Cydney Clanton Wins It All at Fifth Annual Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout
For the first time in history, the third round of tournament play at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout ended in a tie for the 1st place position. Cydney Clanton from Concord, NC and Julieta Granada from Asuncion, Paraguay both finished the third round with a score of 2 under par. For the first time in tournament history, a shootout was necessary to determine the 2019 champion. With Cydney Clanton and Julieta Granada both in the last group of players to come up the 18th hole, it could not have been a more exciting conclusion.
Spectators were buzzing with excitement at the conclusion, and asking what would happen if there was a tie. Cydney Clanton and Julieta Granada both finished the final round at 2-under par overall for the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, forcing a sudden-death playoff to decide a winner. The two competitors played the par-5 18th until a winner was decided, and Clanton and Granada went back to tee off at the 18th hole not once, not twice, but three times to determine who the 2019 champion would be. On the third shootout hole, Clanton converted birdie to be crowned champion.
Andrew Clyde, Murphy USA CEO, remarked, “What a finish! That was exciting!” Clyde perfectly described the way it felt for everyone watching when he took the microphone at the awards presentation. He said, “It felt like a tennis match where we were volleying back and forth. You were both very good at your game, but eventually we had to call a winner. That was a clutch performance.”
After Cydney received her trophy and check, she was given the microphone. Cydney remarked about Mystic Creek, “The golf course was awesome. One of the best golf courses we play on the Symetra Tour and maybe the LPGA.” Cydney thanked Murphy USA, the volunteers, Mystic Creek staff, and Symetra. Then she spoke directly about how great all the players were this week. “Julieta played phenomenal today and pushed me from the get go,” speaking of the player who tied with her and then played in a shootout to determine the winner.
Cydney did not expect a victory at her first Symetra Tour Tournament in 2019. Cydney was very surprised to be the champion on Sunday. She said, “I don’t know if it has hit yet. It has been a weird year, coming in this was my first event of the year. It’s kind of crazy to be standing here doing this interview.” Cydney’s being in a tie for 1st place in El Dorado was familiar territory. Cydney has one other Symetra Tour win under her belt at the Four Winds Invitational. Her win there also came from a shootout after a tie for the top. In El Dorado, the shootout lasted three rounds, but at the Four Winds Invitational, the shootout lasted seven rounds. Clanton said, “The other playoff was seven holes, so to do it in three holes was a lot nicer not having to go back to the tee again.”
The 2019 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout presented by PepsiCo was held April 26th through 28th at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado. Numerous activities occurred throughout the week leading into the Tournament, including a Junior Clinic for children ages six to eighteen and Pro-Am scrambles that paired Symetra Tour professionals with various local and national sponsors.
Not being declared the victor of the 2019 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout was a disappointing end for Julieta Granada. Julieta’s second place standing in El Dorado moved her to 1st place on the money list or the Volvik Race for the card. Clanton moved into 6th place on the money list which puts her into the top 10 players. If Clanton and Granada can maintain their top 10 positions throughout the Symetra tour, they will receive a card to play in the LPGA in 2020.
For more information about the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout visit the Tournament’s website at www.eldoradoshootout.com.