FLORIDA’S NATURAL CHARITY CLASSIC PREVIEW

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (March 4, 2019) — The second stop on the 2019 “Road to the LPGA” takes the Symetra Tour to the Country Club of Winter Haven for the 11th annual Florida’s Natural Charity Classic from March 15-17.

“Florida’s Natural has been the biggest charitable contributor of any title sponsor we have on the Symetra Tour and their good deeds extend far beyond the course,” said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of the Symetra Tour. “It has been amazing to see this event grow in such dramatic fashion and continue to play an important role in the growth of our players, but also the community it serves.”

Greeting the 132-player field in Winter Haven, Fla. is a total purse of $125,000. Individuals are set to compete in a 54-hole stroke play format with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes.

“On behalf of the Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation, we are pleased to partner with the Symetra Tour for over a decade,” said Nikki Hayde, President of the Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation. “Our organization has been able to support the Central Florida communities with more than $1.8 million dollars in grants, largely from the support of the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. As we grow and add to the week’s events each year, we appreciate the Tour and everyone involved that always make this tournament a success.”

Defending champion Lauren Kim (Los Altos, California) is among the competitors, as she made seven starts on the Symetra Tour in 2018 and played the weekend each time. Kim was also in the field for 14 tournaments on the LPGA Tour last year and finished tied for 23rd at the inaugural LPGA Q-Series to earn Priority List Category 14 status for the 2019 season.

“Winning—especially by shooting 9-under par on the last day—was exciting and special because I learned a lot about myself that week,” Kim said. “It gave me the confidence to play the rest of the season on the LPGA Tour. I’m looking forward to defending my title this year and am grateful to Florida’s Natural and the Symetra Tour for teaching me how to win.”

Action gets underway at 8 a.m. ET all three days, with groups going off No. 1 and No. 10 tee in rounds one and two. Meanwhile, the final round will feature twosomes all from No. 1 tee.

ABOUT SYMETRA TOUR
The Symetra Tour is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and enters its 39th competitive season in 2019. With the support of its entitlement partner Symetra, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7 million in prize money to $4.0 million in prize money awarded over the course of 24 events. With more than 600 alumnae moving on to the LPGA, former Symetra Tour players have won a total of 437 LPGA titles. Follow the Symetra Tour on the web at www.SymetraTour.com, Facebook.com/Road2LPGA, Twitter.com/Road2LPGA, and YouTube.com/Road2LPGA.

ABOUT SYMETRA
Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation, a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Washington. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions and independent agents and advisors. Symetra began its partnership with the Road to the LPGA in 2010 as the title sponsor of the Symetra Classic. It secured naming rights for the Symetra Tour in November 2011. In addition to its title sponsorship of the Tour, which runs through 2021, Symetra sponsors two events on the tournament schedule—the Symetra Classic and the season-ending Symetra Tour Championship. For more information about Symetra, visit www.symetra.com.