Destination: Garden; Symetra Golf Tour finalizes deal

Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-Not that this should come as any surprise, but golf fans definitely represent the majority in Garden City. That along with strong administrative support helped land the Symetra Golf Tour in the prize of Southwestern Kansas in September. 

Symetra, which is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA, finalized the 2014 schedule by unveiling the Garden City Classic, which will take place at Buffalo Dunes Golf Club September 11-13. 

“My brother does business in Garden City once a month,” tour spokesman Tim Kramer said during a press conference on Tuesday. “He told me how great the golf course was and how big the fan support was. That was a big determining factor.”

Kramer is a Kansas native who played quarterback at Emporia State. His father Larry, is the second winningest coach in Hornets history. He passed away back in January at the age of 71.

The event will bring 144 of the top up -and-coming women’s golfers on the planet. They will be competing for a total purse of $100,000. The winner will take home $15,000. 

“Eventually we expect this event to pay for itself,” Buffalo Dunes Golf Pro Cole Wasinger said. “We have no doubts about that.”

The event will precede the tour’s annual championship tournament in September and will be played a week after their pit stop in Topeka. 

Currently, the Symetra Tour has 15 sponsored events including Garden City. The plan is definitely to expand. 

“We hope to add five more locations by next year and cap that number at 25,” said Mike Nichols, who’s the chief business Officer for the tour. 

Practice rounds for the Garden City Classic will begin on Tuesday, September 9. There will be a pro-am on Wednesday, Sept. 10 leading up to the first-round play on Thursday. 

“We already have so many great events in this city,” City Manager Matt Allen said. “This will definitely be the crowning achievement.”

The Symetra Tour, which is the official Road to the LPGA, is in it’s 34th competitive season. With the support of its umbrella sponsor, the tour’s goal is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA tour.