LPGA Tournament Dates Set on RTJ Golf Trail
Today the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced its 2011 schedule and the top players will be spending two weeks on Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in 2011.
After a massive Crossings course redesign then the acquisition of BellMicro, the Avnet LPGA Classic will be held on Mobile's Magnolia Grove from April 27 to May 1, 2011. The Navistar LPGA Classic will return to Prattville a bit earlier from September 14 to 18, 2011 on the Senator course at Capitol Hill – just prior to the Solheim Cup in Ireland.
Last May, Se Ri Pak of South Korea won the 2010 BellMicro LPGA Classic in Mobile. Five months later, Australia's Katherine Hull won the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville. The top golfers come to the Trail each year for the two LPGA tournaments with players coming from more than 25 counties.
This year, the international influence will increase even more with Avnet replacing Bell Micro as the title sponsor for the Mobile tournament. Avnet has more than 300 locations worldwide with sales in over 70 counties. Avnet acquired BellMicro in 2010. Navistar also has a strong international presence and several Alabama connections. Many of Navistar's global clients have visited their tournament over the past four years and toured their engine plant in Huntsville.
Spring will be an ideal time to showcase the Crossings course, said John Cannon, president of Sunbelt Golf, which oversees the RTJ Golf Trail. "The course has had even more time to mature and we are looking forward to seeing how reigning champion Se Ri Pak and the other LPGA players will perform on the Crossings Course. For players, sponsors and fans, the new date after Easter should be ideal. With spring weather, bountiful seafood and blooming azaleas, Mobile is spectacular in the spring and we look forward to welcoming Avnet as a new sponsor."
"The LPGA tournament in Mobile promises to be an exciting event and Avnet looks forward to being a part of it," says Ed Smith, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas. "This is a great opportunity to share the ladies professional golf tradition with our key customers and suppliers."
For the fifth year, the Navistar LPGA Classic will return to Prattville in 2011 following the largest crowds and television viewership in the tournament's history. With appearances by Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Ai Miyazato and the teenage golfing sensation Alexis Thompson, the 2010 tournament generated international excitement and exposure. The Sept. 14-18 schedule follows the LPGA tournament in Arkansas, minimizes collegiate football conflicts and should help draw even larger crowds in 2011. More than 30,000 golf fans attended the 2010 event. The top American and European players will be flown from Alabama directly to Ireland for the Solheim Cup. This timing should help enhance the field and international media exposure for the Navistar event.
"The Navistar LPGA Classic has been a great success for us," said Dan Ustian, chairman, president and CEO of Navistar International Corporation. "It has given us an opportunity to strengthen our brand awareness, give back to a community where we do business and deepen relationships with our key customers, dealers, suppliers and business partners."
"Navistar has been a great partner for us for five years now," said Dr. David G. Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. "We are extremely proud that this international company has an Alabama presence with its diesel engine assembly plant in Huntsville, and that we have the pleasure of working with Dan and his team again next year. We look forward to welcoming Avnet as a sponsor and continuing the momentum created in Mobile."
Tickets are already on sale for both events. To learn more about the tournaments, visit navistarlpgaclassic.com and avnetlpgaclassic.com.
After a massive Crossings course redesign then the acquisition of BellMicro, the Avnet LPGA Classic will be held on Mobile's Magnolia Grove from April 27 to May 1, 2011. The Navistar LPGA Classic will return to Prattville a bit earlier from September 14 to 18, 2011 on the Senator course at Capitol Hill – just prior to the Solheim Cup in Ireland.
Last May, Se Ri Pak of South Korea won the 2010 BellMicro LPGA Classic in Mobile. Five months later, Australia's Katherine Hull won the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville. The top golfers come to the Trail each year for the two LPGA tournaments with players coming from more than 25 counties.
This year, the international influence will increase even more with Avnet replacing Bell Micro as the title sponsor for the Mobile tournament. Avnet has more than 300 locations worldwide with sales in over 70 counties. Avnet acquired BellMicro in 2010. Navistar also has a strong international presence and several Alabama connections. Many of Navistar's global clients have visited their tournament over the past four years and toured their engine plant in Huntsville.
Spring will be an ideal time to showcase the Crossings course, said John Cannon, president of Sunbelt Golf, which oversees the RTJ Golf Trail. "The course has had even more time to mature and we are looking forward to seeing how reigning champion Se Ri Pak and the other LPGA players will perform on the Crossings Course. For players, sponsors and fans, the new date after Easter should be ideal. With spring weather, bountiful seafood and blooming azaleas, Mobile is spectacular in the spring and we look forward to welcoming Avnet as a new sponsor."
"The LPGA tournament in Mobile promises to be an exciting event and Avnet looks forward to being a part of it," says Ed Smith, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas. "This is a great opportunity to share the ladies professional golf tradition with our key customers and suppliers."
For the fifth year, the Navistar LPGA Classic will return to Prattville in 2011 following the largest crowds and television viewership in the tournament's history. With appearances by Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Ai Miyazato and the teenage golfing sensation Alexis Thompson, the 2010 tournament generated international excitement and exposure. The Sept. 14-18 schedule follows the LPGA tournament in Arkansas, minimizes collegiate football conflicts and should help draw even larger crowds in 2011. More than 30,000 golf fans attended the 2010 event. The top American and European players will be flown from Alabama directly to Ireland for the Solheim Cup. This timing should help enhance the field and international media exposure for the Navistar event.
"The Navistar LPGA Classic has been a great success for us," said Dan Ustian, chairman, president and CEO of Navistar International Corporation. "It has given us an opportunity to strengthen our brand awareness, give back to a community where we do business and deepen relationships with our key customers, dealers, suppliers and business partners."
"Navistar has been a great partner for us for five years now," said Dr. David G. Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. "We are extremely proud that this international company has an Alabama presence with its diesel engine assembly plant in Huntsville, and that we have the pleasure of working with Dan and his team again next year. We look forward to welcoming Avnet as a sponsor and continuing the momentum created in Mobile."
Tickets are already on sale for both events. To learn more about the tournaments, visit navistarlpgaclassic.com and avnetlpgaclassic.com.
