This victory was different for Casey Danielson.
When the Stanford University alumna won the Epson Classic in Davidson, N.C. in May, all of it was a new experience. Now, battle-tested and eager to prove herself once again, Danielson carded a 3-under par 68 in the final round of the Donald Ross Classic to capture her second Epson Tour win.
Danielson ended the week on the Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort with an overall score of -10 to claim victory by one. The performance comes after missing the cut in three of her last four starts.
“With any golf career, there’s a lot of highs and lows,” said Danielson, who hit 17 greens in regulation in the final round. “I definitely learned a lot from winning and got a little ahead of myself, I hate to admit it. Expectations came in and left my golf game a little bit of a mess because I wasn’t able to stay mentally present during a round.
“There were definitely some hard times out on the [Donald Ross] Course to stay present especially today being in contention, being in the final group. All the work I have been doing really paid off to combat it.”
An eagle on the drivable par-4 11th served an integral role in Danielson finding the winner’s circle.
“Hitting my drive so close on No. 11 was really fun,” said Danielson, who recorded three birdies today in addition to the eagle. “To go 2-under on one hole definitely helped and relaxed my mindset. That was just fun and the next hole I made a long putt for birdie. It helped keep me in it and get me ready to bring it home.”
While it’s the first win for Danielson at French Lick Resort, it’s the second for the Danielson family. In 2014 at the Big Ten Conference men’s golf championships, her brother Charlie shared medalist honors on the Pete Dye Course as a sophomore at the University of Illinois.
“I believe my sister [Lindsay] played out here too. She played for the [Wisconsin] Badgers, so it is really special,” Danielson said. “I’ll be talking to my brother about it, for sure. Good memories for our family, it is fun for us to talk about. I come here alone, but my brother and parents having been here, they are familiar with the area and it’s comforting for this to be a family affair.”
Beth Wu (68) earned her second runner-up result in six starts on the Epson Tour this season, while 36-hole leader Rachel Rohanna signed for an even-par 71 on Saturday to finish solo third. UCLA alumna Lilia Vu fired a bogey-free 65 to reach -7 overall and share fourth with Amanda Doherty (68), rounding out the top-five competitors.
)
)
)
)
