LPGA Announces Inaugural Senior Championship
Posted On: December 14, 2016 By :
The LPGA Tour has announced the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship, which will be staged July 10–12, 2017, at the Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort in Indiana. The tour has reached a multiyear deal to host the tournament and have it televised live on Golf Channel.
The field of 81 players will feature a collection of past greats in the women’s game including LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame members, current LPGA members and major champions over the age of 45. The 54-hole event will feature a total purse of $600,000.
The Senior LPGA Championship comes on the heels of the February announcement by the USGA of the creation of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship, which will begin in 2018 at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois.
“This is a landmark event for the LPGA because it provides a larger platform to celebrate the legends of the game,” said Mike Whan, LPGA commissioner. “With the USGA’s recently announced U.S. Senior Women’s Open and now our event, the women who forged the way for the current generation will now have two major championships each year.”
The inaugural Senior LPGA Championship will take place Monday-Wednesday. The Pete Dye Course has hosted the 2015 Senior PGA Championship, the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Championship from 2012–2014 and the 2010 PGA Professionals National Championship. It has also hosted a Legends Tour event since 2013.
“French Lick is proud to host such a prestigious event,” said Steve Ferguson, chairman of the board of Cook Group, owners of the French Lick Resort. “We have long supported women’s golf and to now be part of the first major championship for senior women is indeed an honor. We look forward to a great relationship with the LPGA and an outstanding Championship.”
Posted in: Sports Organizations