TAMPA NATIVE WINS PLAYER OF THE YEAR WITH WIN IN ALBANY
By John Craig

ALBANY – While the players say they don’t end too many tournaments on par-3s, Cindy LaCrosse will gladly do it again if it turns out the way it did Sunday.

First, she came to the 174-yard par-3 18th tied for the lead at -4. She nearly jarred her six-iron, leaving the ball inside a foot from the cup. Then, she parred it in the playoff to win the Price Chopper Tour Championship, the final stop on the 2010 Duramed Futures Tour.

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LACROSSE LEADS MONEY LIST WITH $94,578

ALBANY – The workers at the main leaderboard at Capital Hills at Albany were kept busy as numbers kept changing and there were many players tied or near the top on the final day of the Price Chopper Tour Championship.

It was a much easier job for other staff crunching the numbers for the Top-10 players on the money list. Only one name switched. One player earned a spot, one was knocked out.

Outright number one, Cindy LaCrosse of Tampa, FL, who won the tournament, earned $16,800 after the one-hole playoff for a season total of $94,578 and three wins.

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JENNIFER JOHNSON WINS PEAKVISION AWARD

For her final-round low score of 66 (-5), Jennifer Johnson of Carlsbad, CA, was the recipient of a pair of PeakVision patented Dual-Zone lens sunglasses designed specifically for golfers.

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LPGA CARDS AWARDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN ALBANY
By John Craig

ALBANY – What the threesome at the top of the $120,000 Price Chopper Tour Championship presented by SEFCU should understand, this tournament is all about numbers. That means scores on the card, ranks on the money list and position on the leaderboard.

After all, the Top-5 get fully exempt for the LPGA next season, the next 5 get partial status. But there are other thresholds, like Top-25 and Top-90 for the 2011 Futures Tour. And no one in contention is better at the numbers game than Michelle Jarman, tied with four others in second at -3. With an undergraduate (’06) and masters (’07) from UNC-Wilmington, she works full-time for an accounting firm.

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SHIN, 17, HAS LEAD WHILE LATHAM’S COCCA, 16, MAKES FIRST CUT

ALBANY – A touring teenager has the lead while a Capital Area amateur, getting set to head back for her junior year at Shaker, will play another day.

Duramed Futures Tour rookie Jenny Shin, 17, claimed she felt dizzy and her “muscles were so tense [she] had a hard time walking.” But Shin collected herself by the third hole, making a par-saving putt from 10-feet, birdied #4 from 10-feet and went on to finish the day six-under, 65, for the lead at Capital Hills at Albany in the $120,000 Price Chopper Tour Championship presented by SEFCU.

“I’m really surprised to be leading,” said Shin, of Torrance, CA, who entered the week ranked No. 5 on the money list. “It’s a tough course that’s long and slopey, and it’s in very good condition.”

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LAVIGNE CADDIES FOR TOUR ROOKIE
 
The last time current LPGA teaching professional Denise Lavigne of Montreal played on the Futures Tour was long before many of the Tour’s current members were born. Lavigne, 55, returned to the tour this week not as a player, but as the caddie/coach of Duramed Futures Tour rookie Danielle Mills of Pointe-Claire, Quebec.

“She offered to caddie for me this week and we made a good team,” said Mills, 23, who began working with the coach and fellow French-Canadian two years ago. “We kept it light today and it was fun to be able to speak French out there.”

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ANGELA OH BEATS WHITNEY WADE IN FINAL MATCH
 
Earlier this week, Duramed Futures Tour members Angela Oh of Maple Shade, NJ, and Whitney Wade of Glasgow, KY, had a little extra incentive during their practice round at Capital Hills @ Albany. The two squared off in the final match of the Tour’s annual “Last CHAMP Standing” match-play contest. Oh won the match 3 and 1 and the $2,500 top prize. Wade picked up the runner-up check for $500 in the all-SEC Conference final.

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QUICK GLANCE AT FUTURES FIELD

The three-day long $120,000 Price Chopper Tour Championship begins Friday. The 144-player field includes Latham’s Bailey Cocca, 16, who is making her third consecutive appearance in this event after winning the sponsor’s qualifier on Saturday. Cocca tees off at 1:25PM Friday off #1.

It is the season-ender for the Futures, the Tour’s 17th event of the year and the 11th consecutive tournament held in New York’s state capital. It’s been at Capital Hills now for seven years.

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TAMPA NATIVE HAD TEMPER, NOW CALMER

The quiet and introverted Cindy LaCrosse, a second-year pro from Tampa, FL and the daughter of a golf professional, has a belly with fire, Cokes and hot dogs.

LaCrosse, 23, is the number one player on the Duramed Futures Tour’s 2010 money list.

“I definitely have less pressure than some other girls but I still want to come here out and play well and play my best,” said LaCrosse, while taking a water break during her Wednesday afternoon pro-am.

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DURAMED FUTURES BACK FOR 11TH STRAIGHT YEAR IN ALBANY
 
The Duramed Futures Tour returns this week for the season-ending $120,000 Price Chopper Tour Championship at Capital Hills @ Albany, Friday through Sunday. It’s the Tour’s 17th event of 2010. The top prize is $16,800, $12,000 for the runner-up. Also, 10 cards for 2011 LPGA membership go to the top-10 season money winners at the conclusion of Sunday’s final round. The top-5 money winners earn full 2011 LPGA membership.

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