Tag: Natural Charity Classic

Junior Yana Wilson’s caddie dies on eve of Epson Tour opener

Wilson wrote in a touching Instagram post for the man many called “Goose.”

Yana Wilson will never forget the 2024 Epson Tour season opener. It started out as a reunion of sorts as Wilson met up again with Rick Evans, the longtime Liberty National caddie who was on her bag for the win at the AJGA Mizuho Americas Open last summer. Wilson, 17, won the junior event right alongside Rose Zhang.

Evans collapsed on Tuesday during a practice round at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in Winter Haven, Florida. On Thursday evening, the night before the start of the 54-hole event, Wilson’s family learned that the caddie known as “Goose” had died.

Wilson, who was playing in the event as an amateur, wrote in a touching Instagram post that she would do her best to make him proud. She stayed in the tournament, recording three eagles in Saturday’s round to sit only two strokes back of the leaders.

But Wilson fell ill on Sunday, and as she tried to warm up for the final round, she was too dizzy to compete and withdrew from the tournament.

“I have never met a caddie better than you,” Wilson wrote. “Your ability to guide and encourage was unmatched.”

Last year’s AJGA Player of the Year, Wilson won her first professional title last month on the Cactus Tour, playing alongside 2020 AIG Women’s British Open champion Sophia Popov, who is coming back from maternity leave.

Wilson had set a goal of winning a professional title before she graduated from high school. Such lofty goals are often placed on her annual vision boards. The first year she won the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National, for example, Wilson had the Masters leaderboard on her board.

Two years ago when she won the U.S. Girls’ Junior, she’d posted a picture of Minjee Lee hoisting the Girls’ Junior trophy.

Like many junior players, Wilson tries to emulate 2023 Augusta National Womens Amateur champ Zhang as much as she can. For example, her mindset coming into this week’s Epson Tour event was quite different compared to her first sponsor exemption on the developmental tour.

“I thought I’d kind of have it in the bag back then,” said Wilson, “which obviously isn’t the best mindset to walk into a tournament with.

“This time I have no expectation. … That’s also kind of what Rose talks about all the time – having no expectations.”

Yana Wilson and Rose Zhang imitate a “selfie” with their trophies after the final round of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)

Last summer, Wilson played in her first LPGA major at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. She recently received an invitation to compete in the Amundi Evian Championship this July.

Her favorite pro, Minjee Lee, won that one as well.

Wilson, who was born and raised in Henderson, Nevada, went out to watch her favorite LPGA players as a youngster at the Kia Classic near San Diego. She was 8 years old the first time Lee caught her eye and gave her a golf ball.

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While winning the Girls’ Junior is the most obvious comparison between the two, there’s one more similarity that’s nothing short of shocking.

Wilson was out watching the LPGA at Aviara in 2016. She’d stepped back from Lee to watch Lydia Ko when she heard a tremendous roar coming from the 16th. Lee had holed out for an ace on the drivable par 4.

Two years later, Wilson did the same from 290 yards on the downhill dogleg as they chased a setting sun.

“It was such a crazy coincidence,” she said of her first ace.

Wilson, who was taught by her father, Jim, would like nothing more than to add something to her resume this spring that Lee doesn’t boast: a stroke-play victory at Augusta National.

One special caddie will be with her all the way.

New Epson Tour leader Jody Brothers left the PGA Tour hoping to create meaningful change for those stretching every dollar

“I want to identify what is the right thing to have on our tour week in and week out.”

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. ­— Jody Brothers saw a line forming outside the equipment trailer at the Epson Tour’s season-opening event in Winter Haven, Florida, and hopped inside to lend a hand. The tour’s new Chief Business and Operations Officer, a self-described golf nerd, started working at golf courses before he could legally drive and figured stripping grips would not only make life easier for everyone involved, but also give him insight into what’s best on a broader scale. An equipment trailer is only onsite a handful of times each season on the LPGA’s official qualifying tour.

“I want to identify what is the right thing to have on our tour week in and week out,” said Brothers. “Is it a trailer like that I need to find sponsors for and fund so they can be out here 22 weeks a year? Or is there an alternate opportunity to partner with a Golf Galaxy or PGA Superstore or somebody with multiple locations throughout the country where our athletes would have access?”

Brothers carried around a notebook last week at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, jotting down ideas and concerns as he met players for the first time. Brothers even worked as a first-tee starter, an idea/dare that came from the Player Advisory Group. That too, came naturally.

“He’s hands-on,” said veteran player and three-time Epson Tour winner Kim Kaufman. “Super easy to talk to.”

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Kaufman is a member of the PAG along with four-time Epson Tour winner Daniela Iacobelli, who said she could see the enthusiasm in Brothers’ eyes when they had their first PAG Zoom call.

Brothers, 53, came to the Epson Tour from the PGA Tour, where he spent nearly 16 years, most recently serving as Vice President of Business Development.

Why the move to women’s golf? Brothers said if he interviewed with 10 people at the LPGA, at least nine of them asked that question first.

“For me, it’s not about, you know, Mollie’s job or any other job at the LPGA,” said Brothers. “This is the job I wanted, and for me, it’s legacy.”

Brothers was referring, of course, to LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. In his role with the Epson Tour, Brothers serves on the LPGA Executive Leadership Team.

Brothers has a sister who played college golf and a wife that plays. Being at a place where he felt he could really make a difference was important to Brothers for this next chapter of life. He comes to the Epson Tour with a contact list – both in sponsorships and club management – that should lead to results.

“I’ll say also when I was at the PGA Tour in sponsorship the last six years,” said Brothers, “a lot of brands were saying I want to invest in professional golf. They started with the men’s side, but said I need to do something on the women’s side. That was really encouraging. It was that that got me thinking about a career with the LPGA.”

Brothers has big goals for increasing purses on the Epson tour, which this season boasts a record-setting total prize fund of $4.41 million and an average purse size of $210,000. That’s up from $1.6 million a decade ago.

Brothers, who plans to be onsite at every event this season, said it’s too soon to share that prize fund goal publicly, but that it’s “significantly” higher than what the women play for today.

“I think the number of events that we host is probably appropriate to identify the top 10 players from this tour,” he said. “But they need to play for more money. That’s my mission.”

For perspective, when the Korn Ferry Tour kicks off later this month, the purse for the first event will be $1 million. The KFT, of course is one step below the PGA Tour, which is the same for Epson in relation to the LPGA.

The purse at the Florida’s Natural Classic was $200,000.

Brothers, formerly the Senior Director of Tournament Business Affairs on the Korn Ferry Tour, also has designs on decreasing what it costs to compete each week, whether that’s in hotel costs, entry fees or insurance. Before the start of the season, the tour announced Epson would cover yardage books each week and would cover entry fees for Q-Series for those who finish Nos. 11-35 on the Official Money List. (The top 10 players earn LPGA cards.) Changes to the Rules of Golf for 2023 require that players buy new yardage books that are approved by the Epson Tour Rules Committee.

Former Alabama player Kenzie Wright noted on Twitter in January she spent $16,826 on entry fees and yardage books alone in 2022. Last year, Epson helped cut the cost of entry fees each week from $500 to $450. Brothers wants to bring enough partners on board to drop entry fees to $250.

“Those are the little things we can do as administrators of this tour to make it easier,” said Brothers. “I want to make sure they’re out here long enough to fulfill that dream.”

Brothers understands from firsthand experience the grind of trying to make it to the big-time. After playing college golf at Cal State Chico, Brothers played professionally on the Dakotas Tour in the early 90s. When two guys in his group shot 28 and 29 on the back nine of a tournament, Brothers realized a playing career might not be the right path for him.

He played long enough, however, to appreciate how much the little things ­–like free yardage books – really do add up. Brothers remembers how grateful he was to the owner of a local A&W who wrote “free” on the back of his business card after a pro-am. Brothers could show that card the rest of the week at the A&W and get whatever he wanted on the house.

“He’s gone through the process of maybe not having enough money to afford a good meal,” said Iacobelli. “Or a meal.”

Now, as leader of the Epson Tour, Brothers is ready for a new kind of grind.

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Two-time major winner Brittany Lincicome getting back in the swing of things at Epson Tour opener after maternity leave

Brittany Lincicome was hoping to slide under the radar at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Brittany Lincicome was hoping to slide under the radar at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. But it’s hard for a two-time major winner to blend in at an Epson Tour event.

Before Lincicome begins her 2023 season on the LPGA later this month in Arizona, the mother of two thought she’d try to regain some confidence at the season-opening event that’s about 90 minutes, without traffic, from her St. Petersburg home. It’s her first time playing on the official qualifying tour. The 37-year-old went straight to the LPGA from high school and was a rookie in 2005.

There are 12 players with LPGA status competing this week in Winter Haven. That’s the maximum allowed to play under Category F. Lincicome, who is returning from maternity leave, isn’t the only major winner. Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg, who won the 2018 ANA Inspiration, now the Chevron, is competing along with Lauren Stephenson, Jaye Marie Green, Mariajo Uribe, Perrine Delacour, Marissa Steen and five players who graduated from the Epson Tour last year by finishing in the top 10 on the money list.

Delacour, Green and Steen are coming off medical exemptions while Uribe was also on maternity leave.

“Traveling with two girls is a lot more difficult than I thought,” said Lincicome, who is the midst of sleep training daughter Sophia. This week she’s staying in a rental home with fellow mom Rachel Rohanna.

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Lincicome, an eight-time winner on tour who is 84th on the current LPGA priority list, has talked often in recent months about trying to find that carefree attitude she had as a younger player. Now she often feels like she’s trying to guard against making the cut, rather than charging up the board.

In addition to her growing family, Lincicome will also have to adjust to a new caddie this season as her longtime looper, Missy Pederson, transitions away from caddie life. Lincicome will work with Holly Clyburn this week but has hired Brittany Hamilton for the start of the LPGA season as Clyburn works for Paula Creamer.

“I just feel like I relate better,” said Lincicome of working with female caddies.

Lincicome is using one of three “test starts” this week. LPGA players who are out on maternity or medical leave can use three test starts on the Epson Tour, regardless of their status, to ease back into competition.

Playing on a test start, however, doesn’t guarantee a spot in an Epson Tour field. The 12 spaces that are available in Category F are filled based on priority status.

The top 60 players in the CME rankings from the previous season are not allowed to compete in Epson Tour events. Those who are ranked 61 and below, however, are allowed up to three starts in any given season. The 12 highest-ranked players get in.

The LPGA’s 2023 schedule doesn’t feature a full-field event until the Drive On Championship March 23-26 at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in Gold Canyon, Arizona. For players who graduated from the Epson Tour back in early November, that’s a five-month stretch without a paycheck.

With the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic taking place the week prior to the Drive On in Mesa, it’s not surprising to see Category F for that field once again filled with LPGA players looking to get in some reps.

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