A big announcement was made for Indiana in regards to women’s golf Tuesday morning on WSLM’s Coffee Club by French Lick Resort Marketing Manager Steve Rondinaro.
French Lick Resort will host the first-ever Senior LPGA Championship. The Championship will be next summer July 10, 2017 through July 12, 2017. The winner will get $600,000.
The Championship will be part of the Legends Tour, which is made up of veteran LPGA players who are 45 and older.
The LPGA Tour will launch its inaugural Senior LPGA Championship in July at The Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort. The 54-hole event will be televised live on the Golf Channel and feature a mix of 81 golfers from the LPGA, the World Golf Hall of Fame and former major championship winners.
The event will run from July 10-12. Golfers will compete for a share of a $600,000 purse. The course has previously hosted high-profile tournaments, including the PGA Professional National Championship, Big Ten Championships, The Legends of the LPGA and the 2015 Senior PGA Championship.
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan says “this is a landmark event for the LPGA because it provides a larger platform to celebrate the legends of the game. 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 LPGA says the multi-year agreement includes hosting the event in French Lick and televising it on the Golf Channel.
Bloomington-based Cook Group owns the French Lick Resort.
Chairman Steve Ferguson says “French Lick is proud to host such a prestigious event. 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.”
The event is part of a busy summer for the French Lick Resort. July 7-9, The Donald Ross Course will play host to a new 54-hole Symetra Tour event.
