Epson Classic
Raintree Country Club
Charlotte, N.C.
May 21, 2015
First Round Notes

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 21, 2015 – Augusta James (Bath, Ontario) and Haruka Morita-WanYaoLu (Takamatsu City, Japan) share the lead at 6-under, 66, after the opening round of the Epson Classic at Raintree Country Club.

“I definitely thought coming out here at the beginning of the week that this course sets up well for my game and I wanted to take advantage of some of the holes that I could for that setting and I’m happy that I did today,” said James, a three-time All-ACC selection while at N.C. State.

James went out in 1-under 35 but turned it on coming in making three birdies and a hole out eagle on the par-4 15th.

“That’s a nice bonus to have right now but there’s a lot of golf to be played out there,” James said of the eagle. “It’s definitely a marathon not a sprint over the next three days.”

The 2014 Canadian Women’s Golf Amateur champion is accustomed to winning as she picked up a victory earlier this year on the Epson Tour at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial and ranks sixth on the Volvik Race for the Card Money List,

“I can use that experience to draw on but each situation is different,” James admitted. “Honestly, you just have to play it shot-by-shot and hole-by-hole as a gameplan for each.”

Haruka Morita-WanYaoLu, who’s best finish on the Epson Tour is a tie for ninth at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic., started her round solidly with birdies on two of her first four holes but caught fire midway through her round when she made six birdies in a seven hole stretch from holes eight through 14 to climb to 7-under for the day before giving a stroke back on the difficult par-4 17th.

When asked about to the keys to her round Morita-WanYaoLu pointed to one key thing.

“Putting,” she said with a grin. “I made longer putts that you don’t expect to make and that made me feel like I could do much more after making those putts.”

The duo holds a one stroke lead over Dottie Ardina (Laguna, Philippines) and Katie Kempter (Albuquerque, N.M.), while a group of nine players sit two-back at 4-under led by 2013 Epson Classic champion Laura Kueny (Whitehall, Mich.).

Second round play will begin off the first and tenth tees starting at 7:30 a.m. on Friday.

SILVERS BACK TO WHERE HER EPSON TOUR JOURNEY BEGAN: Carleigh Silvers (Greeley, Colo.) sits a mere two strokes back of the lead following an opening round 68.

“You definitely want to get yourself off to a good start on the first day and put yourself in it and that’s what I tried to do today,” Silvers explained.

Silvers was able to do just that as she registered seven birdies including a one on the 18th to cap off her round in style.

“That birdie on 18 meant a lot,” Silvers admitted. “I played really well and I putted really well today but I had two really really stupid three-putts so I was frustrated about that so to be able to make a putt on the last hole and birdie it really got my confidence back up and kept me going.”

The University of Northern Colorado product will look to keep the strong play going over the final two rounds.

“I really like this course. This was the first Epson event I ever played in when I played in it last year and I liked it. It’s a tight course. You’ve got to place your tee shots in the right areas but if you can do that it can be scorable.”

EMILY COLLINS HAS HER BEST ROUND ON EPSON: Rookie Emily Collins (Colleyville, Texas) posted the lowest round of her Epson Tour career on Thursday with a 4-under 66 to sit behind the lead.

“I hit a lot of the fairways, hit some greens too and didn’t make many mistakes out there,” Collins said.

What made Collins’ round so impressive was that it took place during the afternoon wave when scores were typically higher across the board.

“I definitely noticed that the wind was picking up as I was warming up this morning so I thought that the afternoon would play a little bit tougher,” Collins explained. “It looks like it is because most of the low rounds were in the morning. I was lucky to have the second tee time of the afternoon.”

While Collins was a collegiate standout at Oklahoma University she has been struggling to find her footing on the Epson Tour early in the season but is looking to turn things around with a strong finish this week.

“It’s been tough. It’s different,” Collins admitted. “It’s definitely different from college, and I played there for four years, so it’s an adjustment. You’re all by yourself, you have different caddies every week so it’s been a slow start but I love it. It’s really fun.”

Collins has looked to a group of friends to help ease her transition.

“I made friends with a few of the other rookies and we are all sticking together and embracing it,” Collins explained. “It helps a lot. You see the same girls every week so it’s good to have friends. We’re all in it together and we all cheer each other on but at the same time you want to beat them so it’s fun.”

SHORT DRIVE TO THE TOP-5 UPDATE: One of the unique prizes that will be given out at this week’s Epson Classic is a $1,000 cash prize for the player who finished in the Top-5 with the shortest average driving distance for the tournament. The prize, which has been named Short Drive to the Top-5, was generously donated by Bob Mayberry Hyundai.

If play were to end today, Marina Choi would win the prize with her T5 and her 224.50 driving average.

Epson Classic First Round Notes

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