Tuscaloosa lands LPGA Epson Tour golf event at Ol' Colony for fall
The road to the LPGA will detour through Tuscaloosa this fall when Ol’ Colony Golf Complex hosts a stop on the Epson Tour, the official qualifying tour of the LPGA.
The Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic will be held Sept. 26-Oct. 2. The seven-day event will begin with a two-day Pro-Am followed by a practice round. Official tournament play, which includes 72 holes, starts Sept. 29. The tournament's purse is $200,000.
"We're not charging admission," said one of the events organizers, Ronny Robertson. "It's free to the public to attend. Ol' Colony is a public golf course and we wanted to keep this event free so that we could give more people the opportunity to attend this big event."
It will mark the first time Tuscaloosa has played host to a women’s professional golf tournament, according to Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority, one of the event hosts.
The Tuscaloosa stop will be the Epson Tour’s final scheduled event before the Oct. 6-9 Epson Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Former Alabama golfer Lakareber Abe, an Epson Tour player, is expected to play.
"I'm excited," Abe said of the opportunity to return to her college home course. "It's a challenging course. I love this course. I played here for four years. I'm excited to see how the tournament sets it up."
Abe and other local golfers from the Tuscaloosa Junior Golf Academy will host a mini clinic at 5 p.m. Thursday at the course.
Wright Waters, who retired to Tuscaloosa, is tournament co-director along with Loo Whitfield. His sports administration background includes being commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference as well as executive director of the Football Bowl Association. He noted that he oversaw more than 60 collegiate golf tournaments in his role as conference commissioner.
Among those present at Thursday's press conference that officially announced the event was Tim Kramer, senior director of tournament business affairs for the Epson Tour.
"This tour is entering its 42nd year. It started out as a mini tour in Florida because there was a lack of opportunity for women to play professional golf," Kramer said, adding that the purse has more than doubled over the years. "It has grown to 21 events around the country. Ten years ago there were 13 events.
"Thirty countries are represented on the Epson Tour each week. It is a challenge to find championship courses," Kramer said. "We look for courses that will test the players and prepare the players to what they will be playing on in the LPGA Tour. Ol' Colony checks all the boxes. It's definitely a great golf course."
According to the Epson Tour’s official website, it supports “minimum purse levels of $200,000 and lowering player-entry fees.” It also states the tour “will provide financial assistance to recent Epson Tour graduates for continued growth," starting this year.
This women's tour, under different names and sponsorships, has existed for more than four decades. It was the Symetra Tour before Epson took title sponsorship. It has included more than a dozen former Alabama golfers. It morphed into the official development tour for the LPGA around 1999, with the LPGA acquiring it in 2007.
More than 600 players who competed on this qualifying tour have gone on to play in the LPGA. Its successful alumni includes LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb.
Organizers emphasized bringing a pro golf event to Tuscaloosa is a showcase that can lead to future sports events coming to town.
"It's a crown jewel. It's a championship course." Waters said. "If you build it, they will come."
Waters said organizers will recruit around 140 volunteers – none of the positions are paid – to help run the tournament. The tournament's website, www.tuscaloosatoyotaclassic.com, will list sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: LPGA Epson Tour golf event set for fall at Ol' Colony in Tuscaloosa
