LPGA Announces Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-06-18
By THE LPGA
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and Group1001 announced a new official LPGA Tour event coming to Boca Raton, Fla., in January 2020. The first edition of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio will be held January 20-26 at Boca Rio Golf Club.
“We are thrilled to support women’s professional golf and to provide a platform for the sport’s best to compete and showcase their talents,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of Group 1001. “We are honored to work alongside the LPGA to bring this new event to Boca Rio Golf Club and the Southeast Florida region.”
This new event will be one of two LPGA Tour tournaments held in Florida in January 2020. The year will kick off with the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions on January 15-19 in Lake Buena Vista, one week prior to the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. The Sunshine State will also bookend the Tour season, with the year culminating at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples in November.
“We want to thank our good friends at Group1001 and Boca Rio Golf Club for their support of the LPGA and their desire to host a world-class event in South Florida,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “Personally, I can’t wait for 2020, when we debut the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio to our fans around the globe and to the many great golf fans in Boca Raton.”
The inaugural Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio will feature a 108-player field competing for a $2 million purse over 72 holes of stroke play. Boca Rio Golf Club, which was founded in 1967 and designed by Robert von Hagge, is situated just 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean on 200 acres of native Florida wilderness. A member-owned luxury golf club, Boca Rio is a rolling golf course featuring undulating greens and white sand bunkers with no developed real estate.
“We are honored to host the world’s best female golfers at our course and thank honorary Boca Rio member Morgan Pressel for urging us to take this step,” said Paul Shapiro, president of Boca Rio Golf Club. “We are also very impressed with Group1001 and the work they do in promoting STEM education among young women, which is yet another reason why this event will be an exciting opportunity for this community. We can’t wait to welcome local fans and LPGA players to Boca Rio next January.”