Safeway Classic Amateur Open Will Provide Guaranteed Spot in LPGA Tournament to Winner.
Tournament Golf Foundation (TGF), the organizers of the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola (Safeway Classic), will host a one day amateur-only event that guarantees the winner a spot in the LPGA tour’s oldest non-major tournament.
The Safeway Classic Amateur Open will be held at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, OR (fifteen minutes south of Portland) on Monday, July 25, beginning at 8:00 AM. Any woman amateur golfer with an established USGA handicap of 2.0 or less is eligible to compete.
The winner of the event will earn a guaranteed spot in the 54-hole Safeway Classic tournament proper to be held August 17-19, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, in North Plains, OR. The second and third place finishers will earn spots alongside professionals in the tournament’s Monday qualifier to be held on Monday, August 13th . The top two finishers from the qualifier will also earn entry into the Safeway Classic.
According to Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, “TGF has been a supporter of women’s golf in the Northwest over our 40 year history. With this event, we have established a tradition of offering amateurs a chance to play with the world’s best pros. One great round and the winner gets to play in the Safeway Classic.”
Last year, Ashlee Pickerell, a current senior at West Salem High school, won the Safeway Classic Amateur Open at Langdon Farms Golf Club with an even par score of 71. Pickerell, who regularly competes in high-level junior events, signed with the University of Tennessee Women’s Golf Team in November 2011. The Safeway Classic Amateur Open will have a $95 entry fee and players can get an application by calling the Tournament Golf Foundation office at 503-626-2711 or by visiting the news section of the tournament web site, www.safewayclassic.com. Entry deadline for the event will be July 22nd, 2011.
The Safeway Classic is the oldest non-major championship on the LPGA Tour. The event, originally called the Portland Classic, has now donated over $16 million to local children’s charities since its inception in 1972, with $13 million coming in the past 16 years with Safeway as title sponsor. In 2011 alone, the tournament and the Safeway Foundation contributed $1 million in tournament proceeds to Oregon charities.
The 2012 edition of the The Safeway Classic will again be held on the Ghost Creek course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, OR. The purse for the event will be $1.5 million. The tournament will be broadcast on The Golf Channel.
Suzann Pettersen won the 2011 Safeway Classic after recording a par on the 18th hole to defeat Rolex Rankings No. 5 Na Yeon Choi on the first hole of a playoff. This was Pettersen’s second LPGA Tour title of the year and the eighth of her career, moving her up to No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings. Pettersen is currently ranked 3rd in the world.
Tournament Golf Foundation is a local Portland area group of volunteers who donate their time and provide the primary operations for the annual event. Begun in 1972, the group is now comprised of 38 local individuals and couples.
For more information on the Safeway Classic and Tournament Golf Foundation, visit www.safewayclassic.com or call 503-626-2711. For more information on Langdon Farms Golf Club or for practice rounds, visit www.langdonfarms.com or call 503-678-4653.
