ANN ARBOR, MI. – The 156-player field for the inaugural Ann Arbor Michigan's Road to the LPGA powered by the A2 Sports Commission has been finalized by the Epson Tour. The “Road to the LPGA” begins its two-week swing in the Great Lake State from June 16-18, at Travis Pointe Country Club.
Individuals will compete in a 54-hole, stroke-play format for $200,000 and a winner’s share of $30,000. A cut will be made to the top-60 competitors plus ties after 36 holes. Tournament admission is free.
“We are hoping to shine a much brighter light on women’s golf and women’s sports in general,” said Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Sports Commission, Mike Malach. “This is the 50th anniversary of Title IX. The Ann Arbor Sports Commission wants to do its part to celebrate women’s golf. Our goal is to support another chapter of LPGA/USGA Girls program through proceeds from this year’s event.”
Six of the top-10 players in the Ascensus Race for the Card will compete for this week’s title, as well as 2022 champions Kum-Kang Park, Linnea Strom, Gabriella Then, and Grace Kim. The Epson Tour’s most recent champion, Lucy Li, will also compete in Ann Arbor following her win on June 12 at the Carolina Golf Classic presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
“This is just another confidence builder for me, knowing that I can win,” said Li. “That was definitely something that going into last year, I didn’t feel like I could do it even though I knew my game was there. Being able to close it out feels really good, and I’m excited for the next two weeks in Michigan.”
The field will also feature former LPGA pro and current University of Michigan Women’s Golf Assistant Coach, AJ Newell, and Travis Pointe Country Club member, Sarah Hoffman. The University of Michigan’s Ashley Lau, and Eastern University of Michigan’s Kyleigh Dull, will also compete as sponsor exemptions.
This week’s event is not the first time Travis Pointe Country Club has hosted a women’s professional golf tournament. The club hosted the LPGA’s Volvik Championship from 2016-2018.
“This partnership with the Epson Tour allowed us to bring professional golf back to Ann Arbor. The sports commission is rather young. This partnership will help us show everyone what the Ann Arbor area has to offer and what the sports commission can do to support first rate events.
One player in this Epson Tour field has already competed at Travis Pointe Country Club, back when it hosted the LPGA Volvik Championship. Lindy Duncan played in all three of the past events, placing T11 in 2016, T16 in 2017, and T4 in 2018.
“I’m excited to go back [to Travis Pointe],” said Duncan. “When we played there twice, I had good finishes. I always felt comfortable on that course, so hopefully I can just hit it well and putt like I did back then.”
A Hole in One Contest hosted by the Orthopaedic Specialists, PC Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be held on Saturday, June 18th, starting at 10:30 am. The price to play will be $5 for three shots, with all monies going to the American Heart Association. The 10 closest players to the pin will be invited back to take one shot for $100,000.
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