LPGA Stars Join 3M Greats of Golf with Nicklaus, Player, and Irwin

After competing in the Greats of Golf scramble at the Insperity Invitational with a team that included Tony Jacklin, Tom Weiskopf, and David Graham, LPGA great Pat Bradley talked about the thrill it is for her to play with former PGA stars she rarely crossed paths with when she was winning on the LPGA Tour. She appreciates the game, the fans, volunteers, the fellow competitors, and what the sport has given her. #rolemodel

On the 18th hole on Saturday, she rolled in a birdie for the team that would give them one-stroke margin bragging rights over Team Nicklaus/Sorenstam. Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez, and Juli Inkster were the other LPGA players in the event.

Imagine that a small number of members at CCR didn’t want these classy players back in Rochester competing in the 2020 U.S. Senior Women’s Open. (I had suggested early in 2015 that CCR would be a great venue for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open event in 2018 due to the local golf history and the popularity of the LPGA here. However, the USGA staged it at Chicago Golf Club.) CCR last hosted the women at the 1973 U.S. Women’s Open, an event that seemed to propel the creation of the yearly LPGA stop at Locust Hill in 1977. A minority of CCR members voting against the 2020 Senior Open was truly a lose-lose-lose for the Rochester community, golf, and CCR. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory…

Pat Bradley rolls in a long birdie for her team on 18 to shoot 31 @InsperityInvtnl. pic.twitter.com/Vpxs7Y5CTY

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2019

 

LPGA Legends and Stars to Return to Corning, N.Y.

The Corning Classic was a staple of the Southern Tier’s sports schedule for 30 years during the LPGA golf tournament’s 1979-2009 run. The pros loved the supportive, enthusiastic fans, the community spirit, and the old-style country club. As the LPGA purses exploded in the 2000s, however, smaller cities such as Corning couldn’t keep pace with the LPGA Tour’s purse demands. Thus, the event ended amidst player and community sadness in 2009. This was a shame.

Events such as the Corning Classic and Rochester International were as supportive of the LPGA, per capita, as any golf communities in the world. Corning had been the longest running tournament in LPGA Tour history with the same title sponsor. Legends such as Pat Bradley, Patty Sheehan, Juli Inkster, JoAnne Carner, Rosie Jones, and Betsy King were among the champions.

For 2019, it is coming back. Sort of.

In celebration of the club’s 100th anniversary this year, a week-long celebration is being held at The Corning Country Club. As part of that fete, a field of about 20 select Legends Tour members and Corning past champions will tee it up in the Corning Legends Invitational on July 26 and 27. Formats will include a Legends Professionals Shoot-Out and a Legends Pro-Am. The celebration and Legends events are being sponsored by The Corning Country Club.

We’ve been missing our LPGA stars here in Western New York in recent years. In 2014, we also lost the long-running LPGA tournament (1977-2014; major from 2010-2014) at Locust Hill C.C. and Monroe G.C. Perhaps this year’s event in Corning will be the start of a new yearly appearance by pro golf’s women in the Finger Lakes Region.

What a Week at the Senior Women’s Open in Chicago; Danielle Downey Classic Starts Thursday

Laura Davies’ dominating performance at Chicago Golf Club (the oldest 18-hole course in the United States) last week was almost as impressive as JoAnne Carner matching her age of 79 in Round 1 despite Chicago’s summer heat and Carner not having walked 18 holes since 2004.

Carner playing in the inaugural Senior Women’s Open at age 79 and having the determination to compete and finish two rounds despite that oppressive heat and a recent hip surgery was inspiring. It was almost reminiscent of Ken Venturi’s grit and determination in 1964. (“Big Mama” Carner missed the cut by four shots but gave it a valiant try with 79-83. The heat and humidity caught up to her Friday.) Not to pick on John, but take that John Daly!

This week, just a short drive from my home, is Brook-Lea Country Club and the Symetra Tour’s Danielle Downey Classic. Hosted by one of the great Donald Ross courses in Rochester, it should be another memorable Rochester golf event. The tournament begins early Thursday morning.

Wouldn’t it be great to get JoAnne, Laura, Inkster, Nancy Lopez, Annika, et al. here in Rochester for an upcoming Senior Women’s Open? We need CCR, Irondequoit CC, Brook-Lea CC, or Oak Hill CC to make the pitch to the USGA.

 

 

 

 

Blalock Receives Special Exemption into U.S. Senior Women’s Open

LPGA great Jane Blalock, whose Legends Tour spearheaded the push for the USGA to create a Senior Open for 50+ women, has been granted a special exemption into the inaugural event being held in July at Chicago Golf Club.

Just 6 Months to Inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open

Just six months until the action (and history) begins at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois…

Trish Johnson’s Sudden Death Victory over Solheim Foe Inkster at French Lick

It was a great week in French Lick in all respects including the excruciating (for the players, not I who instead sipped a cold one alongside 18 near a similarly imbibing Laura Davies and Sandra Palmer) six-hole playoff in which Trish Johnson defeated defending champion Juli Inkster. Having a chance to play the Donald Ross course at French Lick on Friday, I appreciated come Saturday just how difficult the Pete Dye course is as the site of this championship. The Ross is challenging enough and boasts a similar links-style, but the Dye course forces a player to drive the ball down chutes the width of Hollywood-style red carpets and then approach greens, purposely misshapen by Dye, that really resent the idea of golf balls remaining atop them.

An epic finish, a terrific, classy group of women, and Ross’ and Dye’s masterworks, all combined to make this a week to remember.

 

 

 

 

 

Heading to French Lick for The Legends Championship

Yours truly will be in French Lick, Ind. in two weeks for the The Legends Championship where 50 or so LPGA greats will compete on the Pete Dye course at French Lick in their biggest event in 2016. The Senior PGA Championship was held at French Lick in 2015 and many other notable men’s and women’s events over the decades have been staged at French Lick’s Donald Ross course.

This historic resort features world-class golf courses in a beautiful town-not even mentioning the rare chance to see many of these Legends in action. More to follow…

2018, 2019 U.S. Senior Women’s Open Sites Announced by USGA

We finally know where the inaugural Senior Women’s Open (conducted by the USGA) will be staged in 2018. The 2019 site has also been selected.

Chicago Golf Club, which hosted its first two USGA championships in 1897, has been selected as the 2018 site and Pine Needles in North Carolina, a Donald Ross creation which has hosted several U.S. Women’s Opens, will be the 2019 venue.

2018 Senior Women’s Open Site Remains Unannounced

As of December 31, the USGA has announced the location of the 2020 Amateur Four-Ball (the Philadelphia Cricket Club) but not yet the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open scheduled to debut in 2018. Really, USGA? In previous posts, I lobbied the USGA to select one of the great golf venues in Rochester, N.Y.

We do, of course, also wait with bated breath to learn of the site of the 2021 Four-Ball.

Open Letter to USGA on Rochester for 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open

Enough has been written in previous posts to explain and describe the benefits of staging the 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open in the Rochester area. I’m taking a break from the verbiage today.

Visuals are more stimulating. To the USGA: Bring the championship to one of these great historic venues.

 

Oak Hill C.C.

 

The Country Club of Rochester