DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 28, 2016 – South Florida will once again welcome The Legends Tour this fall when it returns to Delay Beach for the third annual Walgreens Charity Championship presented by The Seagate Country Club.
The event will be staged Oct. 29-30, at The Seagate Country Club, with the tournament pro-am set for Oct. 28.
This year’s tournament field with feature 52 legends of the LPGA competing for a purse of $250,000. LPGA veteran Liselotte Neumann of Sweden will return, hoping to defend her title.
“I love coming back to Florida because I used to live in Boca Raton and it feels like coming home,” said Neumann, who has 13 LPGA Tour wins. “I was able to read the greens so well at Seagate and my putting was the key at this event last year.”
Eight LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer members are slated to compete. This year’s field will include 2015 and 2017 U.S. Solheim Cup Captain and two-time Legends Tour champion Juli Inkster.
The tournament field will also feature 35-time LPGA Tour champion Patty Sheehan, an LPGA Hall of Famer, as well as local favorites and Delray Beach residents two-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Meg Mallon and Hall of Famer Beth Daniel.
“While we look forward to exciting rounds of golf with legendary players, the tournament serves a higher purpose of supporting our charity partners, not only with funds raised, but by sharing their tremendous work with a new audience of prospective supporters,” said Walgreens District Manager Anthony Contento. “This event has given us the opportunity to further our mission to make the communities we service happy and healthy.”
In addition to Daniel and Mallon, other Florida-based pros in this year’s championship will include Laurie Rinker, Jan Stephenson, Sally Little, Judy Dickinson, Barb Mucha and Lorie Kane.
“These ladies represent the greatest players the game of golf has produced and we are fortunate to have them with us again at The Seagate Country Club,” said Anthony Wilson, president of Seagate Hospitality Group. “We also appreciate Walgreens for its continued sponsorship and their support of great charities, such as The Dan Marino Foundation and Delray Beach's Achievement Center.”
Two top senior women amateurs also have been invited to compete in this year’s championship. Pamela Kuong of Wellesley, Mass., the 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up, as well as Mary Jane Hiestand of Naples, Fla., the 2016 Florida State Senior Women’s Amateur champion, will compete in this year’s event.
A local qualifying tournament will be held at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27. The top two finishers will earn spots into the championship field.
Walgreens customers can save $5 per ticket off the $10 price at the gate by purchasing advance tickets at participating Walgreens stores. Single tickets are good for either the Saturday or Sunday rounds. In addition, kids 17 and under, as well as active military with I.D., get into the tournament free.
All ticket proceeds from the Walgreens Charity Championship benefit charity partners the Dan Marino Foundation and Achievement Centers for Children and Families.
Funds raised at the tournament have sponsored a unique South Florida program, the Dan Marino Foundation Summer Living Program (SLP), which offers individuals age 18-28 with autism and other developmental disabilities the opportunity to experience living away from home for the first time. The four-week program has been held at Nova Southeastern University and at the Florida International University Modesto Maidique Campus.
“These young adults participated in a variety of activities that promoted social growth and independence on and off campus,” said Mary Partin, CEO of the Dan Marino Foundation. “We are grateful to Walgreens and the Legends Tour for making possible this once-in-a-lifetime experience”.
The championship has also benefitted the programs at the Achievement Centers for Children and Families, providing quality and affordable childcare, after-school, summer-camp and family-strengthening services to low-income families and their children.
“Achievement Centers for Children & Families is honored to be an official charity partner of the Walgreens Charity Championship for the third year in a row,” said its executive director, Linda Roman. “I am grateful for Walgreens’ continued community support for those we serve.”
Tee times for the Walgreens Charity Championship will start at 8 a.m. each day, with gates opening at 7:30 a.m.
For more information about The Legends Tour, the official senior tour of the LPGA, visit www.thelegendstour.com.
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