Madelene Sagstrom (Enkoping, Sweden) - Sagstrom has not played on the Epson Tour since mid-July and she returns for the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge. In ten starts, she has two wins and eight total top 10 finishes and has already shattered the Epson Tour single-season earnings record ($123,678). Sagstrom received a sponsors exemption into the LPGA Tour event last week – Canadian Pacific Women’s Open – and made the cut. She also made the cut this year at the U.S. Women’s Open. Sagstrom played college golf at LSU and was the 2015 SEC Player of the Year.
Laura Gonzalez Escallon (La Hulpe, Belgium) - Nobody on Tour has played better golf over the last month than Gonzalez Escallon, who ranks sixth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Gonzalez Escallon picked up her second win of the season two weeks ago at the PHC Classic. She has finished inside the top 10 in four straight events and five of the last six events. The former Big Ten Player of the Year (2011-12) at Purdue has earned $43,894 of her $59,947 over the last month. Gonzalez Escallon will head to France after Sioux Falls to compete in The Evian Championship, the final major on the LPGA Tour.
Emma Talley (Princeton, Ky.) - In just nine starts on the Epson Tour since turning professional in June, Emma Talley has proved her metal. She has three top 10 finishes and ranks 20th on the money list. Talley finished second in her Tour debut at the Fuccillo Kia Championship. She won the 2015 NCAA individual national title and also won the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Talley was a four-time All-American at Alabama.
Ally McDonald (Fulton, Mississippi) - The rookie has five top 10 finishes this season and ranks third on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. The one thing that McDonald is missing on her resume is a victory and a win at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge would wrap up an LPGA Tour card for 2017. McDonald has three second place results so a breakthrough win seems inevitable. McDonald was an All-American at Mississippi State, where she is currently a volunteer assistant coach. She qualified for The Evian Championship and will head to France in mid-September. McDonald was selected to compete in the prestigious Curtis Cup as part of the United States team in 2014.
Nelly Korda (Bradenton, Florida) - The last name might ring a bell. Nelly is the younger sister of Jessica Korda, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour. Nelly, who turned professional in February, has all four of her top 10 finishes since June. She currently ranks 27th on the money list and a win in Sioux Falls could jump her into the top 10. Korda had a fantastic junior career and decided to forego college and join her sister in the professional ranks. At just 18 years old, Korda is one of the longest hitters on Tour. She ranks 11th at 263.551 yards a strike. She was a AJGA Rolex Junior All-American in 2015. Korda advanced out of Stages I and II in 2015 as a 17-year-old to earn Epson Tour membership.