AUSSIE BOLAND WINS ON SYMETRA TOUR (formerly Futures Tour)

Final round scores and money Sunday in the Symetra Tour's $150,000
Four Winds Invitational at the 6419-yard, par 36-36 - 72
Blackthorn Country Club, South Bend, Ind. (a-denotes amateur):

(SCROLL DOWN PAST THE SCORES FOR A FULL REPORT)
1    Julia Boland (Tamworth, NSW, Australia)      71-72-69 - 212   $22,500

T2   Birdie Kim (Seoul, South Korea)              72-71-70 - 213   $12,205
     Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.)                     73-70-70 - 213   $12,205

T4   Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Mich.)             75-71-68 - 214   $7,219
     Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia)                78-68-68 - 214   $7,219

T6   Brianna Do (Lakewood, Calif.)                72-74-69 - 215   $4,093
     Misun Cho (Cheongju, South Korea)            74-72-69 - 215   $4,093
     Joanna Coe (Mays Landing, N.J.)              72-73-70 - 215   $4,093
     Kristie Smith (Perth, Australia)             71-72-72 - 215   $4,093
     Mi Hyang Lee (Incheon, South Korea)          72-72-71 - 215   $4,093

T11  Marina Alex (Wayne, N.J.)                    75-71-70 - 216   $2,909
     Sara Hurwitch (Union, Ky.)                   70-70-76 - 216   $2,909

T13  Juliana Murcia Ortiz (Bogota, Colombia)      73-74-70 - 217   $2,430
     Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec)       75-71-71 - 217   $2,430
     Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.)              72-73-72 - 217   $2,430
     Alexandra Casi (East Palestine, Ohio)        73-72-72 - 217   $2,430

T17  Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.)                   76-73-69 - 218   $2,001
     Fiona Puyo (Epernay, France)                 70-77-71 - 218   $2,001
     Sue Kim (Langley, British Columbia)          76-71-71 - 218   $2,001
     Blair O'Neal (Scottsdale, Ariz.)             70-75-73 - 218   $2,001

T21  Victoria Elizabeth (Dayton, Ohio)            76-74-69 - 219   $1,523
     Alexandria Buelow (Palm City, Fla.)          72-76-71 - 219   $1,523
     Rachel Connor (Manchester, England)          73-75-71 - 219   $1,523
     Jessi Gebhardt (Bellingham, Wash.)           74-74-71 - 219   $1,523
     Camilla Lennarth (Stockholm, Sweden)         77-71-71 - 219   $1,523
     Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.)                 76-71-72 - 219   $1,523
     Peiyun Chien (Pingtung, Taiwan)              76-71-72 - 219   $1,523
     Victoria Alimonda Lovelady (Sao Paulo, Brazil73-73-73 - 219   $1,523
     Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.)             73-73-73 - 219   $1,523
     Megan McChrystal (Stuart, Fla.)              78-68-73 - 219   $1,523
     Amy Eneroth (Spokane, Wash.)                 72-71-76 - 219   $1,523
     Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Jersey, Channel Island74-69-76 - 219   $1,523

T33  Jaclyn Sweeney (Bradenton, Fla.)             75-74-71 - 220   $1,057
     Emma De Groot (Coffs Harbour, Australia)     78-71-71 - 220   $1,057
     Seul-Ki Park (Northbrook, Ill.)              77-71-72 - 220   $1,057
     Therese Koelbaek (Copenhagen, Denmark)       72-75-73 - 220   $1,057
     Sara Maude Juneau (Quebec, Canada)           73-73-74 - 220   $1,057
     Nicole Smith (Riverside, Calif.)             75-70-75 - 220   $1,057
     Mary Narzisi (Omaha, Neb.)                   73-72-75 - 220   $1,057
     Kendall Dye (Edmond, Okla.)                  73-71-76 - 220   $1,057

T41  Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.)             74-76-71 - 221   $813
     Jessica Wallace (Langley, British Columbia)  75-74-72 - 221   $813
     Yu-Ling Hsieh (Chinese Taipei)               73-75-73 - 221   $813
     Emma Jandel (Dayton, Ohio)                   74-74-73 - 221   $813
     Allison Hanna (Portland, Ore.)               76-72-73 - 221   $813
     Jessica Speechley (Perth, Australia)         73-74-74 - 221   $813
     Kendall Wright (Sugar Hill, Ga.)             73-73-75 - 221   $813

T48  Lauren Doughtie (Suffolk, Va.)               74-76-72 - 222   $665
     Taylor Collins (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)        74-76-72 - 222   $665
     Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.)           76-73-73 - 222   $665
     Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.)               76-73-73 - 222   $665
     Ulrika Van-Niekerk (Cape Town, South Africa) 75-73-74 - 222   $665
     Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio)           70-77-75 - 222   $665

T54  Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.)            78-72-73 - 223   $592
     Macarena Silva (Santiago, Chile)             74-74-75 - 223   $592
     Alejandra Llaneza (Mexico City, Mexico)      76-72-75 - 223   $592

T57  Aimee Neff (Carmel, Ind.)                    75-75-74 - 224   $513
     Hannah Jun (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)        75-75-74 - 224   $513
     Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico)               76-74-74 - 224   $513
     Jean Chua (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)           73-76-75 - 224   $513
     Laura Kueny (Whitehall, Mich.)               76-73-75 - 224   $513
     Nicole Vandermade (Brantford, ON Canada)     74-74-76 - 224   $513
     Sarah Brown (Whitehall, Pa.)                 74-74-76 - 224   $513
     Saehee Son (Seoul, South Korea)              73-74-77 - 224   $513
     Natalie Sheary (West Hartford, Conn.)        75-72-77 - 224   $513

T66  Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.)            76-72-77 - 225   $465
     Kimberly Kim (Hilo, Hawaii)                  75-73-77 - 225   $465

68   Jennifer Hong (Granger, Ind.)                76-74-76 - 226   $454

69   Selanee Henderson (Temecula, Calif.)         76-74-78 - 228   $446

 --- Missed Cut ---
Dawn Shockley, Marissa Steen, Courtney Massey, Cara Freeman, Rebecca Samuelsson, Thidapa Suwannapura, Jamie Hullett, Paz Echeverria, Joy Trotter, Hye-Joo Han, Jacey Chun, Daniela Iacobelli, Alice H. Kim, Courtney Mahon, Kristin Walla, Kari Bellville (a), Tiffany Tavee, Carrie Riordan, Ashley Tait, Benedikte Grotvedt, Ginger Howard, Briana Vega, Alexandra Braga, Calle Nielson, Lisa Meldrum, Ashley Medders-Barnes, Cathryn Bristow, Xyra Suyetsugu, Nicole Jeray, Sofie Andersson, Dolores White, Stacey Miller, Nina Rodriguez, Michelle Shin, Angela Buzminski, Jessy Tang, Stefanie Kenoyer, Tracy Stanford, Victoria Park, Britney Hamilton, Rebecca Durham, Marina Choi, Kelly Jacques, Britney Choy, Jackie Barenborg, Rhea Nair, Allison Duncan, Christabel Goh, Brittany Kelly, Sydney Cox, Anya Sarai Alvarez, Christina Jones, Whitney Neuhauser, Brittany Johnston, Kristin Vincent, Eileen Vargas, Katie Kempter, Ashley Sholer, Gloriana Soto, Sofi Toccafondi, Sofia Gorelik, Tara Goedeken, Nikki Hadd, Inhong Lim, Lisa Maunu, Annie Brophy, Rachael Schmidt, Jenna Pearson, Martina Gavier, Marcela Leon, Jenny Kim, Abby Bools, Molly Aronsson, Erica Moston; DQ - Laura Mart

NOTES FROM THE SYMETRA TOUR

Julia Boland Wins the 2012 Four Winds Invitational

Symetra Tour rookie Julia Boland sat three shots off the lead heading into the final round on Sunday and shot a 3-under 69 to earn her first-career victory at the Four Wind Invitational. Boland fired rounds of 71-72-69 at Blackthorn Golf Club and received the Tour’s largest winner’s check of $22,500 for her one-stroke win over Birdie Kim and Jenny Suh. The Aussie’s bogey-free round ended with a one-foot putt that she said was much more difficult than it probably looked to the crowd at the 18^th green.

“It was terribly long, trust me,” said Boland. “It was absolutely terrifying to be honest. I’ve never had such a difficult, I guess it was like a foot, I don’t even know at this point to be honest. But I said to my caddy when I marked it, ‘do you see my hand shaking?’ I thought it was going to be hard to put it back down. It wasn’t as easy as what I hope I made it look like.”

Boland carded three birdies on the day at Nos. 8, 11 and 13 and sat one shot off the lead at the turn. She said her birdies and even her pars were no walk in the park.

“I was fortunate to hold a putt at 11 and 13 I knocked it close but had a bit of a slider,” said Boland. “Obviously I wouldn’t change anything at this point. I certainly didn’t breeze in.”

Boland said it may not have been the prettiest performance and that some breaks in her day helped her finish at the stop of the leader board.

“You have to have luck to win,” said Boland. “Actually, maybe not luck but you have to have the putts roll. I was fortunate it was my day. The par putts I had weren’t particularly friendly either.”

Boland becomes the first winner this season to earn a victory coming off a missed cut the week prior. It was her first missed cut out of 10 starts last week in Albany, N.Y. at the Credit Union Challenge and said that the win this week was life-changing in terms of her career. Performing so well when the road got tough solidified her belief that she belongs out with the world’s best.

“I think for my career, certainly it’s life changing but we still have some of the season left to go,” said Boland. “I don’t even know where I’m sitting anymore. But certainly feel very blessed to be here.”

The 26-year old rookie becomes the seventh first-time winner in the 2012 season and the second rookie to notch a victory this year.

“I think I’m fortunate to have a few more years on the rest of the rookies,” said Boland. “I’ve been in pressure situations before but I honestly have never felt anything like this. It was certainly a whole new level.”

With a lot of up-and-down scores throughout the weekend through tough weather conditions, Boland admitted to thinking about what score she would have to shoot today to be in contention or win.

“I tried to play that game last night and I thought it was a silly game to play,” said Boland. “I can’t control what the other girls do. I prayed for peace and to be able to play as well as I can and if that wasn’t good enough it’s ok. There have been a few times this year where I’ve been up there and finished well. I just wanted the peace and the comfort to know that I could go out there and control my emotions to bring it home if I had the opportunity to do so.”

Volvik Race for the Card Continues at the Four Winds Invitational:

The Symetra Tour’s annual "Volvik Race For the Card" continued with the conclusion of the Four Winds Invitational. The "Volvik Race For the Card" spotlights movement on the Tour’s 2012 season money list as players jockey for position among the top-10 money winners. Players finishing in the top-10 at the conclusion of the tournament season will earn exempt status on the 2013 LPGA Tour.

The ever articulate Boland was a bit at a loss for words when asked what the win means for her career and knows that with the biggest winner’s check on tour with her name on it now, she’s in perfect position to make a run at earning her LPGA Tour card.

“Obviously it will push me up the leaderboard,” said Boland. “But there is still a lot of the season to play. I think I’ll be playing out the rest of the season. I’m just overjoyed.”

The Aussie recognised the importance of the Race but said she tried to forget about the rankings and the money issue coming into South Bend.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on it so to speak,” said Boland. “But at the same time, after missing the cut last week I sort of let it go. My caddy said she didn’t want any money this week. We struck a deal this week.”

With her win and the largest winner’s check of the season to her name, Boland jumps up to No. 3 in the Race for the Card. She started the tournament at No. 30 and the $22,500 earnings puts her comfortably in the top-10. She is also now ranked the top rookie on Tour and is No. 1 in the Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year rankings. Other notable moves in the race include Paola Moreno who finished T4 and jumped from No. 17 to No. 9, Birdie Kim (T2) moved from No. 33 to No. 12 and Jenny Suh (T2) leaped from No. 37 to No. 15.

At the conclusion of the Four Winds Invitational, players in the top 10 spots on the money list are as follows: 

 1. Esther Choe of Scottsdale, Arizona, $45,547; 2. Victoria Elizabeth of Dayton, Ohio, $38,885; 3. Julia Boland of Tamworth, NSW, Australia, $33,471; 4. Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky., $30,249; 5. Nicole Smith of Riverside, Calif., $25,776; 6. Jaclyn Sweeney of Bradenton, Fla., $25,234; 7. Megan McChrystal of Stuart, Fla., $24,777; 8. Jean Chua of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, $24,602; 9. Paola Moreno of Cali, Colombia, $23,840; 10. Sara Brown of Tucson, Ariz., $23,832.

Nice to be close: Amy Eneroth leaves South Bend with a little extra cash in her pocket after she won the tournament’s closest to the pin award on the par 3 12^th. Eneroth received a $1,000 from presenting sponsor Jordan Automotive Group for hitting her tee shot to 26 inches of the pin. Eneroth finished the day No. 12 26 inches. Eneroth finished T21 and recorded her third top-25 finish of the season.

Bright and bold: Victoria Elizabeth was presented with a $2,500 check for winning the second series of the Volvik Bright and Bold award. The award recognizes the player, who plays the trademark color Volvik ball, with the lowest scoring average through the sixth and tenth events. Players had to play in a minimum of ten rounds over the five tournaments. Through those events, Elizabeth recorded four top-25 finishes did not finish outside the top-50. She earned her first-career victory at the Credit Union Classic and is currently ranked No. 2 in the Volvik Race for the Card. Elizabeth recorded a 69.20 scoring average over 15 rounds and beat out Victoria Park who posted a 70.10 through 13 rounds.

  

Paola Moreno Wins PeakVision Sunglasses for Final Round Low Score

For her final-round low score of 4-under 68, Paola Moreno of Cali, Colombia was awarded a pair of PeakVision patented Dual-Zone lens sunglasses designed specifically for golfers. The “Official Sunglasses of the Symetra Tour,” PeakVision will provide sunglasses for the season-long promotion Sunday Low Round award. Moreno won through a tiebreaker with Shasta Averyhardt who also shot a final-round 68, but Moreno carded a lower second round score of 68 compared to Averyhardt’s 71. Moreno finished T4, her third top-5 finish of the season and is currently ranked No. 9 in the Volvik Race for the Card.

Tweet of the Day: Goes to Briana Vega who gave a shout out to fellow Tour mate and friend Jenny Suh and followed live scoring during her round. Suh shot a final-round 2-under 70 and finished T2.

“Great tournament to my friend @jenny_suh! I have been refreshing all day!” --@BriVega

Quotable: Julia Boland on how she talked her friend, Brittney Oliver into caddying for her this season.

“She was tossing and turning whether to do a Ph.D. over the summer and I said ‘well I don’t like driving’ and I probably just put about 10,000 miles on my car. And she likes to drive so I said ‘we can listen to a lot of audio books’ and just slipped in there that she would have to carry the bag.  She stupidly agreed. But she’s been a huge support. We’ve had a lot of fun.”