The Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning & O-I announced today that four of the biggest names in women’s golf have committed to play in this year’s LPGA tournament. Three of these LPGA stars make up the top three players in the world. Lydia Ko (World No. 1) will return to defend her 2014 Marathon Classic title, Toledo native Stacy Lewis (World No. 2), Inbee Park (World No. 3) and Brittany Lincicome (winner of this year’s first LPGA major championship) have all committed to play at Highland Meadows July 16-19.
The tournament also announced that Ohio State Head Football Coach Urban Meyer will be playing in the Marathon Classic Pro-Am on Wednesday, July 15th at Highland Meadows.
“We are delighted to have the top three players in women’s golf committed to play in this year’s Marathon Classic,” stated tournament director Judd Silverman. “We’re also extremely grateful to Coach Urban Meyer for his willingness to support this year’s Marathon Classic by playing in the Pro-Am. His appearance will give northwest Ohio Buckeye fans the opportunity to congratulate Coach Meyer on last year’s national championship and wish him all the best for the upcoming season!”
Lydia Ko is coming off an outstanding rookie year on the LPGA Tour. As a 17 year old, she won three tournaments including the Marathon Classic and the CME Group Tour Championship and finished second on the 2014 money list with over $2,000,000 in earnings. Ko was awarded the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year Award making her the youngest winner in the history of the award. So far this season, Ko has climbed her way to the number one spot in the Rolex World Rankings after her second place finish in the Coates Championship and has held onto that position ever since.
Stacy Lewis currently sits at number 2 in the Rolex World Rankings. She also had an incredible 2014 season capturing the three most prestigious awards in women’s golf including the Rolex Player of the Year Award, Vare Trophy for the lowest stroke average and the LPGA money title with $2,500,000 in earnings. This year, Lewis has 5 top 10 finishes to date and is currently ranked second on the 2015 LPGA money list.
The Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning & O-I will once again provide free admittance to all active police officers, firefighters and military personnel along with one guest. Kids under the age of 17 will also be admitted free into the tournament as long as they are accompanied by an adult.
To date, the Marathon Classic has raised over $8.7 million for 140 northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan children’s charities. This year’s tournament will benefit 20 area children’s charities. All four rounds of this year’s tournament will be televised live in the U.S. and 160 countries around the world by The Golf Channel.