FUTURES Golf Tour Announces 2005 Tournament Schedule,
Launches 25th Competitive Season
LAKELAND, Fla., January 4, 2005 -- The FUTURES Golf Tour is celebrating its 25th season this year in a milestone that marks the growth of the Florida-based women's professional tour. The Tour has emerged as the "official developmental tour of the LPGA" and as a key step in "graduating" players to the LPGA Tour.
Released today, the 2005 tournament schedule will feature 18 tournaments in 13 states. The Tour will launch its season in Florida in early March and wrap up the competitive calendar in late August at the traditional culminating stop in York, Pa.
"For the last 25 years, we have provided the best women golfers from around the world with a consistent and reliable tournament schedule that tests their endurance, demands their best performance and prepares them to take their next step into the LPGA," said Zayra F. Calderon, chief executive officer of the FUTURES Golf Tour.
"Since 1999, we have recognized the best five players at the end of the season by providing them with automatic entry into the LPGA," added Calderon. "With more than 240 FUTURES Tour alumnae moving on to the LPGA Tour, our tournaments have, over the years, showcased the current stars of the LPGA, as well as the next generation of stars. We take great pride in our 2005 schedule and in our quarter-century of consistently providing a challenging tournament schedule that tests the best and creates opportunity for future talent."
Key highlights of the 2005 schedule include:
- Addition of three new tournaments in McAllen, Texas, Lawrence, Kan., and Kankakee, Ill.
- A record 12 of 18 tournaments offer purses of $70,000 or higher, with the season-concluding YWCA FUTURES Classic maintaining the Tour's highest purse at $75,000.
- Four tournaments increased their purse size by up to $10,000 from last year. This year Tour members will compete for more than $1.23 million for an average purse size of more than $68,610.
The Tour will once again kick off the 2005 season in Lakeland, Fla., home of the FUTURES Golf Tour. The Lakeland FUTURES Golf Classic will be contested March 11-13, at Cleveland Heights Golf Course, the Tour's home course and one of three sites used for the 2005 FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament.
Fourteen host communities from the 2004 schedule will return in 2005, including the longest-running FUTURES Tour event, the 21st annual Michelob ULTRA FUTURES Charity Golf Classic in Decatur, Ill., and the grand finale YWCA FUTURES Classic in York, Pa., now in its 19th year. The top five money winners on the FUTURES Tour Money List will once again earn exempt LPGA Tour cards at the annual card presentation in York -- considered the traditional, season-culminating highlight.
Joining the schedule for its first season and kicking off the "Southwest Swing" will be the Jalapeno FUTURES Golf Classic in McAllen, Texas -- an event certain to draw golf fans from both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. To be held at Palm View Municipal Golf Course April 22-24, the event will benefit the McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The "Jalapeno" will lead into the IOS FUTURES Golf Classic in El Paso, Texas, set for April 29-May 1. This event is the Tour's only tournament held on a military base, at the U.S. Army's Ft. Bliss. Hong Mei Yang of Si Chuan, China, who became the first Chinese golfer to win a professional tournament in the United States, will return to El Paso with hopes of defending her title.
The Tour will change venues and host communities May 6-8, when it travels to Lawrence, Kan., for the inaugural Lawrence FUTURES Golf Classic. The Kansas stop has been held in Wichita for the last four years, but will move to EagleBend Golf Course in Lawrence this season.
The Tour added an additional stop in the Chicago area for its "Midwest Swing." Joining the FUTURES Tour schedule for its inaugural year will be the Kankakee FUTURES Golf Classic at Kankakee Elks Country Club. Set for June 3-5, the event will fall between mainstay tournaments in Indiana -- the Lake County FUTURES Golf Classic (May 26-28) -- and Ohio, at the Lima Memorial Hospital FUTURES Classic (June 10-12).
"We are delighted to have added new tournaments in McAllen, Texas, Lawrence, Kan., and Kankakee, Ill.," said Calderon. "We are confident these new events will enhance the 18 weeks of some of the world's most exciting and competitive women's professional golf."
Four tournaments raised prize purses for 2005. Purses rose by $5,000 in Lima, as well as at the Bank of Ann Arbor FUTURES Golf Classic in Michigan and at the M&T Bank Loretto FUTURES Golf Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. Players will now compete for $70,000 at the Lima Memorial Hospital FUTURES Classic, while the purse improves to $65,000 in Ann Arbor and Syracuse. The Michelob ULTRA FUTURES Charity Golf Classic in Decatur, Ill., improves by $10,000 to a purse of $70,000 for 2005.
"Our tournaments reflect great partnerships with our host communities and tournament organizers," added Calderon. "Together, we create opportunity for the players to develop their games and move on to the LPGA, but as importantly, we are also enhancing each community's calendar of events and creating fund-raising platforms for designated local charities."
The FUTURES Golf Tour, "the official developmental tour of the LPGA," has become the largest international developmental tour and the second largest women's golf tour in the world. Since 1989, FUTURES Tour events have raised more than $3.2 million for charitable organizations. Throughout its 25-year history, membership has increased from approximately 150 North American players to more than 300 players from 27 different nations. The Tour now conducts 18 tournaments in 13 states. The top five players on the 2004 FUTURES Tour Money List received automatic exemptions for the 2005 LPGA Tour. There are more than 240 FUTURES Tour alumnae who are members or past members of the LPGA Tour and through 2004, they have won a total of 283 LPGA titles, including 30 major championships. The FUTURES Tour is committed to developing the skills and dreams of women golfers, establishing role models for youth and creating the LPGA stars of tomorrow. For more information, please visit futurestour.com.
Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, FUTURES Golf Tour Director of Communications at 863-709-9100, Ext. 2 or at lisa@futurestour.com.
March 11 - 13 $65,000
Lakeland FUTURES Golf Classic
Cleveland Heights Golf Course
2900 Buckingham Ave
Lakeland, Florida 33803
(863) 682-3277
Professional: Randy Sansing
Pro-Am: March 9 & 10
To Benefit: The First Tee of Lakeland at YMCA Par 3
March 18 – 20 $65,000
Tampa Bay FUTURES Golf Classic
East Lake Woodlands Golf & Country Club
1055 E Lake Woodlands Parkway
Oldsmar, Florida 34677
(727)784-7270
Professional: Matt Ruby
Pro-Am: March 16 & 17
To Benefit: Special Operations Warrior Foundation, East Lake Woodlands Rotary Club
April 22 - 24 $70,000
Jalapeno FUTURES Golf Classic
Palm View Municipal Golf Course
P. O. Box 220
McAllen, Texas 78505
(956) 688-3444
Professional: Carlos Espinoza
Pro-Am: April 21
To Benefit: McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
April 29 - May 1 $70,000
IOS FUTURES Golf Classic
Underwood Golf Complex,
Sunrise Course
3200 Coe Avenue
El Paso, Texas 79904
(915) 562-7255
Professional: Bobby Kaerwer
Pro-Am: April 28
To Benefit: The Rotary Club of West El Paso Foundation
May 6 - 8 $70,000
Lawrence FUTURES Golf Classic
EagleBend Golf Course
1250 E. 902 Road
Lawrence, Kansas 66047
(785) 748-0600
General Manager: Jim Kane
Pro-Am: May 5
To Benefit: Various Local Charities
May 26 - 28 (Saturday Finish) $70,000
Lake County FUTURES Golf Classic
The New Innsbrook Country Club
6701 Taft Street
Merrillville , Indiana 46410
(219) 980-9060
Professional: James Fisk
Pro-Am: May 25
To Benefit: Lake Area United Way
June 3 - 5 $70,000
Kankakee FUTURES Golf Classic
Kankakee Elks Country Club
2283 Bittersweet Drive
Saint Anne, Illinois 60964
(815) 937-9547
Professional: Dieter Jaehn Jr.
Pro-Am: June 2
To Benefit: Harbor House & The Illinois Elks Crippled Children's Corp
June 10 - 12 $70,000
Lima Memorial Hospital FUTURES Classic
Lost Creek Country Club
2409 Lost Creek Boulevard
Lima, Ohio 45804
(419) 228-8244
Professional: Randy Fraley
Pro-Am: June 9
To Benefit: Lima Memorial Hospital Foundation
June 17 - 19 $70,000
Michelob ULTRA FUTURES Charity Golf Classic
presented by Ameren and Miles
Hickory Point Golf Course
727 Weaver Road
Forsyth, Illinois 62535
(217) 421-7444
Professional: Rick Anderson
Pro-Am: June 15 & 16
To Benefit: Various Local Charities
June 24 – 26 $65,000
Bank of Ann Arbor FUTURES Golf Classic
Lake Forest Golf Club
3110 W. Ellsworth Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
(734) 994-8580
Professional: Miguel Perez
Pro-Am: June 23
To Benefit: TBA
July 8 - 10 $70,000
Chip In For A Cure Connecticut FUTURES Golf Classic
Golf Course - TBA
Hartford, Connecticut
Pro-Am: July 7
To Benefit: Chip In For A Cure
July 15 – 17 $70,000
Albany FUTURES Pro Golf Classic
Capital Hills at Albany
65 O’Neil Road
Albany, New York 12208
(518) 458-5689
Professional: Steve Vatter
Pro-Am: July 14
To Benefit: Albany Police & Fire Foundation
July 22 - 24 $65,000
Laconia Savings Bank FUTURES Golf Classic
Beaver Meadow Golf Course
1 Beaver Meadow Road
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
(603) 228-8954
Professional:
Pro-Am: July 21
To Benefit: The Havenwood-Heritage Heights Trust Fund (Resident Support Fund)
July 29 - 31 $65,000
M&T Bank Loretto FUTURES Golf Classic
The Links at Erie Village
5900 North Burdick Street
Syracuse, New York 13057
(315) 656-4653
General Manager: Paul Bartini
Pro-Am: July 28
To Benefit: The Loretto Foundation
August 5 – 7 $70,000
Children’s Hospital FUTURES Golf Classic
Cross Creek Golf Club
12800 Bay Hill Drive
Beltsville, Maryland 20705
(301) 595-8901
GM/Professional: Ryan Fahler
Pro-Am: August 4
To Benefit: Children’s National Medical Center Foundation
August 12 - 14 $70,000
Betty Puskar FUTURES Golf Classic
The Pines Country Club
3062 Point Marion Road
Morgantown, West Virginia 26505
(304) 296-3462
Professional: TBA
Pro-Am: August 10 & 11
To Benefit: Betty Puskar Breast Care Center
August 19 - 21 $65,000
Queenstown FUTURES Golf Classic
Hunters Oak Golf Club
500 Amberly Lane
Queenstown, Maryland 21658
(410) 827-0800
Professional: Bill Horney
Pro-Am: August 18
To Benefit: Make A Wish Foundation of Mid-Atlantic
August 26 - 28 $75,000
YWCA FUTURES Classic
Regents’ Glen Country Club
1000 Golf Club Drive
York, Pennsylvania 17403
(717) 505-4653
Professional: Don Dimoff
Pro-Am: August 24 & 25
To Benefit: YWCA of York
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