CANADIAN LAKES, Mich., July 5, 2015 – Daniela Iacobelli, who was born in Detroit and lived in Michigan until she was a teenager, birdied three of her final four holes and drained a clutch birdie putt on the 18th to win by a stroke at the inaugural Tullymore Classic.
“I think every single thought that a golfer can have,” Iacobelli said of what she was thinking standing over her birdie putt on 18. “Straight back and straight through. Not too hard. Not too soft. Don’t peak and pray that it goes in.”
The putt dropped straight into the bottom of the cup moving Iacobelli to 16-under for the event and sending the raucous crowd into a frenzy.
“That roar does something to you as an athlete,” Iacobelli explained. “It’s difficult to explain but that roar...you can’t match that emotion.”
While Iacobelli was thrilled with her finish she still needed to wait patiently and watch the final group finish up to see if Chie Arimura (Kumamoto, Japan) would make birdie to force a playoff. Arimura stuffed her approach to six feet but left her putt short sealing the victory for Iacobelli.
“I almost dropped to my knees,” Iacobelli admitted. “When I was in the tent, I was thinking how I would play in the playoff and when her putt didn’t drop it’s almost like you snap out of competition mode immediately. It took a second but then I was doused with a lot of water so that helped.”
With the win, Iacobelli earns $15,000 and moves into second place on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The top-10 on the year-end Volvik Race for the Card money list will receive their LPGA Tour cards for the 2016 season.
“This place is awesome,” Iacobelli said of the week at Tullymore. “It feels like an LPGA event out here.”
The victory is Iacobelli’s second on the Epson Tour. The Melbourne, Fla., resident also captured the 2012 Epson Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla. to earn her 2013 LPGA Tour card.
“It’s one of the best feelings,” Iacobelli said of winning. “I’ve done it in my two home states. I don’t think that I could have set up an off week any better. I’m sure I’ll be showing up with Dad and the check and the trophy and he’s going to want to brag about it so it’s going to be fun.”
One of the first places that Iacobelli will have the opportunity to show off the trophy and check at will be a 7 a.m. round with her dad and some of his friends.
“He called me on Wednesday and he said ‘when are you coming home?’ and I was like ‘Monday morning’ and he said ‘why don’t you come home Sunday night because the boys want to go golfing’,” Iacobelli explained. “How do you turn down golf with Dad? He’s the reason why I’m here so I’m looking forward to getting back to him. I’m sure he wants to hear all about the day.”
Arimura, Lee Lopez (Whittier, Calif.) and Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu (Takamatsu, Japan) finished tied for second at 15-under, 201, and earned $7,017.
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