Features rising stars from U.S. and around the world; Innovative charity pro-am structure introduced
WINDSOR, CALIFORNIA, February 8, 2017 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, announced today the POCMED Golf Classic, a new professional golf tournament coming to Windsor Golf Club the week of April 3-9. The 54-hole tournament will be contested from Friday, April 7 through Sunday, April 9. POCMED is short for POC Medical Systems Inc., a company based in Livermore that is developing next generation technology for diagnosing breast cancer.
The POCMED Golf Classic will feature the top 144 rising stars in the game of women’s golf from the United States and 25 plus countries around the globe. The tournament will also include 16 players from the Taiwan LPGA (TLPGA) as part of a co-sanction between the Epson Tour and the TLPGA.
The tournament will offer a purse of $100,000 with winner taking home $15,000. The top 10 players on the Epson Tour’s Volvik Race for the Card money list at the end of the season earn LPGA Tour membership for 2018.
“We are grateful to partner with POCMED to bring women’s golf back to Northern California,” said Chief Business Officer, Mike Nichols. “When the former NIKE Tour played here and guys like Tom Lehman and Stuart Appleby won before they reached the PGA TOUR, the North Bay could take pride. Now, we are bringing the future stars of the LPGA to Wine Country and we know the community will embrace them and take pride in their success when they reach the LPGA.”
The POCMED Golf Classic will be the fourth event of the 2017 season and the final-leg of a three-week swing on the west coast. The Tour is in Mesa, Arizona the week prior for the Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club. The 2017 schedule currently features 21 events in 13 states. The Epson Tour comes to
Northern California for the first time since 2001, when the Tour played at Diablo Grande in Patterson.
A number of talented players on the Epson Tour grew up in Northern California including Emily Childs of Alameda, who played college golf at the University of California, Berkeley.
“I was super excited to see a Nor Cal event on the Epson Tour schedule this year,” said Childs, who won the NCGA Women’s Amateur Championship in 2010. “I love not having to travel across the country and this gives my family and friends an opportunity to come out and watch me play. There are so many good female golfers from the area, I’m surprised there aren’t more LPGA/Epson events up here. This is a great way to promote the game for women, especially in a place where the golf is so amazing.”
While tournament play begins on Friday, festivities will begin early in the week. Players will begin arriving on Monday and official practice rounds start on Tuesday.
There will be an all-day pro-am on Thursday, April 6 open to members of the community that want the unique experience of playing with a Tour professional. In a unique program, the pro-am will be a means for the corporate community designate the local charities who will benefit in Sonoma County. Everyone that buys a team will get to make a $1,000 donation to the local charity of their choice. The pro-am experience is $3,000 for a group of three amateurs and includes a chance to play 18 holes with a Tour professional, lunch and a $200 Taylormade shopping spree at the course.
“The Town of Windsor is excited that Windsor Golf Club has been chosen to host the Epson Tour,” said Mayor Debra Fudge. “We very much look forward to welcoming the golfers and their families to our award winning, family friendly, wine country town. We look forward to being a part of a very successful tour!”
Windsor Golf Club last held a professional golf tournament from 1990-1995 when the Web.com Tour
(formerly Ben Hogan Tour and Nike Tour) hosted the Ben Hogan Santa Rosa Open (which later became the Nike Sonoma County Open). Tom Lehman won the event in 1991 while Stuart Appleby won in 1995.
“Windsor Golf Club is excited to be host to the Epson Tour coming this April,” said General Manager Bill Carson. “Our Staff, and many members of the community have expressed an eagerness and excitement to help make this a great event. We realize the tour has many options and choosing Windsor, located in beautiful Sonoma County is a real honor.”
The event requires approximately 150 local volunteers to help run all facets of the tournament including scoring, leaderboards, operations and more.
For more information about the POCMED Golf Classic, playing in the pro-am and to volunteer, contact LPGA-Sonoma@lpga.com.
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