NEWS

2011-09-07
Friendly Rivals Gleason, Sheridan Facing Off In Final Event "J Golf Race For The Card" Concludes This Sunday
ALBANY, N.Y., Sept. 7, 2011 - Jenny Gleason and Sophia Sheridan are just like all of the other professionals paying close attention to the LPGA Futures Tour's money list. But as the tour winds down its 2011 season this week at the Price Chopper Tour Championship, the two veteran pros -- who are good friends - have a close eye on a tight race that affects them both.

That's because Sheridan, currently ranked No. 10 on the tour's money list, leads Gleason, ranked No. 11, by a mere sum of $640.

And both are keenly aware that players finishing Nos. 1-10 in the "J Golf Race For The Card" earn 2012 LPGA Tour membership. Players in the next 15 spots on the money list (who are not already LPGA members) advance directly into the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, skipping the Stage II LPGA qualifying event.

"We have both had a good year, but we're all extremely competitive out here," said Gleason, an eighth-year pro from Clearwater, Fla. "Hopefully, we'll both be holding up cards on Sunday."

"The tournament purse [payout] is top-heavy, so you just try to play well and hope for the best," said Sheridan, a sixth-year pro from Guadalajara, Mexico. "I'm playing the golf course like I do every week. It's not like I have to beat Jenny. I have to beat the field. If Jenny plays well, I'll be happy for her."

The friendly rivals swapped places on the money list two weeks ago following the Vidalia Championship in Vidalia, Ga. Heading into that event, Gleason was No. 8, but tumbled into the 11 th spot. Sheridan was ranked 11 th going into Georgia, and improved to No. 10. But instead of hard feelings, the two pros have continued their usual routine of playing practice rounds together for ice cream and sharing private housing during tournament weeks.

"I just bought a ticket to go to her wedding in Mexico next month," said Gleason, 30, a current LPGA member who would like to improve her 2012 LPGA membership to full status.

"If she knocks me out of the top 10, we'll see if she's still invited to my wedding," quipped Sheridan, who was an LPGA member in 2007 and 2009, and hopes to regain LPGA status.

The two have traveled and played together on both the LPGA and LPGA Futures Tour for so long that they bicker like sisters and know each other's habits as well as their own.

"She goes to bed at 8:30 and wakes up at 6, so if we go out for dinner, we have to go before 6 o'clock," said Sheridan. "When I eat that early, I'm hungry again before I go to bed. It's like staying with my grandma."

Countered Gleason: "Sometimes she convinces me to go have a "Mexican dinner.' That doesn't mean we're eating Mexican food. It means it takes us two hours to eat because we sit and talk and take forever."

But all jokes aside, both players admit this year's money race is "tight," especially between two players who share similarities statistically on the 2011 LPGA Futures Tour. For example, Sheridan is ranked 7 th in scoring average at 71.698, while Gleason is ranked 8 th at 71.850. Gleason is ranked 7 th in par-4 average (4.036), while Sheridan is ranked 14 th (at 4.065).

A longer hitter than Gleason, Sheridan leads the tour in par-5 average (4.726), while Gleason is ranked 15 th (at 4.865). Sheridan is third in sub-par holes (143 in 43 rounds) and third among birdie leaders (140 in 43 rounds), while Gleason is ranked eighth in driving accuracy (hitting 85 percent of fairways) and seventh in putting average (29.525 putts per round) to Sheridan's ranking of 11 th with an average of 29.750 putts per round. So how will the friends settle their on-course battle this week?

"I'm going to win," said Gleason.

"So am I," said Sheridan, who has a bachelorette party in Mexico on Tuesday. "But what if we're in a playoff?"

Stay tuned. The "J Golf Race For The Card" culminates on Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Price Chopper Championship in Albany, N.Y., and the most coveted prize is to be among the top-10 money winners at the end of this week's event. Those top-10 players will earn 2012 LPGA Tour membership, with the top five finishers earning full LPGA status.

Media contact: Lisa D. Mickey, Senior writer/ communications manager, lisa.mickey AT lpga.com , 386-214-9726