Wegmans rescues second LPGA major

Last updated: 19th November 2009

At a moment in time when the LPGA tour has shrunk to just 13 events in the USA and 24 in all, the supermarket chain, Wegmans, has stepped in save next season's second major.

In a recession-hit 2010 Tour schedule that is down from 27 this year and from 34 in 2008, Wegmans will temporarily replace McDonald's on a one-year basis as the sponsor of what has traditionally been the LPGA Tour's second major of the year

To be re-named the LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans, the $2.25 million tournament will be held from June 24 to June 27 at Locust Hill which has been a perennially popular LPGA Tour stop in the suburb of Pittsford.

"We are grateful to Colleen Wegman and Wegmans Food Markets for their continued commitment to the LPGA," acting commissioner Marty Evans said in a statement this week.

"We look forward to working closely with them while concurrently continuing our discussions with potential long-term partners for the LPGA Championship."

McDonald's has been involved with the championship since 1955, when it was launched as one of four majors on the LPGA Tour.

"Locust Hill has enjoyed a long history of women's golf over the last 34 years and we now have a chance to shine," said Larry Dewine, the club's president. "We hope we get record crowds."

The championship lost McDonald's as a sponsor in June after Swedish rookie Anna Nordqvist's victory at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace and about a month ago, LPGA Tour officials asked organizers of the Locust Hill event if they could step in as a one-year replacement.

"The LPGA wants to take over this championship, own it themselves just as the (men's) PGA of America owns the PGA Championship," said Jerry Stahl, tournament co-chairman at Locust Hill.

"But they just didn't have enough time to put it all together and find a corporate sponsor on a long-term basis."

In July, Evans replaced unpopular LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who resigned under player pressure as sponsors dropped tournaments in a staggering economy and believes he has "started to turn things around".

"We have made great strides in our long-term goal of building an intelligent and sustainable schedule for the LPGA Tour," Evans said.

The 93-year-old, family-owned Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is a grocery store chain with 75 outlets in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland.