This is the first time an LPGA-family event will be held on a TPC Network course. On Wednesday it became the 21st of 22 events announced on the 2018 Symetra Tour, which serves as the qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and is entering its 38th competitive season.
“We’re excited to bring this event here to TPC River’s Bend,” said Symetra Tour Chief Business Officer Mike Nichols, who lived in Dayton for three years until moving to LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach in 2006. “We’re trying to prepare the next generation of players for success on the LPGA Tour and one of the ways we can do that is to ensure they are playing at word-class facilities where the caliber of golf on the Symetra Tour is the same they find on the LPGA Tour. So, to be here at TPC River’s bend is quite an honor. … We finally got the white whale (in Southwest Ohio).”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
TPC River’s Bend has been the site of several professional tournaments, including the PGA Tour Champions Kroger Classic between 2002 and 2004 and the Chiquita Classic on the Web.com Tour from 2010 to 2012.
The last time a Symetra Tour event was played in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas was in 2011 at the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason. The then-Futures Tour event — the Teva Championship — was played there from 2008-11. In 2007 it was played at The Golf Club st Stonelick Hills in Batavia.
The Prasco Charity Championship will bring Jandel back to Southwest Ohio for just the second time competitively since turning pro in 2010 after finishing up a career at Ohio State University.
“This is the closest I’ve been to home,” said Jandel, a 2006 Oakwood High School grad who serves as the face of the tournament. “I think the next closest event (this season) is like three hours away — far enough where no one comes — so I’m really excited. I should have a lot of family and friends there.”
Jandel said the event will be “huge” for women’s golf and athletics in this region, allowing young girls a chance to see the next generation of LPGA players. The Prasco Charity Championship will feature 144 of the top up-and-coming female golf professionals in the world, as they compete for $100,000 in prize money. The top 10 cumulative money earners throughout the season will earn an LPGA Tour card for 2019.
“I grew up playing basketball and I had never really been to an LPGA event or professional (golf) event until I had the opportunity to play in one,” said Jandel, who earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour in 2014. “Having the opportunity to come out and watch and get exposure to higher level girls and to have a role model and have someone to say, ‘This is what I want to do,’ it’s going to open a lot of doors for everyone and really help our area, help grow women’s golf and women’s athletics in all aspects.”
Jandel played at River’s Bend once in high school during an interleague event. She plans to get in plenty of practice rounds this spring while home in Dayton.
“It’s a championship golf course so we are lucky to be out here and expecting a very nice challenge,” Jandel said.
The Arnold Palmer-designed course should be in top shape for the event.
River’s Bend General Manager and Director of Golf Jack Hunter said it fits well into the club’s calendar, following completion of the Men’s Member-Guest league and sitting right in a lull when the course grounds are getting back to pristine condition. River’s Bend is a par-72, 7,180-yard championship layout.
“Our goal is to provide a great experience for the athletes that come here and the VIPs and the sponsors involved,” Hunter said. “We want the players to leave here feeling like, ‘We want to play here every year.’ ”
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