BOSTON, April 7, 2015 – Seven-time Legends Tour winner Rosie Jones admits she is looking forward to competing in the unique format of the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial next week.
The tournament brings together LPGA legends with the LPGA’s future, pairing Legends Tour players with Epson Tour players. Set for April 16-19, at Cypress Lake Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla., the event honors LPGA co-founder and LPGA Hall of Fame member Patty Berg, whose home course was Cypress Lake.
“It’s a great opportunity for legends of the LPGA to spend time with the younger generation,” said Legends Tour member Rosie Jones, who won 13 LPGA tournaments and joined the Legends Tour for LPGA members age 45-over in 2007. “We have a lot of experience and wisdom we can pass on to them and they have a lot of questions as they start their professional careers.”
Legends Tour players will compete in a 36-hole tournament that will run concurrently on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, with the Epson Tour’s 72-hole stroke-play event, which starts on Thursday, April 16.
Nine LPGA Hall of Fame members have committed to compete in the tournament, including Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez. Legends Tour players registered for the tournament own a combined total of 436 LPGA Tour wins.
“Many of us played on tour for 20-plus years, so it feels like we’re giving back to the game a little bit,” added Jones, who played on the 1981 Tampa Bay Mini-Tour as a young pro, which later became the Futures Tour and the current Epson Tour.
“It will be good to witness how the younger generation plays the game and to see their strengths and weaknesses, as well as to help them if we can,” Jones said.
Players on each of the two tours will compete for purses of $150,000. The respective tournament winners from each tour will take home a first-place check of $22,500.
The Epson Tour’s starting field of 144 players will be cut on Friday to the top 70 scores and ties after 36 holes, with the top 50 young pros paired over the weekend with veteran professionals from the Legends Tour. Weekend pairings will include two Epson Tour players and one Legends Tour player in each group.
Admission into the tournament is free.
For more information, visit www.thelegendstour.com