Officials with the Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. (TGFI), organizers of the Safeway Classic LPGA Tournament, have announced they will offer a sponsors exemption in their LPGA event to the winner of the 2005 US Women's Amateur. The Amateur will be held Aug. 1-7 at Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta. The Safeway Classic will be held Aug. 15-21 at Columbia-Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore.
"We had a number of great requests for our final exemption in the event, both from amateur and professional golfers," said Tom Maletis, President of TGFI, "and after strong consideration, we decided that offering this last spot to the winner of the Amateur would be a great reward for their outstanding victory in Atlanta and a chance for them to play in a professional venue. We are excited about the opportunity we will be providing to the Amateur Champion and for golf fans in the Northwest, who will have the opportunity to see another great talent at the Safeway Classic. "
Notable US Amateur winners include 5-time champion JoAnne Carner, 3-time champion Juli Inkster, Patty Berg, Babe Didrickson Zaharis, Louise Suggs, Carol Semple Thompson, Grace Park, Kelly Kuehne, Kay Cockerill, Pat Hurst, Wendy Ward, Jill McGill and Dorothy Delasin to name just a few.
The second exemption for the Safeway Classic was determined on Tuesday July 5, when Rebecca Kim, a 17-year old from Tigard, OR, defeated a strong field in the Safeway Open at Langdon Farms Golf Club. Kim shot a 1-under 70 to finish one shot ahead of reigning US Amateur Champion, Jane Park. Park and In-Bee Park, who finished second and third, earned sponsors exemptions into the Monday Qualifier for the tournament proper. The qualifier will be held on Monday August 15.
The Safeway Classic is the second-oldest event on the LPGA Tour. The 2005 Safeway Classic will mark the 34th consecutive year the LPGA tour event has been brought to Portland by TGFI. The event, originally called the Portland Classic, has now donated over $9 million to local children's charities since its inception in 1972, with $5 million coming in the past eight years with Safeway as title sponsor. The purse for the event for this year will be $1.4 million. The Golf Channel will broadcast the event all three days of tournament play.
Hee-Won Han won the 2004 event in a playoff with Lorie Kane. Annika Sorenstam won the 2002 and 2003 editions of the tournament and is expected to return to Portland again in 2005. The field for the event in 2004 was one of the strongest on the LPGA tour last year.
Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. is comprised of 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 or call 503-626-2711.
Media Contact:
Tom Maletis
(503) 702-5000
Reid Hutchins
(503) 291-0109
