MURPHY USA EL DORADO SHOOTOUT PREVIEW

EL DORADO, Ark. — The fifth stop on the 2019 “Road to the LPGA” takes the Symetra Tour to Mystic Creek Golf Club in the Natural State for the fifth annual Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout from April 26-28.

“We moved this event up on the calendar from its typical fall date as Mystic Creek breaks ground on a brand-new clubhouse,” said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of the Symetra Tour. “Murphy USA continues to be a devoted sponsor of the Symetra Tour, helping shape the future for the next generation of LPGA Tour stars on a golf course that is arguably the most challenging test our players face all year.”

Greeting the 144-player field in El Dorado, Ark. is a total purse of $150,000. Individuals are set to compete in a 54-hole stroke play format with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes.

“Through our relationship with the Symetra Tour, Murphy USA has been given a unique opportunity to bring women’s professional golf to our hometown of El Dorado where we not only have an exceptional golf course, but also an incredible community to host the event,” said Murphy Oil USA, Inc. President and CEO Andrew Clyde. “Murphy USA strongly believes that participating in athletics—at all levels—prepares young women for powerful futures as leaders, whether in the classroom, the board room, or the professional athletic arena.”

Defending champion Hyemin Kim (Seoul, Republic of Korea) is among the competitors. She won the fourth edition of the event in 2018 at 5-under par overall. The 30-year-old entered the 2019 campaign with a total of nine top-10 finishes in 121 career starts on the Symetra Tour.

“I really didn’t expect to win because I was struggling with my game last year, but it gave me a lot of confidence and completely changed my expectations for 2019,” Kim said. “This is one of my favorite golf courses, it is so challenging and always in perfect shape. When we come to El Dorado, I receive such a welcoming feeling from all the local people. I really appreciate Murphy USA running this amazing tournament and can’t wait to compete again.”

Action gets underway at 7:30 a.m. CT in the first and second round with play starting off No. 1 and No. 10 tees all three days. Meanwhile, final round action will begin at 7:45 a.m. with a trophy presentation to follow on No. 18 green.

ABOUT SYMETRA TOUR 

The Symetra Tour is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and enters its 39th competitive season in 2019. With the support of its entitlement partner Symetra, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7 million in prize money to $4.0 million in prize money awarded over the course of 24 events. With more than 600 alumnae moving on to the LPGA, former Symetra Tour players have won a total of 437 LPGA titles. Follow the Symetra Tour on the web at www.SymetraTour.com, Facebook.com/Road2LPGA, Twitter.com/Road2LPGA, and YouTube.com/Road2LPGA.

ABOUT SYMETRA 

Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation, a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Washington. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions and independent agents and advisors. Symetra began its partnership with the Road to the LPGA in 2010 as the title sponsor of the Symetra Classic. It secured naming rights for the Symetra Tour in November 2011. In addition to its title sponsorship of the Tour, which runs through 2021, Symetra sponsors two events on the tournament schedule—the Symetra Classic and the season-ending Symetra Tour Championship. For more information about Symetra, visit www.symetra.com.