1.
Mina Harigae: Off To Fast Start And Looking Ahead
2.
Johnson Gets Second Chance For 18-Hole Speed Record
3.
Nicole Hage On Twitter: How Tweet It Is
4.
Rookie Harigae Wins Second Straight Tour Title
5.
Reynolds Wins iPod Touch For Sunday’s Low Round
6.
Pros Donate Golf Bags To Ohio First Tee Program
7.
Wright Is Runner-Up At McDonald’s LPGA Championship
8.
Tour Alums Go Low At Tournaments Abroad
9.
Decatur Event Encourages Recycling During Tournament Week
10.
Quote of The Week
1. Mina Harigae: Off To Fast Start And Looking Ahead
In eight tournaments this season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, rookie MINA HARIGAE has already recorded four top-10s, including two wins and one runner-up finish. The 19-year-old Californian posted a wire-to-wire, 10-stroke victory at the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge earlier this month in Marion, Iowa, and then followed up that performance last week with a second consecutive win in a one-hole playoff at the Tour’s only major championship, the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship in Decatur, Ill.
Before turning professional earlier this year, Harigae had played on the 2008 U.S. Curtis Cup team, won the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship and was a four-time California Women’s Amateur champion.
She now leads the Tour’s season money list with earnings of $51,801, and also is on top of the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s Rookie of the Year ranking. In addition, she leads the Tour in three other statistical categories, including: scoring average (71.62); sub-par rounds (50 percent); and par-4 average (4.03 strokes).
Harigae (pronounced har-ah-guy) recently sat down with duramedfuturestour.com senior writer Lisa D. Mickey to discuss her rookie season:
DFT: How important was it for you to get that first professional win?
Harigae: It’s definitely important – just a huge step, like breaking down a wall. Now that I know it’s possible, it’s so much easier for me.
DFT: And you won wire-to-wire, getting off to a solid start at the Iowa tournament with a score of 64. Tell me about that week?
Harigae: [Laughter] Well, there’s that expression that “first-round leaders never win.” I was thinking about that, but then my caddie reminded me that I had a six-shot lead and that if I kept playing like I was playing, I’d be fine.
DFT: And now you also have a second win. Is that validation?
Harigae: I expect to win, but still, it’s like, “Oh wow, I won.” Lots of my friends wrote me on Facebook and said, “You go, girl!” I feel good about it, but I want to keep it up. I have a big target on my back right now. I had to really fight to win the second one and the first one [won by 10 shots] was just surreal.
DFT: You also already have moved to the top of the Tour’s season money list. Does that surprise you?
Harigae: Anyone can have a good tournament and everyone out here is a great player. It feels pretty good, but I have to keep playing well. Right now, I have a nice buffer on the money list, but I have to make my buffer bigger. I want it to be less stressful at the end of the season.
DFT: You got a full scholarship to play college golf at Duke University – one of the best schools in the nation with one of the top women’s golf programs -- but you left after less than one semester. What happened?
Harigae: I was always unsure of whether I wanted to go pro or go to college. I went to college on the East Coast and I got homesick and a little frustrated by trying to juggle academics and golf. I had the wrong mindset going in. I wasn’t motivated toward academics at all and at Duke, I had to be. It was the wrong choice for me and I was out of place. I had a second-place finish and a couple of top-fives at Duke when I was on the team, and my college ranking went up to No. 4, but I was not happy. I decided to leave. So I packed up and my mom came to North Carolina and flew back with me. I shipped my car back home.
DFT: So what did you do when you got home?
Harigae: I went back to California and tried to figure out what I could do. I knew I needed to play in tournaments and I was able to join the Duramed FUTURES Tour based on my collegiate ranking. I moved to Phoenix and moved in with my swing coach, Jeff Fisher, and it was pretty much golf boot camp. We practiced all day and worked really hard on my swing and my short game.
DFT: Were you nervous about playing your first tournaments on the Duramed FUTURES Tour?
Harigae: Yes, I was nervous, but I felt that I could play out here. My goal from the start was to get into the top five on the money list. When I finished second in my second tournament, it was a confidence booster.
DFT: It must have also boosted your game to shoot a 64 in the first round of the Iowa tournament. Had you ever gone that low before?
Harigae: I shot eight under two times in junior golf on the AJGA [American Junior Golf Association]. I actually caught a bad head cold a couple of days before that first round in Iowa two weeks ago. I was tired after hitting only six balls, so I knew that I had to put all my energy and focus into each shot. It was an endurance test, but it relaxed me. I was knocking it close and making them. It turned out to be a really stress-free first win.
DFT: What did you know about this tour before you came out here?
Harigae: I always looked up to how VICKY HURST played. I watched her scores last year and thought either she’s playing really, really well or they play easy golf courses. She just kept going low all year. Of course, when I came out here, I learned that it’s kind of hard. It’s good socially because it helps me interact with all kinds of players. The biggest thing I’ve learned out here is when players are older, experience goes a long way.
DFT: What has been the biggest transition for you from amateur golf?
Harigae: That every stroke counts here. You have to take everything seriously. Everything you do is for golf when it comes to food, sleep, fitness and practice. I know I can’t mess around. But I’m glad I’ve had this opportunity to play and grow. This is definitely a developmental tour. I sign up for seminars they offer out here because it will help me. I don’t want to look like a fool on the LPGA.
DFT: How about playing for money? Does that change anything for you?
Harigae: It’s perfect for me. I like playing for money. I love tournaments and every week is another chance. I even kept the huge cardboard check from my first win. It’s in the car.
DFT: How old were you when you first started playing golf?
Harigae: I started at age 8. I was a swimmer, but when I was 10, I dropped everything and went to golf.
DFT: Who was the best junior you ever played with?
Harigae: Probably Vicky [Hurst]. And Yani Tseng. We’ve all played together and we’ve beaten each other. It motivates me to get up there with them on the LPGA Tour. If they can do it, I can do it. Yani and I are good friends. We played against each other in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and now we Facebook each other. She just bought Annika [Sorenstam’s] house and I want to go see it. I write Yani and say, “How’s the house?”
DFT: Did your family move to Monterey, California, because of golf?
Harigae: I was born there. My dad played a little bit, but mainly, they went there because Monterey has nice weather and it’s a nice town. My dad is a sushi chef and he and my mom own a restaurant named “Takara,” in Pacific Grove, Calif. They both work there and when I was little, sometimes I did the dishes. My dad used to be a Benihana chef, so he can do all of that [fancy] stuff with knives.
DFT: Do you speak Japanese?
Harigae: My dad speaks to me in Japanese, but I speak to him in English. I haven’t been to Japan since I was in the eighth grade. My grandparents live there.
DFT: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not playing tournament golf?
Harigae: I like to chill out and watch TV and listen to music. When I’m home, I like to make bonfires on the beach with my friends.
DFT: So now that you are making your own money, do you have plans to buy anything special to celebrate your wins?
Harigae: When I have time, I’ll figure out what I want to buy. I kind of want to buy an Apple iPod Touch, but I was hoping to win it out here for the lowest Sunday round one week. I thought maybe I’d win it [in Decatur last week], but when I saw that JEAN [REYNOLDS] had shot seven under in the final round, I said, “Oh well, I guess the iPod is gone.” Still, I’d like to win one.
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2. 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 the 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 18th hole. That’s when they noticed that a small crowd had gathered around the 18th green to watch the speedsters finish.
Both players hit the 18th 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 a 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.”
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3. Nicole Hage On Twitter: How Tweet It Is
Today’s “social media” is a hot topic and everybody’s talking about how such mediums as “Twitter” and “Facebook” have become common forms of communication among the young, as well as technologically savvy Baby Boomers.
But for Tour member NICOLE HAGE of Coral Springs, Fla., who started “tweeting” three months ago, the 140-character micro-blogging tool has become the first thing she does every morning and the last thing she does each day before she turns off the lights. She’s not sure how many “tweets” a day she types into her cell phone, but she says it’s “a lot,” even though she’s certain she’s not up to fellow tweeter and Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna CHRISTINA KIM’s rate of an estimated 300 tweets per day.
“It’s addicting and becomes like a habit,” said Hage, who is also an LPGA Tour member. “I write what’s on my mind. It’s like a very short, open blog.”
When flying to last week’s tournament in Decatur, Ill., Hage was stuck on a runway tarmac in a plane for five hours while weather delays hampered travel. She estimates that she fired off “about 100” tweets while she was stuck on the plane. Her fellow Twitter followers tweeted back.
“It made the time go by faster,” said Hage. “And they learned that life’s not always so glamorous for us when it comes to travel.”
Hage decided to become a Twitter user when she went on LPGA player Morgan Pressel’s Facebook page and read that Pressel had started tweeting. So Hage signed up for the free social media tool and within the first day, she had 1,000 individuals signed up to tweet with her. She now has more than 1,400 followers who read Hage’s thoughts and have the option to respond. Hage’s Twitter page is listed on LPGA.com, and fellow tweeters can go to her page and sign up to communicate directly with the second-year professional.
“It’s a good way to talk to fans and it’s a great way to get people involved,” she said. “I have five to six fans in Ohio who are coming out to watch me play because we tweeted and they went on the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s Web site and saw that we have an Ohio tournament.”
Not only has Hage found kinship in the cyber world, but she also has found two new sponsors through her use of Twitter. Zensah, a company that makes workout apparel, contacted her through Twitter and now ships the touring professional fitness gear. New York’s famous Black & White Cookie Company also now ships her individually wrapped cookies with Hage’s picture on the package.
“It’s great because I can hand them out to pro-am partners and my private housing hosts each week at tournaments,” she said. “It’s something different and both of these companies found me because of Twitter.”
So, other than getting cookies and workout clothes, what has been her biggest surprise by adding Twitter to her daily routine?
“I guess that people care what I say,” she said. “They’re interested in me and they want to learn about golf and about our tour.”
And is there a downside?
“Well, yes,” laughed Hage. “My mom follows me on Twitter and this is how she knows what I’m doing all day. Like, sometimes when I’m supposed to be somewhere else and she knows I’m really at the mall.”
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4. Rookie Harigae Wins Second Straight Tour Title
Rookie MINA HARIGAE of Monterey, Calif., won the $125,000 Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship last week for her second consecutive victory. The tournament in Decatur, Ill., is the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s only major championship and only 72-hole event.
Harigae, 19, who won the previous week’s Ladies Titan Tire Challenge in Iowa, by 10 shots, edged SOFIE ANDERSSON of Angelholm, Sweden, last Sunday at Hickory Point Golf Club with a par on the 73rd-hole in a sudden-death playoff. Harigae carded a final-round score of 4-under-par 68, needing an extra hole when Andersson (69) saved par from 25 feet on the 18th hole in regulation to move into a share of the lead at 277 (-11).
The two returned to the 18th tee for the playoff after the nip-and-tuck final round in which the lead changed hands between the two players multiple times. On the extra hole, 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. Harigae putted out for par. Andersson’s 35-foot birdie attempt stopped four feet short of the hole. When her par putt missed on the left edge, Harigae had earned her second consecutive title in as many weeks.
“It was pretty much matchplay between Sofie and me,” said Harigae, 19, of her win at the 25th annual tournament. “Sofie was tough because she was making everything. I feel really good about this one because I fought for this win.”
Finishing third was JEAN REYNOLDS of Newnan, Ga., who won earlier this season in Winter Haven, Fla. Reynolds blistered the front nine holes last Sunday with a score of five-under 31, going on to post a 7-under-par, final-round score of 65 to finish at 279 (-9).
With her prize check of $17,500, Harigae moved to the top of the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s 2009 season money list with earnings of $51,801 -- $14,651 ahead of No. 2 Reynolds. Harigae also bolstered her spot at the top of the list for Rookie of the Year honors.
Should Harigae win a third tournament, she would be eligible to compete in LPGA Tour events, but she would not automatically earn LPGA membership. Should she finish in the top five on the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s 2009 season money list, she would gain full membership on the 2010 LPGA Tour. If she were to finish among Nos. 6-10 on the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s season money list, she also would gain 2010 LPGA membership, albeit with a lower Priority ranking and an option to Monday-qualify.
Three-time NCAA Player of the Year AMANDA BLUMENHERST of Scottsdale, Ariz., made her professional debut last week on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. The former Duke University All-American posted rounds of 68-76-68-73 to tie for 22nd at 285 (-3).
Blumenherst’s pro debut drew considerable media attention last week, but the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion said she did not feel any sense of relief about moving beyond her first event.
“This was my first [Duramed] FUTURES Tour event and I was pleasantly surprised,” said Blumenherst, the latest addition to Nike Golf’s list of touring pros. “It didn’t scare me and it’s not like there is a weight now off my shoulders. I know so many players out here that this week almost seemed like an extended college tournament. I played with PERNILLA [LINDBERG of Bollnas, Sweden] today and I also played my last round of college golf with her.”
The Tour travels to Mason, Ohio, just outside Cincinnati, for this week’s Duramed Championship at The Golf Center at Kings Island.
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5. 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.
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6. Pros Donate Golf Bags To Ohio First Tee Program
Members of The First Tee of the Greater Miami Valley (Ohio) chapter will receive a donation of used golf bags from Duramed FUTURES Tour players this Wednesday in Mason, Ohio. Prior to the pro-am, players will give juniors carry golf bags that saw action in professional tournament competition. The bag exchange is orchestrated through the Sun Mountain Trade-In program.
Sun Mountain’s program was created to contribute to junior golf programs in communities that host Duramed FUTURES Tour tournaments. Through the program, Tour professionals are selected in a random draw to receive a new Sun Mountain golf bag. In return, the players donate their used non-Sun Mountain golf bag to local junior players.
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7. Wright Is Runner-up At McDonald’s LPGA Championship
Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna LINDSEY WRIGHT of Australia posted a career-best finish of second last week at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Wright carded rounds of 70-68-69-70 for a total of 277 (-11) at the major championship, played at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md. With her prize check of $182,956, Wright moves to ninth on the LPGA’s season money list with earnings of $518,000.
Top alumnae finishers at last week’s McDonald’s LPGA Championship are as follows: 2nd - LINDSEY WRIGHT of Australia, 277 (-11), $182,956; 4th - KYEONG BAE of South Korea, 279 (-9), $102,670; T5th – ANGELA STANFORD of Texas, NICOLE CASTRALE of California, and KRISTY MCPHERSON of South Carolina, all at 280 (-8), $68,948 each; T9th – SONG-HEE KIM of South Korea, STACY LEWIS of Texas, and JIN YOUNG PAK of South Korea, all at 282 (-6), $39,441 each; T14th - INBEE PARK of Nevada and IRENE CHO of California, both at 284 (-4), $29,949 each.
Three current members of the Duramed FUTURES Tour who have 2009 LPGA membership also made the 36-hole cut at last week’s championship. Top finishers who are current Tour members were: 2009 San Antonio tournament winner ALLISON HANNA-WILLIAMS of Oregon, tied for 23rd at 287 (-1); EUNJUNG YI of South Korea, tied for 53rd at 292 (+4); and TAYLOR LEON of Texas, tied for 57th at 293 (+5)
For complete results of the McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, visit LPGA.com. The event was staged at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md.
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8. Tour Alums Go Low At Tournaments Abroad
Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna PAMELA FEGGANS of Patna, Scotland, posted her best finish on the Ladies European Tour last week with a tie for fifth at 215 (-1) at the Portugal Ladies Open. Feggans is a rookie on the LET this year.
Alumna TAMI DURDIN of Australia tied for sixth on the Japan LPGA at the Suntory Ladies Open. The former Pepperdine University player posted a finish of 5-under 283 and is now 11th on the JLPGA’s money list.
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9. Decatur Event Encourages Recycling During Tournament Week
Tour member Benedikte Grotvedt of Nesbru, Norway is just one player in the tournament field last week who was excited that the event is offering on-course recycling bins, as it has in the past. Recycling is something that is second nature to the Norwegian, whose home country is one of Europe’s leaders for progressive environmental consciousness.
“We recycle everything in Norway and in some towns, you even separate food for compost,” said Grotvedt, who wears Ash City apparel brand golf shirts out of Canada, whose fabric is made out of recycled materials. “Everybody at home is pretty environmentally conscious. It’s now a habit. I try to recycle here as much as I can.”
Grotvedt said the latest movement back home is the use of electric cars, affectionately known as “El Cars.” Owners of these vehicles often can charge their cars for free in some businesses, residences and garages, with the Norwegian government subsidizing the free electric charge. Streets in larger Norwegian cities, such as Oslo, even offer a special lane for “El Cars.” Buses, taxis, motorcycles and electric cars share their own special express lane.
“There’s not a lot of pickup trucks in Norway,” said Grotvedt. “The bigger the car, the more taxes you pay.”
But here in the States, Grotvedt has tried to continue the same environmentally friendly behaviors she has learned at home. And when tournaments on the Duramed FUTURES Tour take steps to do their part, it puts a smile on her face.
“I love seeing the recycling bins here,” she said. “It takes such little effort and it does so much.”
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10. Quote Of The Week
“She pulled out a [USC] Trojans logo ball, so I pulled out my Bruins umbrella.”
-Duramed FUTURES Tour member MO MARTIN of Altadena, Calif., an alum of UCLA, regarding playing her first two rounds in last week’s tournament with University of Southern California alumna DEWI CLAIRE SCHREEFEL of Diepenveen, Netherlands.
Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour, 386-274-6216, or lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.
Weekly Releases
