The LPGA came up with one more addition before unveiling its full 2012 schedule, returning to another former stronghold with a return to Kingsmill Resort , near Williamsburg , VA after a two-year hiatus.
The LPGA schedule — which the tour will officially release later Tuesday — for now will feature 27 events, up from 23 last year, and includes the $1.3 million Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va., which will be sponsored by Kingsmill and Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the resort’s owner. The tournament will be played Sept. 6-9 this year — and will return in 2013 to a traditional early May date, according to the LPGA.
“We are truly thrilled to bring the world’s best golfers back to Kingsmill, where the LPGA has such a great history,” said LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan. “As our players will attest, Kingsmill is a premier venue and we all look forward to working closely with the resort’s new owner, Xanterra, on this tournament. In 2012, the LPGA’s motto is “See Why It’s Different Out Here,” and we hope that fans and media will have the opportunity to find out for themselves.”
The LPGA visited Kingsmill on an annual basis from 2003-2009 for the Michelob Ultra Open, which was enormously popular with players and enthusiastically embraced by fans. The Michelob Ultra Open was one of the most visible casualties of the 2008 acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, which at the time was Kingsmill’s parent company, by European brewing conglomerate InBev. A corporate decision to refocus promotional energy and reallocate sponsorship dollars was primarily responsible for the tournament’s demise.
Players mourned the loss of the Michelob Ultra Open. The $2.2 million event, widely recognized as the LPGA’s "fifth major," unfolded each year in an atmosphere of elegant efficiency. Its field was invariably strong. Its list of champions included some of the most lustrous names in women’s golf: Se Ri Pak (2004), Karrie Webb (2006), Annika Sorenstam (2008) and Cristie Kerr (2005 and 2009).
The new tournament will attempt to construct a legacy of its own. Some connections to past glory remain — Michelob Ultra Open tournament director Wayne Nooe is expected to fill the same role for the Kingsmill Championship — but other ties have vanished. Kingsmill, the event’s title sponsor, is no longer affiliated with Anheuser-Busch. The resort was sold in 2010 to Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a Denver-based hospitality management company.
The Kingsmill Championship marks the most recent foray into professional tournament golf for Xanterra Parks & Resorts, having hosted LPGA, PGA and Senior PGA events at properties that it has previously managed,Silverado Resort, Napa, Calif.; or that are currently managed through affiliated properties including The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Sea Island, Ga.
“We are very excited about the LPGA’s decision to return to Kingsmill Resort,” said Andrew Todd, president and CEO of Xanterra. “Kingsmill’s history as a host of an LPGA tournament was one of the factors we found attractive when we purchased the resort, and it has been a goal of ours to reestablish a relationship with the LPGA and help bring a tournament back to Kingsmill Resort and Williamsburg. We look forward to hosting the players again and presenting a first-class event on our challenging River Course.”
Xanterra acquired Kingsmill Resort from Busch Properties, Inc. on August 1, 2010. Currently, Xanterra is undertaking a $6 million renovation of the resort, including a new resort pool complex and renovations to the marina restaurant and other resort facilities.
In addition to adding four new North American events and one new international event to the 2012 schedule, the LPGA recently announced the renewal of eight of the nine tournament contracts that ended in 2011 and 10 of 11 marketing partnerships that also required new contracts. In addition to these extended agreements, the LPGA has added Kia as its Official Automotive Partner, Frontier Airlines as its Official Airline and MedJet Assist as its Official Medical Evacuation Program. Additionally, Symetra signed on as umbrella partner of the LPGA Futures Tour, now called the Symetra Tour.
Read more about the Kingsmill neighborhood here
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