WILLMAR
— How do two professional golfers end up at
Eagle Creek Golf Club
in small town Minnesota?
Connections matter.
The seed behind it all was Chad Pendill.
That is how Brittany Lincicome and D.A. Points hosted a free junior golf camp on Wednesday.
Pendill, a co-owner of Eagle Creek Golf Club with Chris Sauer since 2024 and the President of Legacy Energy Consulting since 2020, has participated in plenty of professional-amateur tournaments around the country.
Brittany Lincicome chats with youth golfers during a Q&A session led by Greg Snow, Eagle Creek Golf Club’s General Manager, at a free junior clinic on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
The pro-am tournaments have allowed Pendill access to professional golfers over the years.
Lincicome and Points were no exception.
Pendill met Lincicome at the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational in November 2024.
Lincicome, a 39-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, has eight Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour wins, including two major victories. She has been on six U.S. Solheim Cup teams and has earned nearly $10 million.
With two daughters, Emery (6) and Sophia (2), Lincicome retired from full-time tour play in November 2024.
Her husband, Dewald Gouws, also appeared at Eagle Creek Golf Club on Wednesday. From Westonaria, South Africa, he was the runner-up in the 2008 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship.
Dewald Gouws addresses youth golfers during a Q&A session led by Greg Snow, Eagle Creek Golf Club’s General Manager, at a free junior clinic on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
Not far removed from their time at Pebble Beach, Pendill reached out to Lincicome.
“I have a perfect trip for a semi-retired LPGA Tour player to get out of hot Florida in the summer,” Pendill said.
His offer?
To come out to Willmar, Minnesota for a junior clinic sponsored by Viking Coca-Cola Bottling Company and play in the Marcus Construction Pro-Am.
Lincicome accepted.
Her oldest daughter, Emery, is out of school and Gouws is off his work duties.
“It actually worked out perfectly to come up here and get out of the heat in Florida,” Lincicome said. “Hopefully, over the years, we can grow this and get more and more kids to come out.”
Lincicome, who has played in five events in 2025, typically golfs every Friday and volunteers at Emery’s school.
Minnesota has been a rare destination for Lincicome, but her former longtime caddie, Missy Pederson, is from Plymouth. She was a two-time Division III women’s basketball All-American at the University of St. Thomas. Pederson graduated in 2002.
“It’s just nice to be here and hang out with good people,” Lincicome said. “It was a pretty easy decision.”
D.A. Points talks to youth golfers during a Q&A session led by Greg Snow, Eagle Creek Golf Club’s General Manager, at a free junior clinic on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
Pendill and Points met a few years back at the 3M Open in Blaine. Points first came to Willmar in 2024. The two have built a strong friendship and his golf attire sports “Legacy Energy Consulting.”
Points, a 48-year-old who resides in Orlando, has three Professional Golf Association Tour wins and his career earnings has reached nearly $12 million. Originally from Pekin, Illinois, he is “trying to stay sharp” for when he turns 50 and becomes eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, a men’s professional senior golf tour.
Along with his play in four Korn Ferry events this year, Points does on-course and in-studio commentary as an analyst for “PGA TOUR LIVE” on ESPN+. He also started working with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.
“Eagle Creek is a really nice club,” Points said. “I’m a big fan of Minnesota.”
Pendill lived in Willmar for 20 years before moving to Albertville in 2015. He also bought a house in Scottsdale, Arizona two years ago. But, a return to west central Minnesota is in the works. He will continue to spend the winters in Arizona and summers in Minnesota.
“We are selling our house in the Cities when we leave this fall,” Pendill said. “We’ll be buying something out here to come back to next spring, so we can be on-site full-time and local and be more involved.”
Pendill’s goal out of organizing the free junior clinic was simple.
“We’re just trying to really focus on making it a community golf course and hopefully bring some things to Willmar that kids in the community wouldn’t normally see,” Pendill said. “We want these kids to have an experience they’ll probably never get again, until next year here, in their lives.”
Michael Lyne joined the West Central Tribune as a sports reporter in May 2022, following his graduation from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where he graduated with a bachelors degree in journalism and a minor degree in Spanish studies.
You may reach Michael at mlyne@wctrib.com, or by calling (320) 214-4345.
