Jackie Stoelting (Vero Beach, Fla.) calmly tapped in a par on the 72nd hole to claim the first victory of her career at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout Presented by PepsiCo at Mystic Creek Golf Club.
“I just woke up this morning and had this feeling that I could win today and that’s an awesome feeling,” Stoelting said with a smile. “It’s been a long time coming and I’m so excited to be the champion today.”
Stoelting tallied three birdies against a lone bogey on her final round to finish at 3-under for the week, three-shots clear of runner-up Ally McDonald (Fulton, Miss.).
“It’s a tough golf course,” Stoelting explained. “It’s all about placement. You’ve got to be able to hit good approach shots and then you have to make putts and fortunately I came out on top this week which is everything that I could ask for.”
The Florida native finished third last season on the Volvik Race for the Card money list to earn her LPGA Tour card and while Stoelting didn’t have the season she would have envisioned out on the LPGA she is hoping that this win will give her confidence going into the final stage of LPGA Qualifying School in December.
“It was a tough tough year out there,” Stoelting admitted. “I actually made more money today than I did all year out on the LPGA so I really just wanted to play a couple of events to gain my confidence back because I know that I’m a good player. To be honest it helped a lot not having to worry about a money list and just play golf. It doesn’t mean that the nerves weren’t there but it means everything to me that I had the chance to come out here and preform and play well. This is definitely the boost that I needed.”
In her victory speech, Stoelting got emotional while thanking all of the people who have supported her over her years in professional golf.
“It’s meant everything,” Stoelting said. “When I went to college I didn’t think that I’d ever turn professional. The support that I’ve had from my family and friends is more than I could ever ask for. My dad calls me ‘Jacko’ and my family friends have nicknamed themselves ‘Jacko’s Wackos’ and they have been amazing and I can’t thank them enough for their support. They always have my back and knew that I could do this.”
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