Yesterday marked closing rounds for the innaugural Volvik Championship at our own Travis Point Country Club golf course. [1,2]
But whether covering it from the course as credentialed press for Saline Journal, or following competition on the Golf Channel, this event seemed to evident none of the rough edges to be reasonably expected any first time out. [3,4]
Played Thursday May 26 through Sunday May 29, the bar for delivery was set high on a number of fronts — beyond the $1.3 million purse itself. [5]
For example, in its unabashedly enthusicastic coverage of new tournament announcement last October, The Detroit News reported that “neither the LPGA nor any pro tour has been seen in southeast Michigan since 2009 when the PGA Tour’s Buick Open called it quits at Grand Blanc ….
“Major championships and Ryder Cup stops have been just as scarce.” [6]
In the end it was Ariya Jutanugarn of Bangkok Thailand who emerged victorious in Lodi Township this week. [7,8,9]
Significantly for Washtenaw County, event organizers reported in excess of 30,000 attendees and $20 million in economic impact.
It should also be noted that, while the LPGA Volvik Championship is referred to as an “Ann Arbor” event, Travis Pointe and the golf course would be more accurately called Saline — located just eight minutes, or a little over four miles from our four corners downtown. [10,10]
Volvik “signed a three-year deal as the title sponsor of the LPGA Volvik Championship,” meaning annual tournaments at the Travis Pointe Country Club golf course here through 2018. The 2017 is slated for May 25 through 28. [12,13]
Resources
- Volvik Championship (home page).
- Travis Pointe Country Club (home page).
- Golf Channel (home page).
- “How to watch LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor” Kirkland Crawford (May 25, 2016) Detroit Free Press.
- “2016 LPGA Volvik Championship” (May 29, 2016) Fox Sports.
- “LPGA bringing pros back to area with Volvik tournament” Lynn Henning (October 7, 2015) The Detroit News.
- “Ariya Jutanugarn Grabs Third Straight LPGA Victory” Ron Sirak (May 29, 2016) Golf Digest.
- “2016 LPGA Volvik Championship” Fox Sports.
- Lodi Township (home page).
- “The LPGA Golf Championship” (about), Volvik Championship.
- “Economic Impacts of Tourism” Daniel J Stynes, Michigan State University.
- “LPGA Volvik Championship to Debut on 2016 LPGA Tour Schedule” Press Release (October 7, 2015) LPGA.
- “2017 LPGA Volvik Championship” Fox Sports.
