LPGA International – Syndication Server

Epson Tour pro’s epic birdie-eagle finish secures last LPGA card for 2024 season

Gillman hit a 4-hybrid from 196 yards to 5 feet and then drained the eagle putt on the 18th hole.

Kristen Gillman glanced at a leaderboard on the 16th green at the Epson Tour Championship and knew that she needed to make something happen. She promptly hit an aggressive 6-iron on the par-3 17th to 8 feet and made the birdie putt. On the par-5 18th, she hit a 4-hybrid from 196 yards to 5 feet and drained the eagle putt.

The birdie-eagle finish secured the 10th and final LPGA card for 26-year-old Gillman, who shot 64 in the final round at the LPGA International Jones Course in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“I feel like it hasn’t really sunk in,” said Gillman, who was back at the course Monday for a pro-am. “I’ve been on the outside looking in all season.”

A two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion (2014 and 2018), Gillman came into the final event of the Epson Tour season No. 13 on the money list. The top 10 earn full LPGA status for 2024.

Gillman’s $12,177 payday gave her $95,701 in season earnings, which comes out to $1,700 ahead of Becca Huffer, who finished 11th.

Gillman was one of two players who played their way into the top 10 in Daytona. Auston Kim surged from 15th to third on the money list by winning the Epson Tour Championship with back-to-back rounds of 65.

Kristen Gillman celebrates with the Robert Cox Trophy after winning the U.S. Women's Amateur. (Steven Gibbons/USGA) — Kristen Gillman celebrates with the Robert Cox Trophy after winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)

It wasn’t that long ago that Gillman, an Alabama grad, was one of the best amateurs in the country. She first earned her LPGA card at the inaugural 2018 LPGA Q-Series with a T-13 finish. In her rookie season on the LPGA, Gillman qualified for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship and finished 43rd on the money list with $492,466.

The high didn’t last, however, as Gillman, currently 455th in the Rolex Rankings, found herself playing a full schedule on the Epson Tour in 2023 trying to make her way back to the LPGA. Gillman said confidence was the main ingredient she lacked in recent years. She felt like she was hitting it well enough, but couldn’t score.

“A lot of it is whatever you make it to be,” said Gillman of tour life. “You can make it seem a lot harder than it actually is. The more you’re out there, it’s easier to get in your head.”

At the Epson Tour Championship, Gillman said she only missed three greens in 72 holes and says her ball-striking is back where it was when she was among the best amateurs in the world and a strong LPGA rookie.

About 18 months ago, she went back to work with swing coach Justin Poynter, and while she had her boyfriend, mini-tour player Trevor Bailey, on her bag in Daytona, Gillman used a push cart for most of the season, grinding it out on her own.

The Texan felt her confidence finally start to shift after a runner-up showing in August at the French Lick Resort Charity Classic. She’d go on to finish the season with six consecutive top-15 finishes. She placed in the top 4 in her last three starts.

“If anything I’m better just mentally,” said Gillman of her form heading back to the LPGA.

“You learn a lot playing professional golf. I’m excited to get out there again and put in play what I’ve learned.”

Florida’s LPGA corridor is flourishing as multiple projects are being added around the golf course

Two new neighborhoods are coming to Daytona Beach’s LPGA corridor, adding 463 single-family homes nestled within the golf course.

Both neighborhoods will be located east of LPGA Boulevard, the final plats approved by the city of Daytona Beach on Oct. 6.

Local developer Parker Mynchenberg’s firm is engineer of the developments for Meritage Homes, a national homebuilder based in Arizona.

“These are two subdivisions that are in the old part of LPGA, so they’re kind of both infill,” Mynchenberg told the Volusia County Council on Tuesday. “So finally LPGA is going to be developed out. That helps the golf course, restaurant there, et cetera.”

LPGA International (Courtesy of LPGA International)

Meritage Homes of Florida is paying more than $2.9 million in proportionate fair share agreements for the new neighborhoods, 99% of which is going to the county for road improvements:

• $1.8 million for Legends Preserve, which will add 264 homes on 141 acres
• $1.1 million for Links Terrace, a 57-acre development adding 199 homes

County Engineer Tadd Kasbeer said this money will help fund the widening of Williamson Boulevard to four lanes from Strickland Range Road north to Hand Avenue.

Kasbeer said there also will be LPGA Boulevard improvements down the line, including to the bridge crossing Interstate 95, which he hopes the Florida Department of Transportation will largely fund.

“We want to try and leverage their budget as much as possible and minimize the impact to ours, but any of our proportionate fair share moving forward, we would start gathering and it would supplement whatever DOT doesn’t (pay for) on LPGA,” he told the county council.

Also: More restaurants, retail, luxury apartments coming to Daytona Beach’s red-hot LPGA area

Meritage Homes also owns two New Smyrna Beach developments, Sarinna Lakes and The Palms at Venetian Bay. Homes are priced at about $300,000 and up.

Mynchenberg said development likely won’t slow down in the LPGA area anytime soon.

“Quite a few projects coming your way,” he said. “My office designed quite a few and has a few more. They’re all subject to fair share, so there’ll be more checks coming.”

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Where to play golf near Daytona 500: LPGA International beckons with improvements

LPGA International is a popular diversion for drivers and race fans during Speedweeks in the run-up to the Daytona 500.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As if negotiating the 2.5-mile trioval track and its 31-degree banked turns at Daytona International Speedway isn’t enough to keep NASCAR drivers busy, there’s a completely different set of challenges waiting seven miles away by car. Hopefully, that is, in much slower cars than will be driven Feb. 16 during the Daytona 500.

LPGA International with its two tracks, the Rees Jones and Arthur Hills signature courses, is a popular diversion for drivers and race fans looking for a game of their own during Speedweeks, for which the green flag drops Feb. 8 in the run-up to the Daytona 500.

And LPGA International is ready to show off. After being acquired by course operator Fore Golf Partners in the fall of 2019, the two courses and clubhouse have received more than $1.3 million in investment that has improved turf quality, repaired flood-prone bunkers, rehabbed range amenities and bolstered the overall playing experience.

The work, as well as the proximity to the track, has helped restore LPGA International’s position as a standout golf destination along Central Florida’s Atlantic coast. It’s a solid option for the 10 million tourists that the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates visit the area each year for events including the Daytona 500, Daytona Bike Week in March and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August, as well as those who visit just to relax at the beach.

“This will be my first race week, but from what I understand, it gets a little crazy,” said LPGA International general manager Michael Johnson, who stepped into his role in October. “A bunch of the drivers, the crew members, some of the local entertainment, they set up their little outings and we’ll have quite a few groups out here that are involved with the Daytona 500.”

Since Johnson arrived, his staff has been on a race of its own to complete various projects and deferred maintenance. Among the largest of those efforts was repairing the drainage for many of the bunkers on the Jones course.

“When I came and toured the property in September, I would guess nearly 50 percent of those bunkers were completely filled in with water,” Johnson said. “We had some pretty good rain over the past few weeks, and it appears all the work we did with the bunkers and drainage seems to have worked. With a great deal of rain, there’s not any standing water anywhere. Much improved.”

Fore Golf Partners also brought in course superintendent Ken Doerfler, who purchased new equipment to better handle the overgrown rough that swallowed golf balls. On a recent 36-hole day on which this writer played both courses, the firm greens were rolling smoothly and the fairways were playing relatively fast for a Florida course in winter.

“The fairways have responded well,” Johnson said. “They were a little hungry when we got here. We fed them, and they’re looking pretty healthy now.”

The Arthur Hills Signature Course at LPGA International (Courtesy of LPGA International)

The two courses offer different experiences. The Jones is much more wide open, allowing players to swing away off the tee. The Hills is tighter and much more of a target course, playing through thick woodlands with more wetlands in play.

“On the Jones, you can grip it and rip it,” Johnson said. “It will challenge you, but the defense of the golf course is going to be the green complexes. There’s going to be some mounding, some subtle break and some bunkering that will protect the golf course. But if you can cover the distance, you can score.

“The Hills course can be a little more penal at times, with the mounding and the forced carries. It’s going to challenge the best golfers, and selecting the correct tee box on the Hills course is going to be one of the most important things to make sure you’re playing the right yardages to the wide parts of the fairways. If you play too far back, the fairways can feel pretty narrow. If you’re playing too far forward, the course gets even more narrow.”

All the work should help restore the former home of the final stage of LPGA qualifying school. Green fees during Daytona 500 week are $129 with a $40 replay rate for players who want to try all 36 in a day.

But LPGA International is not alone in providing a place to play near the racetrack. Here are several other options for race fans who pencil in a little time for golf around Daytona Beach:

Victoria Hills Golf Club

About 20 miles southwest of the racetrack in Deland along the Interstate 4 corridor to Orlando, Victoria Hills ranks No. 15 in Florida on Golfweek’s public-access list of Best Courses You Can Play. The Ron Garl design features surprising terrain and frequently elevated tee boxes to give the course the feel of a North Carolina track much more than a typical Florida course.

Hammock Beach’s Ocean Course (Courtesy of Hammock Beach)

Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa

About 35 miles north of the speedway in Palm Coast, Hammock Beach operates two 18s that rank among the best on Golfweek’s list of public-access courses in Florida. The Ocean Course, a Jack Nicklaus design that has been regrassed and refurbished in recent years and that features six holes along the Atlantic, is No. 10 on the list. The inland Conservatory Course, built by Tom Watson, ranks No. 18 in the state. The courses are part of a huge Salamander beach resort with one of the best pool complexes in the state.

Daytona Beach Golf Club with portions of the South and North course showing. (Courtesy of Daytona Beach Golf Club)

Daytona Beach Golf Club’s South Course

This municipal track is scruffy in spots, but after a recent round there, this writer can vouch that it’s a locals’ favorite and does a booming business. The South Course boasts a Donald Ross pedigree, but nobody would confuse it with Pinehurst No. 2. All in all, it’s a breezy little community track that stretches 6,229 yards and provides a decent value golf experience. Located less than five miles from Daytona International Speedway, it’s a reasonable spot for a break from the Speedweeks crush of tourists without requiring too much time on the road. The facility is also home to the 6,338-yard North Course designed by Lloyd Clifton. The North features newly regrassed TifEagle greens that were expanded to offer more hole locations.

New Smyrna Golf Club

Located about 18 miles from Daytona International Speedway, this course also boasts a Ross design tag and, like Daytona Beach Country Club, is part of the Florida Historic Golf Trail. The 6,567-yard course offers wide fairways and is an ideal setting for inexperienced players and social golf after a 2016 renovation focused on reducing bunker size to make the course more playable.

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Amateur golfer sinks two holes-in-one in same round

Gary Choyka’s ace on the par-3 third hole at LPGA’s Jones Course in Daytona Beach, Florida was matched later with another on the par-3 14th.

The odds are so impossible to grip mentally, accomplishing such a thing led everyone to offer Gary Choyka an obvious piece of advice.

“They all said I should go play the lottery,” he said.

But Choyka had already enjoyed a small windfall, plenty enough to cover rounds of drinks at LPGA International after a recent hole-in-one.

“Hey, barkeep, make it a double!”

That’s right, Choyka’s ace on the par-3 third hole at LPGA’s Jones Course in Daytona Beach, Florida, was matched a couple hours later with yet another hole-in-one on the par-3 14th.

“You talk about experiences in golf. It has to be one of the best,” Choyka said.

Well, certainly among the rarest. Odds of an amateur acing a hole are generally listed at 12,500-to-1. Odds against that second ace in the same round: An astounding 67 million-to-one.

Odds of a professional golfer making an ace are roughly 10 times better than an amateur. A second ace by a pro? In the entire history of the PGA Tour, it’s happened just three times, most recently by Brian Harman five years ago.

For what it’s worth, it’s the second time it’s happened in the Daytona Beach area in the past year. Port Orange golfer Jerry Bass did it at Crane Lakes Golf Club in Port Orange, Florida, last February.

Choyka’s aces both came with a 7-iron. No. 3 was playing 152 yards slightly into the wind, while the 14th was playing the opposite direction at 162 yards.

Some aces involve more luck than others, but “I hit both shots well,” said Choyka, 67, a retired school teacher and basketball coach from the Philadelphia area who carries a 10.5 handicap index. The third hole, he suggested, carries some sort of golfing mojo for him.

On the third tee, he watched as one playing partner and then another hit amazing tee shots to within 18 inches of the cup.

“The first one looked like it was going in,” he said. “And the second one, too — we were saying, ‘Go in, go in.’ Then I get up and hit, and it goes in. Amazing.”

It was on that same third hole, last April, in the same Wednesday group of about 20 golfers, where Choyka stood with his foursome and watched Tammie Green — retired LPGA Tour golfer and member of the Wednesday group — pluck her ball out of the cup after an ace. Choyka, moments later, did the same for his first-ever hole-in-one.

Choyka isn’t an overly excitable sort, but said he was a bit amped internally when he reached the fourth tee after his first ace.

“You can see where my scores went up after the first one,” he said, noting that he followed the ace with a double-bogey and played the next six holes in 7-over par.

Bryan Murphy, another Wednesday regular, was playing a couple of foursomes ahead of Choyka two weeks ago.

“I think I was on No. 4 or 5 and I got a text, ‘Gary just aced No. 3,’ ” recalls Murphy. “Later, we’re coming up the 16th and I get another text saying Gary had an ace on 14. The guys with me were saying, ‘Wait a minute, is that the same text as before or did he do it again?’ It was pretty amazing.”

On No. 3, Choyka had a good view of the ball the whole way as it caught a left-to-right slope and tracked cleanly into the cup. On 14, the sun’s glare made it impossible to follow the ball the whole way, but he knew he’d hit it well and figured it was close.

“We couldn’t see it,” he said. “I thought I was about three feet to the left. Once it hits the green, it’s going wherever it wants to go. Somebody up there was looking down and saying, ‘OK, we’ll give you this one.’

“Golf is such a humbling sport. You have your ups and downs. Fortunately, that day someone was looking down on me.”

In the Wednesday group — it’s also a Monday and Friday group for most — everyone contributes to a hole-in-one pot, and while Choyka declined to divulge his winnings from that day, he said it was more than worthwhile to adhere to the golfing custom of picking up the post-round bar tab.

And yes, he did follow everyone’s advice to take a stab at that day’s lottery.

“So I played,” he said. “Didn’t win.”

Some odds are just too long.

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