Copper Rock Championship Added to 2020 Symetra Tour schedule

HURRICANE, Utah — One of several new tournaments on the “Road to the LPGA” in 2020, the Copper Rock Championship is the latest addition with the Symetra Tour set to venture to the Beehive State and Copper Rock Golf Course from Sept. 3-5.

A full field of competitors will battle for a purse of $200,000, making the inaugural event one of seven this year on the Symetra Tour offering (at least) that amount of prize money. Players will compete in a 54-hole stroke play format with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes. The winner’s share is $30,000.

“We continue to raise the bar for our players with the Copper Rock Championship joining the fold,” said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of the Symetra Tour. “The golf course is first-class and we are excited by the plans to develop the resort facilities. This is definitely a kind of complete venue that could host a premier event like the Tour Championship when finished.”

This won’t be the first time a tournament of the LPGA Tour family makes its way to Utah. Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy, Ogden Golf & Country Club in Ogden and Riverside Country Club in Provo hosted the Salt Lake City Open, Ogden Ladies Open and Riverside Ladies Open from 1962-64, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the Symetra Tour played at St. George Golf Club for the St. George Invitational in 1985 and St. George Open in 1986 before moving to Park City Golf Club for the Park City Classic in 1987. Each of these events were prior to the Tour becoming the official qualifying tour of the LPGA in 1999.

“It has been a long time coming for the return of women’s professional golf to the great state of Utah,” said Kenneth Knudson, the Director of Golf for Copper Rock Golf Course located in the heart of the new Copper Rock community in Hurricane, Utah. “The anticipation is really building to make this tournament a hit right out of the gate. We look forward to welcoming players and staff to the greater Washington County area and making them feel right at home when September rolls around.”

The top-10 in the Volvik Race for the Card at the end of the season earn full LPGA Tour membership for 2021. Three cards were awarded from 1999-2002, then from 2003-07 that number increased to five before 10 were distributed starting in 2008. Since the first year, a total of 157 players have graduated to the big stage.

Symetra Tour graduates over the years include three-time Solheim Cup Team USA member Gerina Piller, three-time LPGA Tour champion Nelly Korda, 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Hannah Green and World Golf Hall of Fame members Lorena Ochoa and Inbee Park. Other individuals that have spent time on the Symetra Tour include Brooke Henderson, Cheyenne Woods, Annie Park and Madelene Sagstrom, who secured the Symetra Tour single-season earnings record when she captured $167,064 in 2016.

“There’s a lot that I’m pumped about for the season ahead, but this event definitely tops the list,” said BYU alumna and second-year Symetra Tour professional Kendra Dalton (Poughquag, New York). “To be able to return to the area that helped me grow as a person and really launched my professional career is special. Having support there and to be back in St. George where I’ve spent so much time is something I’m really looking forward to.”

Finally, the Pro-Am event will take place at Copper Rock Golf Course on Wednesday, Sept. 2. For more information including volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, contact davidviveiros@gmail.com or visit copperrock.com.

“This is an exciting time for the state of Utah, especially the Greater Zion area,” said David Viveiros, the Tournament Director for the Copper Rock Championship. “Hosting the Copper Rock Championship is a great addition to the array of sporting events already in place in the region and Copper Rock Golf Course could not be a better home for a professional golf tournament.”

ABOUT THE SYMETRA TOUR

The Symetra Tour is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and enters its 40th competitive season in 2020. 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 22 events. With more than 600 alumnae moving on to the LPGA, former Symetra Tour players have won a total of 445 LPGA titles. Follow the Symetra Tour on the web at www.SymetraTour.com, Facebook.com/Road2LPGA, Twitter.com/Road2LPGA and Instagram @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.