Top Money Winners From 2020 Season To Play For Winner-Take-All Stroke Play Championship & $10,000 Prize December 27th at Longbow Golf Club
Mesa, Ariz. – Longbow Golf Club and The Cactus Tour have announced the inaugural Longbow Cactus Cup Championship, a one-round, season-ending stroke play competition featuring four of The Cactus Tour’s top professional money winners in 2020. Top money-list earner Brittany Yada; second-ranked golfer Haley Moore, who was first on The Cactus Tour money list in 2019; LPGA Tour veteran and fifth-ranked on the money list, Mina Harigae; and sixth-ranked Savannah Vilaubi have all committed to face off at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. at 12 noon on Sunday, December 27, 2020 for the winner-take-all $10,000 prize. Spectators are invited to attend the exhibition free of charge and will be required to wear masks and observe proper physical distancing.
While the LPGA and LPGA Symetra Tours suspended play from April to August 2020, The Cactus Tour held a total of 38 events for 148 tour professionals and 181 highly-ranked amateurs across four western states to keep women’s golf competition alive in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest.
In addition to the match on the course, the four golfers will participate in a virtual competition on Longbow’s new Toptracer Range. Players will post their highest scores in Long Drive, Precision, and Precision series, with their scores saved for the public to compete against in a virtual Beat the Pros format during future practice sessions at the Longbow Toptracer Range. Longbow Toptracer Range delivers the same ball-tracking technology (including total distance, carry distance, ball speed and launch angle) that traces the shots of the best players in the game on television. The Longbow Toptracer Range is currently open seven days a week by appointment or subject to availability. Rules and prizes for the Beat the Pros competition will be announced in early 2021. Longbow Golf Club is the first Troon Golf-managed location to install the Toptracer Range experience.
“We are excited to team up with The Cactus Tour for a fourth time in 2020, and welcome four of the top women professional golfers in the region for a season ending exhibition,” said Bob McNichols, Longbow Golf Club General Manager. “The Cactus Tour made national news for offering professional golfers an opportunity to safely compete during the early days of the pandemic. This is a great opportunity to celebrate what was surely the most successful season in The Cactus Tour history.”
“The Cactus Tour is really looking forward to this day of fun-filled championship golf at one of Arizona’s best courses for competitive golf,” said Mike Brown, Tour Director. “The Cactus Tour has awarded over $2.5 million to professional women playing in regional competition over the past nine years alone. Longbow Golf Club has been a great partner, and these amazing players will be hungry to take that season winner’s check home!”
Brittany Yada, the 2020 Cactus Tour money leader, won five times in 22 starts this season, taking home $25,400 to lead the 148 professionals. A native of Hilo, Hawaii, Yada also made two starts on the LPGA Symetra Tour.
No stranger to Arizona golf, 2019 Cactus Tour money-leader Haley Moore turned 14 starts into three wins and $20,774 in 2020 prize money. A national champion at the University of Arizona in 2018, the Escondido, Calif. native also made 12 starts on the LPGA Tour.
Mesa-resident Mina Harigae made the most of her six 2020 starts on The Cactus Tour, winning four of them and $12,250, including one at Longbow Golf Club, where she posted an incredible 62-63-64 for a Cactus Tour 54-hole record score of -24 on the par 71 track. While playing junior golf in high school, Harigae won the girls 2006 AJGA Heather Farr Classic in a field of national junior champions at Longbow Golf Club. In 2020, Harigae also made nine LPGA starts, with four Top-15 finishes.
Vilaubi made eight starts on The Cactus Tour in 2020, winning two of them for $10,900 in prize money. The Downey, Calif., native also made eight LPGA Symetra Tour starts, including a T22 finish in The Founders Tribute at Longbow Golf Club in August.
“Each of the competitors owns her impressive golf resume with noteworthy wins from the junior ranks, to college and eventually the professional stage,” said McNichols. “Longbow Golf Club has become synonymous with championship golf, and I can’t wait to see these champions in action at the end of the year 2020. We are proud to help create this new women’s professional golf Longbow Cactus Cup Championship in partnership with The Cactus Tour.”
For more information, including sponsorship and advertising inquiries, please call Longbow Golf Club at (480) 807-5400, or email info@longbowgolf.com.
About Longbow Golf Club
Longbow Business Park and Golf Club is a 330-acre, mixed-use development, being developed by Daedalus Real Estate Advisors, that incorporates office, light industrial, retail, hotel and residential uses surrounded by desert vegetation, a main street transportation design and features the award-winning Longbow Golf Club. Troon-managed Longbow Golf Club was originally designed by Ken Kavanaugh in 1997. In 2003, Daedalus commissioned Kavanaugh to execute a complete redesign of the golf course creating a complete refresh layout. For more information, call (480) 807-5400, or visit www.longbowgolf.com.
About The Cactus Tour
Founded in 2005, The Cactus Tour was created for professional women golfers, and highly skilled amateurs, as a place to play outside of the LPGA and The Symetra Tour. It has evolved from a venue for players to improve, to a place to prepare for events during the off-season. The tour draws professionals from all major world tours, as well as amateurs looking for a test against high-quality competition. For more information call (520) 312-8642, or visit www.thecactustour.com.
About Troon
Longbow Golf Club is professionally managed by Troon. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Troon is the world’s largest golf management company providing services at 440-plus locations around the globe, including managing 470-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses. In addition to golf, Troon specializes in homeowner association management, private residence clubs, estate management and associated hospitality venues. Troon’s award-winning food and beverage division operates and manages more than 490-plus food and beverage operations located at golf resorts, private clubs, daily fee golf courses and recreational facilities. With properties located in 40-plus states and 30-plus countries, Troon’s family of brands includes Troon Golf, Troon Privé, Troon International, Honours Golf, OB Sports, Green Golf Partners, CADDIEMASTER, True Club Solutions, Cliff Drysdale Tennis and RealFood Hospitality, Strategy and Design. There are currently 67 Troon-affiliated properties featuring 87 golf courses on national and international “Top 100” rankings. Troon-affiliated properties include Quintero Golf Club in Peoria, Ariz.; Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Fla; Belfair in Bluffton, South Carolina; Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club in Puerto Rico; and Costa Navarino in Greece. For additional news and information, visit www.Troon.com.
Media Contact:
Rob Myers
Troon
480.477.0506
rmyers@troon.com
