October 03-06
Old American Golf Club, The Colony, Texas
$1,300,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 4

Jaye Marie Green, who leads the Volunteers of America Classic at -14, put on a clinic during the first nine. Seven birdies in eight holes with just nine putts rewarded Green with a front-nine 28. The 28-year-old said she did not realize how spectacular the start was until the seventh hole but knew not to let it get to her head.

“When you're in the middle of it, you don't really realize like I only had two pars through 10 holes,” said Green. “I was like, oh, my gosh. I'm like, ah, forget about it, if it's my time to shoot in the 50s it will happen. But it didn't and I was happy with how things went.”

When Green hit two roadblocks with bogeys on No. 14 and 15, she channeled the lessons she learned from the U.S. Women's Open and her six years playing on the LPGA Tour to get her through.

“My main thing is sometimes, like at the U.S. Open, what I learned was I was always picturing myself holding the trophy. I'm like, Jaye, you're not there yet. When you're there, then let yourself feel all the emotions. Today that was coming in my mind. I was like, ‘Jaye, it's the third round, there's so much golf left, just stay focused,'” said Green. “Being six years on Tour, I kind of feel like we all pay our dues. I'm like I've learned so many lessons that you never really -- it's not learning if you don't take something from it and then apply it. So I feel like I did a good job of doing that today.”

Cheyenne Knight ready to rise to the challenge

Cheyenne Knight seems to be finding her best golf with her back against the wall. With Q-Series looming, the 2019 LPGA Tour rookie came into the Volunteers of America Classic knowing she needed a high finish to avoid a trip to Pinehurst, N.C. With a third-round 67, Knight stayed consistent at Old American Golf Club to finish one stroke off the lead at -13.

“I thought I did really well on small targets and just keep being aggressive. I was really disciplined like with some of those pin positions, just firing middle of the green because my speed's been pretty well all week,” said Knight.

Knight felt the pressure being under the gun last season on the Symetra Tour. She finished just short of skipping directly to Q-Series at the Symetra Tour Championship. She moved through Stage II of the Qualifying Tournament and then finished in the top 45 at Q-Series to earn her 2019 card. After a hard-fought season, she said her experiences over the past two years are her biggest motivators, especially for tomorrow's performance in the final grouping that could change her career.

“For me in my golf career, I know I can persevere,” said Knight. “I wouldn't change those hard experiences like for anything. It's made me a lot stronger, because my first year on the LPGA, it's been very difficult. I mean, after Portland I bogeyed the last two holes to miss the cut and I'm like, ‘you've got to be stronger mentally.' I know I'm strong enough to do it, so just trying to hit fairways and greens.”

American duo so close to first LPGA wins

The two Americans tied for third, Katherine Perry and Brittany Altomare , are looking for their first LPGA Tour victories. At -12, both players are just two strokes behind leader Jaye Marie Green and are in prime position to capture a win that would mean so much to their careers.

Over the last three seasons, Altomare has been one of the most consistent players on the LPGA Tour but is still looking for that breakthrough win. Since bursting onto the scene with a runner-up finish at the 2017 Evian Championship, Altomare has steadily played her way to becoming one of the elite American players. She has not missed a cut in her 21 events in 2019 and on the strength of nine top-20 finishes, she went 2-1-1 in her debut for Team USA at the Solheim Cup. 

Known for her short-game prowess, Altomare co-leads the Volunteers of America Classic field in greens regulation at 75.9%. And today's bogey at No. 14? It was her first over-par hole since the second hole of her third round at the Indy Women in Tech Championship, a streak of 84 holes.

“I just think I'm playing very consistent. All year I hit the ball really well, and like the last half of the year the putts started to go in,” said Altomare, a four-year All-American at the University of Virginia. “So I think that's really been the difference in the last half of the year.”

For Perry, a win this week would mean so much more than just a trophy. The 27-year-old from Cary, N.C., is fighting to avoid two weeks in Pinehurst at Q-Series. After starting her third LPGA season with limited status, she posted her career-best finish of T9 at the 2019 Pure Silk Championship after Monday qualifying. The good result moved her up the Priority List at the first reshuffle, but she has yet to crack the top 25 since that week in Virginia.

Now, with $73,340 in 2019 earnings and sitting 118th on the Money List, Perry is just 18 holes away from cementing her LPGA Tour future.

“I think just again, one shot at a time, one hole at a time,” said Perry, who played collegiately for the University of North Carolina. “When you get in this position, like you don't even realize what you're shooting, I feel like. Just playing one hole at a time, staying calm.”

Race to the CME Globe

This week's Volunteers of America Classic marks the end of the LPGA Tour's core domestic schedule, with four events across Asia in October and November before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 21-24. It will also be a major factor in three season-ending storylines – the Fall Asia Swing, the Race to the CME Globe and LPGA Qualifying Tournaments.

If Jaye Marie Green can hold onto her lead, she projects to move from 79th to 35th in the Race to the CME Globe standings. Other players in the top 10 hoping to move up in the Race standings include second-place Cheyenne Knight (114th), third-place Katherine Perry (122nd) and sixth-place Caroline Hedwall (100th). This week's winner will earn 500 Race points, with the runner-up receiving 300 points and third place receiving 190 points.

For the 2019 Race to the CME Globe standings, click here: www.lpga.com/statistics/points/race-to-cme-globe-season.

LPGA qualifying tournaments

Following the Volunteers of America Classic, players outside the top 150 on the Official Money List will head to LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II, to be held Oct. 12-17 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla. Players ranked No. 101-150 (and any ties for 150th) on the Official Money List will skip directly to Q-Series, a two-week, eight-round tournament to be held Oct. 23-26 on Pinehurst No. 6 and Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 on Pinehurst No. 9, both in Pinehurst, N.C.

Players in the top 10 looking to avoid Q-Series include second-place Cheyenne Knight (120th, $71,346), third-place Katherine Perry (118th, $73,340) and 10th-place Stephanie Meadow (112th, $87,335).