Longbow Cactus Cup Championship – Syndication Server

Elizabeth Wang hits $10,000 payday at Longbow Cactus Cup

A one-day, 18-hole event in Arizona pitted some of the top women’s mini-tour players.

MESA, Ariz. — Four golfers, 18 holes, a $10,000 winner-takes-all prize.

No pressure.

The Longbow Cactus Cup Championship returned to Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona, for a second year. In 2020, Haley Moore, who played college golf 125 miles away at the University of Arizona, claimed the top prize after prevailing in a one-hole playoff. This time around, it wasn’t as suspenseful.

Elizabeth Wang strung together seven straight pars to open her round, made her first birdie of the day on eight and then made par on the ninth to make the turn up three shots up on Gabriella Then. Kendra Dalton and Nishtha Madan were tied at 4 over after nine holes.

The tournament targets the top players on the Cactus Tour and four of the top five money winners from the 2021 season were in the field. Dalton led the circuit in money at $13,575 after she won three times. She took the early lead Monday but ran into trouble with a triple bogey on the fourth and a double on the sixth. Madan doubled the sixth while Then bogeyed and Wang opened a three-shot lead through nine holes.

Wang, 21, grew up near Disneyland and played one year of college golf at Harvard. Leaving what she called her dream school was the “hardest decision of my life,” she said. One of her notable accomplishments was knocking out world No. 1 Jennifer Kupcho in the Round of 64 in the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur. A rookie in 2020, she came into the event with $5,655 in career earnings on the Cactus Tour.

Wang’s lead grew to five shots after Then posted a triple-bogey 7 on the 12th but the lead shrank to two by the time the golfers reached the 18th hole. On the final hole, Dalton went for the green in two but landed in a greenside bunker. Wang then two-putted for birdie for a 1-under 71 to win by four. Dalton finished 3 over. Madan and Then finished 5 over.

“I think that’s something I’ve always needed to work on,” Wang said of staying focused as her five-shot lead whittled away. “My mind definitely did wander. Being able to stay in the moment is something that a lot of people can do; it’s something that I’ve constantly needed to work on.”

She’s won twice on the Cactus Tour, but this one “feels great.”

Winning an 18-hole event was a different feeling though.

“With only 18 holes, the end comes up fast.”

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Longbow Cactus Cup Championship is a one-round, $10,000 winner-takes-all event

It’ll be a nice belated Christmas treat but it won’t be gift. This $10,000 first-place prize will have to be earned.

It’ll be a nice belated Christmas treat for someone, but it won’t be gift. This $10,000 first-place prize will have to be earned during a pressure packed, 18-hole winner-takes-all stroke-play contest in Arizona on Monday.

The Longbow Cactus Cup Championship returns to Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona, for a second year. This event offers a big payday for up-and-coming golfers on the women’s mini-tour circuit.

The field for the Dec. 27 battle features four of the top five money earners from the Cactus Tour’s 2021 season, including overall top money winner Kendra Dalton as well as Nishtha Madan, Gabriella Then and Elizabeth Wang.

As the top money winner on the circuit in 2021, Dalton pocketed $13,575 after winning three times in eight starts. So the chance to pick up $10,000 after 18 holes is a big deal. Dalton, a BYU grad who hails from North Carolina, also made 20 Symetra Tour starts , where she finished 45th in the money, earning $28,980.

“We are excited to team up with The Cactus Tour for a second time, and welcome four of the top women professional golfers in the region for a season ending exhibition,” said Bob McNichols, Longbow Golf Club General Manager.

“Exhibition golf matches have proven to be a huge draw on other professional tours, and the Cactus Tour is really looking forward to our own day of fun-filled championship golf at one of Arizona’s best courses for competitive golf,” said Mike Brown, Tour Director. “The Cactus Tour has awarded over $2.75 million to professional women playing in regional competition over the past ten years alone.”

The action starts at noon Monday and the winner’s check presentation immediately follows. Former Arizona Wildcat Haley Moore nabbed the top prize a year ago after winning on the first playoff hole.

“Each of the competitors owns her impressive golf resume with noteworthy wins from the junior ranks, to college and eventually the professional stage,” said McNichols. “Longbow Golf Club has become synonymous with championship golf, and I can’t wait to see these champions in action at the end of the year 2021. We are proud to continue this women’s professional golf match, the Longbow Cactus Cup Championship, in partnership with the Cactus Tour.”

Admission is free for everyone.

Haley Moore drains birdie putt in playoff for $10,000 in winner-take-all event

Haley Moore equaled half her 2020 earnings in one day on Sunday after claiming a winner-take-all exhibition in Arizona good for $10,000.

Haley Moore made $20,774 on the Cactus Tour in 2020.

On Sunday, she banked a cool $10,000 in the winner-take-all inaugural Longbow Cactus Cup Championship.

The 18-hole exhibition was staged at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. The four participants were the top four money winners in 2020 from the Cactus Tour, an Arizona-based mini-tour for up-and-coming women’s professionals.

Moore faced off against Brittany Yada, the 2020 Cactus Tour money winner. Mina Harigae and Savannah Vilaubi rounded out the foursome.

Yada and Vilaubi shot 3-over 75s. Harigae shot a 74 and watched as Moore had a par putt on the par-5 18th for a 73 that would have won it. But she missed and so they went over to the 1st tee for the playoff.

On that hole, Moore, who was a standout at the University of Arizona, knocked her approach to two feet and she made the short birdie putt to claim the prize.

The Cactus Tour held 38 events in four states this past summer, giving pros multiple playing opportunities during the pandemic shutdowns on the LPGA and Symetra Tours.

The $10,000 prize is big money for Cactus Tour players. Yada won five times to earn $25,400 in 2020. Moore was the 2019 Cactus Tour money winner and finished second in 2020. Harigae won four times to pocket $12,250, while Vilaubi made $10,900 in prize money.

Harigae holds the Cactus Tour 54-hole record of 24 under after shooting shores of 62-63-64 at Longbow earlier this year.

Longbow will again host a Symetra Tour event in 2021 but a date has not yet been finalized.

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$10,000 up for grabs in winner-take-all for top Cactus Tour players

Talk about a belated Christmas gift. Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona, is putting up $10,000 in a winner-take-all exhibition on Sunday.

Talk about a belated Christmas gift.

Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona, is putting up $10,000 in a winner-take-all, 18-hole, four-player stroke play exhibition on Sunday.

The four golfers are the top four money winners in 2020 from the Cactus Tour, an Arizona-based mini-tour for up-and-coming women’s professionals.

Brittany Yada won the Cactus Tour money title in 2020. She will face off against Haley Moore, Mina Harigae and Savannah Vilaubi. They will play as a foursome.

Fans are invited to attend. There will be no admission charge and everyone will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

The Cactus Tour held 38 events in four states this past summer, giving women pros multiple playing opportunities during the pandemic shutdown for the LPGA and Symetra Tours.

The Symetra Tour’s 2020 Founders Tribute at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona.

“We are excited to team up with the Cactus Tour for a fourth time in 2020, and welcome four of the top women professional golfers in the region for a season-ending exhibition,” said Bob McNichols, Longbow Golf Club General Manager, said in a statement. “The Cactus Tour made national news for offering professional golfers an opportunity to safely compete during the early days of the pandemic. This is a great opportunity to celebrate what was surely the most successful season in The Cactus Tour history.”

Longbow hosted the Symetra Tour’s Founders Tribute in August. Sarah White birdied the 18th hole to edge Casey Danielson and Sophia Popov by a shot. Popov went on to win the AIG Women’s British Open six days later.

“The Cactus Tour is really looking forward to this day of fun-filled championship golf at one of Arizona’s best courses for competitive golf,” said Mike Brown, Cactus Tour Director. “The Cactus Tour has awarded over $2.5 million to professional women playing in regional competition over the past nine years alone.”

The $10,000 prize would be a big boost for the winner. Yada won five times on the Cactus Tour to earn $25,400. Moore was the 2019 Cactus Tour money winner and finished second in 2020 after making $20,774. Harigae won four times to pocket $12,250, while Vilaubi made $10,900 in prize money.

Harigae holds the Cactus Tour 54-hole record score of -24 after shooting shot 62-63-64 at Longbow Golf Club earlier this year.

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