Kim Kaufman made her debut at the 2013 Symetra Tour Debut in Decatur, Illinois, finishing 10th at the Decatur-Forsyth Classic.
Fast forward eight years and Kaufman makes another debut this weekend, playing for the first time at the El Dorado Shootout at Mystic Creek Golf Club.
Kaufman joins a 108-person golf court participating in the shootout, which is being played for the first time in two years, as 2020 paused to build a new clubhouse.
After making her Symetra debut in 2013, Kaufman finally joined the LPGA Tour in 2014, where she has played professionally for the past eight years before rejoining the LPGA’s official golf development tour this year.
“It was great,” said Kaufman. “It was fun to come and see how far this tour has come.” I can tell you, in 2013 we didn’t play such beautiful places as Mystic Creek so it was really great to see and it was just good for my golf game. “
This year Kaufman has played 14 Symetra tournaments, and she said the most notable changes have been in both the quality of the courses and the wallet size.
“And you know, that’s the things we look at,” Kaufman said. “Better quality golf courses preparing us for LPGA and we can play for a little more money so girls can stay out here.”
The 108-man field at this year’s Shootout is aiming for a winning share of $ 26,250 of $ 175,000 in prize money, up $ 25,000 from the 2019 total.
In her eight years on the LPGA Tour, Kaufman made approximately $ 1.5 million while earning 15 top 10 finishes.
“That’s everyone’s goal to be out there,” said Kaufman of his participation in the LPGA Tour. “I feel very lucky that I did and even though you come back like everything else, you sometimes come back to the minor league but I think I know I can go out and play there again.”
To get there, Kaufman must continue on the Symetra and take the next step in Mystic Creek. She spent some time at the clubhouse this week and even had the chance to play part of the course over the weekend.
“You can’t miss the green anywhere,” said Kaufman. “There are a lot of X’s in my book. You usually have a couple of circles, but it’s challenging, so if you’re missing that green, maybe try not to get cute. Get up and just give yourself a chance for par. “
The tournament begins today at 7:30 am with a 54-hole stroke play format that continues through Sunday, with a cut to the low-60 players and a tie after Saturday.
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At a glance
El Dorado shootout from Symetra Tour
WHEN Today-Sunday
WHERE Mystic Creek Golf Club, El Dorado
FIELD 108 players
FORMAT 54-hole lifting game
PURSE $ 175,000
WINNING PART $ 26,250
DEFENSE MASTER Cydney Clanton (2019)
free entry