http://www.yourgolfpackage.com/myrtle-beach-golf-courses/rivertowne-67.html
Reported by Tommy Braswell from the Charleston Post & Courier
Women will compete for $2.6 million purse
Charleston golf fans will want to plan for two weeks of vacation in the spring of 2007.
Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam will headline the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s newest tournament, the Ginn Tribute, which will be played May 31-June 3, 2007 at RiverTowne Country Club in Mount Pleasant. That is the week following the Senior PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course.
The official LPGA announcement will be made today at RiverTowne Country Club by Bobby Ginn, founder of Ginn Clubs & Resorts, and LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens.
The tournament will be officially titled the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam. It will be a full-field, 72-hole tournament with a $2.6 million purse, the richest payoff of any regular-season LPGA event. The tournament will be run by International Management Group (IMG) and televised by NBC, which has agreed to a four-year deal.
“It’s exciting news. It’s a great event coming up on our schedule,” Sorenstam said in a telephone interview. “We’ll try to attract the best players and really make it a special event.”
This will be the second big-money LPGA event sponsored by the newly formed Ginn Sports Entertainment division. The $2.5 million Ginn Open was held in Reunion, Fla., in late April, with Mi Hyun Kim winning.
The company also announced it will sponsor two Champions Tour events in 2007.
Sorenstam said the addition of the rich events is a big boost to the LPGA and the success of the Ginn Open will help ensure the success of the Ginn Tribute.
“The purses are growing tremendously. I think this will be one of the first tournaments players put on their schedule,” she said.
“We are thrilled with our relationship with the LPGA,” said Kent Atherton, president and COO of Ginn Sports Entertainment. “About this time last year, we announced plans for the Ginn Open at Reunion. That event exceeded our expectations in a lot of ways and has given us the confidence to expand that relationship. The (LPGA) product has never been stronger with the fresh young players and on the other side players like Annika, Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster. It’s a fabulous product that’s only getting better and fits in our long-term strategy.”
Atherton said an effort would be made to attract Michelle Wie with one of the exemptions. Wie did not participate in the Ginn Open because of her high school schedule, but Atherton said he hopes the Ginn Tribute dates will be more compatible.
Ginn Clubs is based in Celebration, Fla., but Ginn grew up in Hampton and has been involved with a number of real estate developments in South Carolina, including Wild Dunes, Dunes West and Hilton Head Island. Ginn Clubs operates RiverTowne and Patriots Point Golf Links. The company also owns or leases several hundred acres of waterfront land locally.
