Article Courtesy of Duramed FUTURES Tour
Duramed FUTURES Tour rookie Jennie Lee is the first recipient of the Pete Lorentzen LPGA Qualifying School Grant. Lee was recently announced as the winner of the grant by the Georgia-based selection committee.
"It's amazing and it's such an honor," said Lee, a former Duke University All-American of Henderson, Nev. "I never met Mr. Lorentzen, but something like this helps so much. When players like me are starting out their careers, finances can be a burden. This grant takes off some of the pressure."
Named in honor and memory of Pete Lorentzen, an avid supporter of women's golf who died last December, the grant provides full entry fee ($5,000) into the LPGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament, plus $1,000 for travel expenses.
Available only to members of the Duramed FUTURES Tour, players seeking financial assistance are given the opportunity to apply for the grant. All applications are then reviewed by the independent selection committee.
"We are proud to have Jennie Lee as the first recipient of the Pete Lorentzen Memorial Q-School Grant," said Marsh Lorentzen, wife of the late Pete Lorentzen. "Jennie is a wonderful young lady who possesses all the great qualities both on and off the course that we were looking for in a candidate. We wish her all the best in her pursuit of her dream to play on the LPGA Tour and hopefully by winning this grant, some of the pressure has been relieved and she can focus on her game."
Pete Lorentzen became involved in women's professional golf when he sponsored former Duramed FUTURES Tour player Courtney Swaim Trimble, from 2003-2005. Trimble is now the head women's golf coach at the University of Central Florida, but she has worked with the Lorentzen family to help create a foundation through which to offer an annual grant for LPGA Q-School.
Lee will be mailed a check for $6,000, as reimbursement for her entry into the LPGA's California Sectional Qualifying Tournament, which begins this week. She will officially be awarded as the grant recipient at the Pete Lorentzen Memorial Invitational, set for November 3, on the Riverside Course at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The pro-am will be held to raise money for the annual grant, as well as to memorialize Lorentzen and provide more exposure to Duramed FUTURES Tour and LPGA players.
All funds raised from the invitational pro-am tournament will be used to sponsor one Duramed FUTURES Tour professional each year in the LPGA's annual qualifying tournament, as well as to support causes that benefit professional and junior golfers. The tournament hopes to attract women professionals from the Duramed FUTURES Tour and LPGA who want to help perpetuate this initiative.
Each professional in the event will be paired with four amateurs from the Atlanta Athletic Club, with $2,000 awarded to the first-place pro in stroke-play competition.
For more information about the grant and the invitational tournament, contact Courtney Trimble at 407-247-7906.
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