How this Conway native earned her spot into this week’s LPGA Tour event in Oregon
Last year as the first alternate for the LPGA Tour’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, which is perhaps her favorite tournament on tour, Kristy McPherson waited for someone to drop out prior to the opening round. No one did.
The Conway native had better luck this year, and took advantage of her opportunity. As a result, she traveled to Portland, Oregon, on Monday to play this week in the $1.75 million Cambia Portland Classic.
McPherson, who has been trying to regain full status on the LPGA Tour for the last five years, tied for ninth on July 28 in the Arkansas tournament after beginning the week as the first alternate, which earned her starts in at least two more events.
The top-10 finish gets her into the event in Portland this week, as well as the $4.3 million KPMG Women’s PGA Championship from Oct. 8-11 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pennsylvania. The major uses the money list to determine the field.
“I told a few people before that week that for the first time in many years I was feeling better and felt I had control of my golf ball again,” McPherson said. “So to have that confidence going into the week and to see that I can still compete was a relief more than anything. It’s no secret it has been a struggle. Top-10s feel good when you are playing great. So when it’s been a struggle that satisfaction is so much greater!”
McPherson came up one shot shy of a tie for seventh, which she said would have also qualified her to participate in two more majors, last week’s ANA Inspiration in California and the U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Course in Houston.
The ANA took the current top 80 on the money list and McPherson finished the week 81st, and the U.S. Open took up to two players in the top 10 that weren’t already qualified, which ended up being Jenny Shin, who tied for fifth, and Katherine Kirk, who tied for seventh.
“I thought I had one, but I didn’t realize they both weren’t in the Open yet,” said McPherson, who could earn more LPGA starts with more success.
“I’m excited to take advantage of the extra playing opportunities I get ... I’ll play those and try to work my way into more events. I’ll play some Symetra [Tour] as well.”
McPherson shot a 3-under 68 followed by a pair of 66s in the 54-hole event to finish at 13-under 200. She birdied four of her last five holes in the final round. The $46,777 she earned in Arkansas has her ranked 86th on the money list.
“I was excited to get the last spot into the field and be able to take advantage of that opportunity,” McPherson said. “Last year I sat there as first alternate all [week] and was disappointed to not get in.”
The NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club came at an opportune time for McPherson on the revamped 2020 schedule. It has been a honey hole for the South Carolina grad over the years.
She has a pair of official top-five finishes there, and as a rookie in 2007 she shot an opening-round 6-under 66 and was tied for second before the rest of the tournament was rained out and was deemed an unofficial 18-hole event that paid out half of the $1.25 million purse.
“I do love that course and have played there well in the past,” McPherson said. “
It was quite a week for players from the Palmetto State on the tour, as Austin Ernst of Seneca earned her second LPGA Tour victory by two strokes with a closing 8-under 63 for a 20-under 193 total.
Her brother, Drew, who played at Coastal Carolina from 2008-11, has been caddying for her for a few years and was on the bag for the win. “It’s good to see South Carolina folk doing well,” McPherson said.
Ernst earned $345,000 and is now fourth on the 2020 LPGA money list with nearly $600,000, and is barely $100,000 behind earnings leader Danielle Kang. Her first win came at the 2014 Portland Classic.
McPherson, 39, is playing in her fourth LPGA event this season. She missed the cut in her first two, shooting a 15-over 159 in the LPGA Drive On Championship in late July and 3-over 145 at the Marathon LPGA Classic the next week.
She has also played in two events on the Symetra Tour — the LPGA feeder circuit — since late July and tied for 29th and missed a cut.
She played on the LPGA for nine years from 2007-15 and has earned more than $2.2 million in her career. Her best year was 2009 when she reached No. 14 in the world, played on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, tied for second in both the Kraft Nabisco Championship – a major – and Wegman’s LPGA, tied for third in the LPGA Tour Championship, and finished fifth at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and second at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
Injuries contributed to her fall off in play in succeeding years.
She earned partial status for the 2019 season through the qualifying tournament and missed nine cuts in 10 tournaments while battling a torn labrum in her hip that led to surgery last October.
New world champ
Harry Radley of Indianapolis made a gross par on the first hole of a three-way, sudden-death playoff to become the newest world champion in Myrtle Beach.
Radley won the flight winners’ playoff on Sept. 4 of the 37th annual PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur Handicap Championship at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club.
The tournament featured more than 2,100 players from all 50 states and numerous countries and was played on more than 60 area courses over five days.
Radley, Doug Mrstik of Sarasota, Florida and Bruce Moskovciak of Jacksonville, Florida all shot net 71s through 18 holes. They began the playoff on the Dye Club’s par-4 18th hole and Radley’s par earned him the win.
Neither Radley, who entered the round as a 7 handicap, nor Moskovciak got a shot on the 18th hole while Mrstik, a 20-handicap, did receive a stroke.
Ryan Reynolds of Camden shot a 1-under 71 to win the Gross Division. Michael Batten of Jacksonville, Florida shot a 79 to overcome a one-stroke deficit entering the shootout to Jim Marcelak of Fort Myers, Florida to win the Senior Gross Division.
Brian Katrek of Mableton, Georgia and Todd Stires of Murrieta, California combined to win the Casa de Campo Pairs Competition and receive a four-day trip to Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic.
The 2021 World Am will be played Aug. 30-Sept. 3.
The 2020 tournament was altered because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It did not have the World’s Largest 19th Hole expo and cocktail party, each player had their own cart, fewer players were at each course daily, groups were in threesomes rather than foursomes, tee times were instituted rather than shotgun starts to stagger arrival times at courses, and no spectators were allowed.
Hurricane Tour returns
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour returns to the Grand Strand with the Myrtle Beach National Junior Open on Saturday and Sunday at MB National’s West Course.
Approximately 50 players are registered, including several from the Strand.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 1:31 PM.
