The University of West Georgia announced on March 20th that they are renaming the UWG Women’s Invitational to the Louise Suggs Invitational, in recognition of one of the LPGA’s founders.
Todd Selders, head coach of the University of West Georgia’s golf team, noticed a plaque featuring past LPGA greats at Sunset Hills Country Club, their home course in Carrolton, Georgia. The names on the plaque? Patty Berg, who won the event in 1950, Betsy Rawls, who won in 1952 and 1955, and Louise Suggs, who won in 1951 and 1954.
The course is connected with the beginnings of the LPGA Tour. Sunset Hills hosted an original LPGA event, the Carrollton Open, which ran from 1950 to 1955. The first head professional of the course, hired in 1948, was Johnny Suggs, who is the father of LPGA Founder Louise Suggs.
Yet Selders realized his players didn’t have an appreciation for the past around them.
“I like for them to know a bit of history about the game,” Selders told LPGA.com. “It’s important they know, and after learning it, they have more respect for it.”
With all the history that his team walks through daily, the head coach recognized a need to embrace the storied past of their home course.
His assistant, Kristen Golightly, concurred, expressing that, “It’s the right thing to do. The upcoming generation needs to know what it took for them to be standing here today.”
The tournament will be held March 25th and 26th, with six teams in the field getting the opportunity not only to compete, but to learn more about the history of women’s golf and the sacrifices made to give them additional opportunities to compete today.
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