Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic Field Finalized
MESA, Ariz. – The 132-player field for the second annual Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic from March 17-20 was finalized by the Epson Tour late Wednesday, as the “Road to the LPGA” returns to the greater Phoenix metropolitan area and Longbow Golf Club in Mesa next week.
Individuals will compete in a 72-hole, stroke-play format for $250,000, tied for the second-highest purse this season (Epson Tour Championship). A cut will be made to the top-60 competitors plus ties after 36 holes. Tournament admission is free.
Two tournament sponsor exemptions highlight the field in Betsy Kelly and Olivia Mehaffey, an Arizona State University alumna and Carlisle Companies Inc. ambassador. Kelly last competed on the Epson Tour in 2017, while Mehaffey made two starts last year and is a 2022 rookie on tour.
“I’m so proud to represent Carlisle and beyond thankful for this opportunity,” said Mehaffey. “I do have status on the Epson Tour, but it would not have allowed me to get in several of the early events to begin the year. I really enjoy the challenge of Longbow Golf Club and had good results in this tournament last season, so hoping to replicate it this time around.”
Three additional former Sun Devils will join Mehaffey in Maricopa County including Roberta Liti of Italy, and Swedes Louise Stahle and Linnea Strom. The University of Arizona is also well-represented with Gigi Stoll, Haley Moore and Alejandra Llaneza among the competitors, and Grand Canyon University has one representative as well in Chorphaka Jaengkit.
“It’s always great to return to Arizona and compete near my ASU stomping grounds,” said Liti. “I’m very familiar with the area and it’s very special to be back as a professional. The memories are abundant, and I hope to create even more at Longbow for the Carlisle Golf Classic.”
Rounding out the field is Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic defending champion Ruixin Liu. An Epson Tour ambassador—one of six in the field—and two-time Epson Tour graduate, Liu will primarily compete on the LPGA Tour in 2022. Every season, the top 10 on the Race for the Card money list graduate from the Epson Tour earn LPGA Tour membership for the following year.
“Epson has provided so much to grow the Epson Tour. Bigger prize funds are an even greater incentive and enhances the strength of the field, which prepares us even more for when we tee it up on the LPGA Tour,” Liu said. “I’m honored to be an Epson Tour ambassador and showcase all that Epson is doing to grow the game. The Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic is going to be a great test with the depth of talent in the field.”
ABOUT EPSON TOUR
The Epson Tour (formerly the Symetra Tour) is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and enters its 42nd competitive season in 2022. With the support of entitlement partner Seiko Epson Corporation, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best female professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. In the last decade, the Epson Tour has grown from 15 tournaments and $1.6 million in prize money to $4.41 million awarded across 20+ events in 2022. With more than 600 graduates and alumnae moving on to the LPGA Tour, former Epson Tour players have won 459 LPGA titles.
Follow the Epson Tour at www.epsontour.com, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT EPSON
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to co-creating sustainability and enriching communities by leveraging its efficient, compact, and precision technologies and digital technologies to connect people, things, and information. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson’s goal is to become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of around JPY 1 trillion. Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif., is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
MEDIA CONTACT
Zach Sepanik, Manager, Epson Tour Media
zachary.sepanik@lpga.com, (386) 795-0594