes and that we were going to beat it,” said Johnson.

So off they went at 7:50 a.m. today. Johnson, 27, had a friend who is a runner on her bag and Cho, who turns 21 next Wednesday, had her dad Joshua, on her bag. They saw the 9 a.m. pairing walking off the tee when they made the nine-hole turn. They had played nine holes around one hour and 12 minutes. And while they moved faster than usual around the course, the twosome did not run until they reached the 18^th hole. That’s when they noticed that a small crowd had gathered around the 18^th green to watch the speedsters finish.

Both players hit the 18^th green in regulation, sprinted to the green and two-putted for par, smashing the old 18-hole record with a finish of two hours and 27 minutes. Johnson carded a one-under-par score of 71, while Cho posted a one-over-par score of 73. Once she had putted out, Johnson flopped down in the grass on her back behind the green -- shirt soaking wet -- while Cho putted out. When Cho’s ball clunked into the cup, the two embraced and “racing fans” around the green cheered.

“I might as well be in the record books for something,” laughed Johnson. “Now, I can leave and go to Chicago to see the 36 holes I have to play on Monday for the [U.S. Women’s] Open Sectional Qualifier.”

But while the two players enjoyed the challenge of breaking the 18-hole fleet-of-foot record, they also joked that playing fast made them realize a few things about their approach to a normal competitive round.

“Today, I’d get up to my shot, look at the pin and hit it,” said Cho, of Kent, Wash., who was, ironically, wearing at hat that had the words “Play fast” embroidered on the back. “I tried to hit and go.”

“It helped me to play faster because I didn’t have time for all of those bad thoughts to get into my head,” added Johnson, who missed only two greens in regulation today. “It kind of reminded me to step up and hit the ball. Why cloud my head with a lot of analytical stuff?”

In Saturday’s third round, Johnson also played in the lead-off pairing with Jill Frantz of Iowa City, Iowa, and they finished in 3:18 – fast, but not fast enough to eclipse the previous mark of 3:06. Frantz was playing in the second group off today and her group of three players finished in three hours and 45 minutes.

Of course, competitive women always have an eye on each other and Frantz asked how long it took Johnson and Cho to complete today’s round. When told they had sped around the course in 2:27, a big smile spread across the Iowan’s face.

“Dang, that’s fast!” said Frantz. “Nobody’s going to beat that.”

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour at (956) 350-6543 and at lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.