PORTLAND, Ore. (June 2, 2006) – Tournament Golf Foundation Inc., the organizers of the Safeway Classic LPGA Tournament, announced a unique event that will guarantee a spot in the prestigious LPGA event to the winner of a one day amateur qualifying tournament.
The Safeway Classic Amateur Open will be held at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, OR (fifteen minutes south of Portland) on Friday August 4, beginning at 7:00 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 18-20, at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, in Portland. The second and third place finishers will earn spots in the Monday Qualifying event for LPGA players, to be held on August 14. The two low scores from the Monday Qualifier will also earn entry into the Safeway Classic.
According to Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, "TGFI has been a supporter of women’s golf in the Northwest over our 35 year history. With the popularity of The Big Break on The Golf Channel, we are offering our own version. One round and the winner gets a big break of their own in the Safeway Classic." Last year, 16-year old Rebecca Kim of Tigard, OR won the event.
The second sponsor’s exemption for the Safeway Classic was won by Ashley Prange of Noblesville, Indiana during the Golf Channel’s Big Break V, which concluded airing the first week of May. Prange is currently #3 on the Duramed Futures Tour money list.
The Safeway Classic Amateur Open will have a $75 entry fee and players can get an application by calling the Tournament Golf Foundation office at 503-626-2711 or by visiting www.safewaygolf.com. Entry deadline for the event will be July 28, 2006.
The Safeway Classic is the second-oldest event on the LPGA Tour. The 2006 Safeway Classic will mark the 35th consecutive year the LPGA tour event has been brought to Portland by TGFI. The event, originally called the Portland Classic, has now donated over $10 million to local children’s charities since its inception in 1972, with $6 million coming in the past nine years with Safeway as title sponsor.
The 2006 edition of The Safeway Classic, presented by Pepsi, will be held at Columbia-Edgewater Country Club, August 14-20. The purse for the event will be $1.4 million. The Golf Channel will again broadcast all three days of tournament play.
Soo-Yun Kang won the Safeway Classic in 2005 by four shots over Jeong Jang against one of the strongest fields on the LPGA tour last year.
Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. 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 47 local individuals and couples. TGFI is also the owner and operator of the Safeway International, in Phoenix, AZ.
For more information on the Safeway Classic and Tournament Golf Foundation, visit their website: www. safewaygolf.com. For more information on Langdon Farms Golf Club or for practice rounds, visit www.langdonfarms.com or call 503-678-4653.
Contact:
Reid Hutchins
Hutchins Advertising
503-291-0109
reid@hutchinsadvertising.com
Tom Maletis
503-702-5000
Rob Neal
503-626-2711
