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5-29-08 FUTURES TOUR
This weekend marks the Duramed Futures Tour’s 12th visit to the Badger State, as the Aurora Health Care Championship returns once again to the Lake Geneva area. The 54-hole tournament runs Friday through Sunday on the Palmer Course at Geneva National GC in Lake Geneva.
The Futures Tour is populated with the top young professional players, and all have asperations of playing one day on the LPGA Tour. Thus the Futures Tour is chock full of college all-Americans and former superstars on the junior level, as well as past LPGA Tour members hoping to get back to the big show.
Among those making names for themselves this season on the tour is Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla. Hurst, who will turn 18 in June, recently graduated from high school, but before than she notched her first professional victory in late April at the Jalapeno Duramed Futures Golf Classic in McAllen, Texas. Hurst, who turned pro in March, has already played in two U.S. Women’s Open Championships and was named the American Junior Golf Association player of the year in 2007. Hurst begins play on on the Palmer Course’s first tee on Friday at 8 a.m.
The only player ahead of Hurst on the Futures Tour money list heading into this weekends play is South Korean M.J. Hur. Like Hurst, Hur has also recorded a victory this season and sits atop the list with $25,349 in six events. (Hurst is second with $22,277 in four tournaments.) Hur begins play on Friday on the first tee at 9 a.m.
Third on the Futures Tour money list is Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky., with $22,119 in four tournaments. She will tee of in the last group off the 10th tee on Friday at 2:20 p.m.
Defending champion Sofie Andersson of Sweden will also return to the Palmer Course. Last year, Andersson shot 70-72-70–212 to win her first Futures Tour title. Andersson currently sits in 29th place on the tour money list with $4,501 in six tournaments. She begins her defense on the first tee at 2:10 p.m. on Friday.
Two state players – both amateurs – are also in the field. Molly Schemm of Fort Atkinson and Kelsey Verbeten of Green Bay advanced to the tournament in an amateur qualifier for local players held on Tuesday. Schemm in the first group Friday, at 7:50 a.m. off the first tee. Verbeten is in the final group along with Wigger, at 2:20 off the 10th tee.
Spectators are welcome. Single-day tickets cost $7.50 each, and kids under 12 are free. Weekly passes are available, as are family packages including food and drink vouchers.
Tournament officials have also issued a traffic alert for anyone interested in attending. The Highway 50 and Highway 67 intersection just north of the entrance to Geneva National is currently closed for road work. Therefore, the best way to get to the tournament is by traveling west on Highway 50 from downtown Lake Geneva. Travelers from the north and west will encounter a detour at the Highway 50 and 67 intersection.
For complete information on the tournament, go to www.aurorachampionship.org.
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