ITALY'S GIULIA MOLINARO SCORES FIRST WIN ON SYMETRA TOUR

FROM THE SYMETRA TOUR WEBSITE
Italy's Giulia Molinaro (@GMolinaroGolf) earned her first Symetra Tour victory in commanding fashion as she fired a final-round 7-under 65 to win the inaugural Friends of Mission Charity Classic.
Despite never being in contention at a professional event prior to Sunday, Molinaro recorded nine birdies and two bogeys to become the first rookie to win on the Symetra Tour (formerly the Futures Tour) in 2013.
“I had an amazing day,” said Molinaro after her win. “As a third day I’ve never been in contention for a professional tournament like this and the first day I was I won it so I’m in seventh heaven right now. I played amazing, I’m extremely happy, everything went my way. I mean, I saw putts that were going in and everything went great.”
Molinaro entered Sunday’s final round tied atop the leaderboard with former Arizona State University teammate Jaclyn Sweeney but the rookie, who needed only 25 putts during her final round, wasted little time getting into the red numbers with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 first and par-5 second.
Molinaro gave one back with a bogey at the par-3 third but continued to rely on advice she received from her coach Sunday morning to recover with two additional birdies on her opening nine at the seventh and ninth.
“I woke-up early because I didn’t know what my tee-time was and that always bothers me,” said Molinaro. “I called my coach and I asked him what to do and he said just do what you’ve been doing and give yourself as many birdie opportunities as you can, and I did. It worked out and my putting was great and once my putting goes then everything turns out to be easier.”
The Italian showed no signs of slowing down during the final round as she extended her lead with three consecutive birdies beginning at the par-4 10th. The Arizona State University graduate continued rolling in birdies on her final nine with a birdie at the par-4 14th before dropping a shot at the par-5 16th.
Molinaro immediately responded and birdied the par-3 17th before a par on the final hole for the win. Despite growing-up in Kenya and calling Treviso, Italy home, Molinaro admitted to feeling right at home in Asheville, North Carolina.
“I really like the course, I really like the whole atmosphere, all the trees, everything and I live in Phoenix so that’s a big change,” said Molinaro. “I really like whole city and the whole feel over everything. The experience has been great.”
Molinaro’s impressive 13-under three-day total earned her a 5-stroke victory over third-year Symetra Tour member, Macarena Silva.
Silva suffered a car accident last year and due to a slow recovery, has only played in two Symetra Tour events this year. Silva finished T17 at last week’s Symetra Classic then on Monday, qualified for the prestigious U.S. Women’s Open.
“It’s great,” said Silva of her tied for second finish this week. “I qualified for the U.S. Open on Monday so it’s just been three tournaments really well. I didn’t play because I got in a car wreck at the end of last year so it took me a little longer but it’s been great. I’m really looking forward to the entire season now.”
During Sunday’s final round of the Friends of Mission Charity Classic, Silva recorded three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 11th to fire a 5-under-par 67.
“I was hitting the ball really well and was able to make some birdies and made an eagle on 11 so that felt pretty good,” said Silva. “I don’t know, it was a long day just being patient.”
Volvik Race for the Card… The highly anticipated Volvik Race for the Card continued at the conclusion of the Symetra Classic. Each year since 1999, players have been playing their way onto the LPGA Tour through the Symetra Tour’s Volvik Race for the Card by finishing atop the season-ending money list.
The Volvik Race for the Card spotlights movement on the Tour’s 2013 season money list as players jockey for position among the top-10 money winners. This year marks the second year 10 players will receive fully-exempt status on next year’s LPGA Tour.
It was a gut-wrenching final day at the 2012 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament for Giulia Molinaro who missed earning her 2013 LPGA Tour card by one stroke.
Rather than sulking in her defeat, Molinaro has relished in the opportunity to compete alongside some of the best women professional golfers in the world on the Symetra Tour. 
During this year’s rookie season, Molinaro seems to be taking everything in and with a win at this week’s Friends of Mission Charity Classic, she is one-step closer to getting her LPGA Tour card.
“It feels great,” said Molinaro of her win this week. “Obviously it hurts to miss the LPGA Q-School especially because I played well. But when you think about it if you go through a year of this, you’ll be ready. You’re better than just fresh out so this has been a great experience and my goal and dream is to make it. This is a step forward to that.”
At the conclusion of the Friends of Mission Charity Classic, players moving into the top 10 spots on the money list are as follows: 
1 Jaclyn Sweeney (Bradenton, Florida) $24,046
2. Melissa Eaton (South Africa) $21,306
3 Giulia Molinaro (Italy) $18,506
4 Christine Song (Fullerton, California) $18,406
5 Sue Kim (Langley, British Columbia) $16,916
6 Courtney Massey (Gold Coast, Australia) $16,710
7 Laura Kueny (Whitehall, Michigan) $16,585
8 Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Canada) $16,489
9 Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) $13,444
10 Isabelle Boineau (Marseille, France) $13,188