DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., June 5, 2008 – Officials from Junior League of Cedar Rapids (JLCR), the Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Duramed FUTURES Tour announced today the creation of a tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for 2009 and 2010. The tournament will be contested June 2-7, 2009, and June 1-6, 2010. The venue will be announced at a later date.
The 54-hole tournament will feature a purse of $110,000 each year and will join the Tour’s already strong schedule of events staged annually in the nation’s Midwest region. The tournament field will bring 144 professionals from a membership of 30 nations to Cedar Rapids. The top five money winners at the end of the season will automatically “graduate” to the LPGA Tour.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with such wonderful organizations and look forward to this opportunity,” said Charity Tyler, president of Junior League of Cedar Rapids, the tournament’s organizers. “The Duramed FUTURES Tour is truly an organization focused on developing world-class women golfers, passionate about improving the host communities where they play, and eager to donate all tournament proceeds to benefit non-profit groups. With such obvious ties to our JLCR mission statement, we are extremely excited about this event.”
Added Zayra F. Calderon, CEO of the Duramed FUTURES Tour: “We are bringing to Cedar Rapids the LPGA’s Developmental Tour and the most talented young professional golfers in the world. More than 300 players have graduated to the LPGA from this Tour — among them Lorena Ochoa, the world’s No. 1 woman player, and Iowa’s own Beth Bader. We know this region will enjoy watching players attempt to win a guaranteed spot on the LPGA Tour.”
In its early years as the FUTURES Golf Tour, the city of Des Moines, Iowa, hosted the Willow Creek Classic at Willow Creek Golf Club in 1985 and 1986. The LPGA, now parent company of today’s Duramed FUTURES Tour, played the 1956 Women’s Western Open at Wakonda Country Club in Des Moines. Women’s professional golf continued with the LPGA’s Waterloo Open from 1958-1966, at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo, Iowa. In recent years, The Legends Tour, for women professionals age 45-over, also has held tournaments in Des Moines.
JLCR is a non-profit organization comprised of more than 350 women. Its mission is to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women and improve communities through the effective leadership of trained volunteers. JLCR’s purpose is exclusively educational and charitable with its focus on women and children’s advocacy. Past JLCR projects include establishing a children’s science museum and a women and children’s homeless shelter.
About the Duramed FUTURES Tour
The LPGA’s Developmental Tour, the Duramed FUTURES Tour, has become the world’s largest international women’s developmental tour. In its 28th competitive season this year, the Tour has remained committed to developing LPGA stars of tomorrow and creating viable role models for youth today. The top-five money winners each season earn automatic exemptions for the LPGA Tour. With more than 300 alumnae as current members of the LPGA, through 2007, former Duramed FUTURES Tour players have won a total of 330 LPGA titles, including 35 major championships. Duramed FUTURES Tour events have contributed more than $4 million to charitable organizations throughout the nation since 1989. For more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Contact:
Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour, 386-274-6216 or lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.
