PROFESSIONAL GOLF STAYING IN ALBANY

THE CDPHP® OPEN ANNOUNCED AS SYMETRA TOUR RETURNS TO CAPITAL REGION

ALBANY, N.Y. — The 16th stop on the 2019 “Road to the LPGA” will take the Symetra Tour to Capital Hills at Albany in the Empire State for the first edition of The CDPHP Open from July 26-28. Previously known as the Fuccillo Kia Classic of NY, new title sponsor Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc. (CDPHP) takes over to keep women’s professional golf in the Capital Region for a 35th consecutive year.

“Bringing back the Symetra Tour to Capital Hills for a 16th year was a major goal for 2019 and I am excited to team with CDPHP,” said Jim Miller, the Tournament Director for The CDPHP Open. “They are a leader in providing quality health care in the Capital Region and support for our tournament since it was brought to Albany in 2004. Hosting 144 professional golfers from all over the world for well over a decade now has allowed us to showcase some of the best golf this region has ever seen. I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to continuing this great tradition we created.”

From 1984-1998, the event was contested at Town of Colonie Golf Course in Schenectady before a one-year hiatus. Then it spent two years each at Western Turnpike Golf Course and Orchard Creek Golf Club, before settling in at Capital Hills at Albany Golf Course for good in 2004.

In addition to the announcement of CDPHP as the title sponsor, CDPHP The Foundation will serve as the benefitting charity for the 2019 tournament. 

“We’re thrilled to support The CDPHP Open and the Symetra Tour’s long-standing tradition of bringing golfers out to engage in some healthy competition—and exercise, too,” said John D. Bennett, MD, president and CEO of CDPHP. “I am also especially thankful that CDPHP The Foundation will benefit from the event’s proceeds to further promote health, wellness, and education in our community.”  

Greeting the 144-player field in the capital of New York 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.

Action gets underway at 7:30 a.m. ET all three days with first and second round play on Friday and Satur­day featuring groups of three heading off No. 1 and No. 10 tees. On Sunday, twosomes will begin on No. 1 tee with a trophy ceremony to follow the completion of the final round.

“We are grateful to CDPHP for stepping in to serve as the title sponsor of this great event,” said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of the Symetra Tour. “Albany has been a part of the Symetra Tour schedule for 35 years now, and we are looking forward to adding to the event’s history.”

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.

ABOUT CDPHP®
Established in 1984, CDPHP is a physician-founded, member-focused and community-based not-for-profit health plan that offers high-quality affordable health insurance plans to members in 26 counties throughout New York. CDPHP is also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.