DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 17, 2009 – The Duramed FUTURES Tour, along with Alliance Bank, N.A., announced today that the Tour will return to Syracuse, N.Y., to round out an already robust 2009 tournament schedule.
Staging its 14th annual event July 31 through August 2, the $100,000 Alliance Bank Golf Classic will move to a new venue – the East Course at Drumlins Country Club near the Syracuse University campus. The Tour also announced that it is adding The First Tee of Syracuse, Inc., and Leadership Greater Syracuse, as its two new tournament charities. Details were announced today during a press conference in Syracuse.
“We look forward to working once again with Alliance Bank and supportive Syracuse golf fans to continue the tradition this event has had for 14 years,” said Zayra F. Calderon, CEO of the Duramed FUTURES Tour. “This tournament has been one of the most popular and storied stops on our Tour. We look forward to adding a new chapter to its history by working with two terrific new charities and moving the tournament to one of the city’s best golf courses.”
Boosting its 2009 tournament purse by $10,000 to offer a $100,000 event was a historic move not only for the Syracuse tournament, but also for the Duramed FUTURES Tour, whose total season prize purse of nearly $1.8 million now rises to an all-time high in the Tour’s 29-year history. With the addition of the Syracuse event, the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s 2009 tournament schedule features 17 tournaments in 14 states, competing for a record average purse size of $105,588. This season, 15 of 17 events will offer a tournament purse of $100,000 or higher.
And while challenging economic conditions have affected season schedules of many national sports properties, the 2009 tournament in Syracuse will mark the fourth consecutive year that Alliance Bank has stepped forward as the title sponsor on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.
“Alliance Bank is very pleased to continue our role as title sponsor of the Alliance Bank Golf Classic and especially pleased that this professional women’s golf tournament is continuing its 14-year run in Syracuse,” said Jack H. Webb, President and CEO of Alliance Bank, N.A. “There are no better ambassadors for golf than the women of the Duramed FUTURES Tour.”
This year’s event will be staged for the first time on the course that is owned by Syracuse University and adjacent to the university’s south campus. The tournament has spent the last 13 years at The Links at Erie Village.
The Syracuse tournament also will become the Tour’s fourth 2009 event to announce its charitable affiliation with the national First Tee golf program. Other Duramed FUTURES Tour host tournament cities benefiting The First Tee program are Winter Haven, Fla., Hammond, Ind., and Harrisburg, Pa.
Leadership Greater Syracuse is Central New York’s premier community leadership training organization dedicated to recruiting, equipping, engaging and uniting citizens “who want to make a difference.” Working alongside The First Tee of Syracuse, the two charities will organize tournament sponsors, volunteers, housing hosts and pro-ams during tournament week.
About the Duramed FUTURES Tour
The Duramed FUTURES Tour, the LPGA’s developmental tour, is in its 29th competitive season. The Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. The top 10 money winners each season earn automatic memberships on the LPGA Tour for the following season. With more than 300 alumnae as current members of the LPGA through 2008, former Duramed FUTURES Tour players have won a total of 345 LPGA titles, including 37 major championships. The Tour is playing for an all-time high season purse of nearly $1.8 million this year. Duramed FUTURES Tour events have contributed more than $4.5 million to charitable organizations throughout the nation since 1989. For more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Contact:
Lisa D. Mickey, 386-274-6216 and lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.
