BOSTON, Feb. 28, 2019 – Helping to kick off the LPGA Tour’s first major championship of the season, members of the Legends Tour will return to Mission Hills Country Club for the ANA Inspiration Legends Day.
Twenty-four LPGA veteran players will be paired with top juniors competing in the final round of the ANA Junior Inspiration. Set for Sunday, March 31, on Mission Hills’ Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, Calif., two juniors will play alongside one Legends Tour player in the event.
In addition to the junior individual stroke-play tournament, each pairing will also form a team to post a best-ball score for each hole to determine a team winner at the end of the round.
“I always look forward to playing in the ANA Legends event with the juniors, as junior golf is the lifeblood of the game,” said LPGA Hall of Famer Amy Alcott, also a three-time LPGA major champion on the Mission Hills course.
“Being able to mentor these young women and pass along life lessons and golf skills from my career is fun and rewarding,” Alcott added. “It’s a win-win.”
New to this year’s event will be a Legends Pro-Am on Monday, April 1. The event gives many former winners of the California major a chance to return to a course that has hosted the LPGA since 1972.
“This championship has always been one of my favorite events on the LPGA Tour and I love Mission Hills’ Tournament Course because it is one of our best tests of golf,” said Liselotte Neumann, a 13-time LPGA Tour champion with three Legends Tour wins.
“I’m also excited that the Legends Tour and all of our accomplished players will be part of this year’s ANA Junior Inspiration,” Neumann added. “This event is a great way to introduce the game’s next generation to one of the most historic events in women’s professional golf.”
Nine past champions of the LPGA major and eight LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame members, including the newest inductee, Jan Stephenson, will compete in the event. Stephenson will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on June 9.
The LPGA’s ANA Inspiration will be staged during the week of April 1-7, following the ANA Junior Inspiration’s 54-hole invitational. Winner of the junior event earns the final amateur spot in the ANA Inspiration. The field is comprised of 48 of the best juniors from around the world who qualify through a points system.
Here is the current field of players competing in the ANA Inspiration Legends Day:
*Alcott, Amy – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1983, 1988, 1991)
Andrews, Donna – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1994)
Berning, Susie
Blalock, Jane – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1972)
*Bradley, Pat – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1986)
Burton, Brandi
*Caponi, Donna –ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1980)
Finney, Allison
Geddes, Jane
Graham, Gail
*Haynie, Sandra
Hurst, Pat – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1988)
Johnson, Christa
Jones, Rosie
*King, Betsy – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1987, 1990, 1997)
Lidback, Jenny
Meunier-Lebouc, Patricia – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (2003)
Neumann, Liselotte
Palmer, Sandra – ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1975)
Rinker, Laurie
*Sheehan, Patty - ANA Inspiration Past Champion (1996)
*Stacy, Hollis
*Stephenson, Jan
Ward, Wendy
*Denotes LPGA and/or World Golf Halls of Fame
For more information, visit www.anainspiration.com and for more about The Legends Tour, visit www.thelegendstour.com.
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