D'Amato: 'Summer of Golf' in Wisconsin starts with Legends Tour in Lake Geneva
LAKE GENEVA – Walgreens is sponsoring a Legends Tour event at the Geneva National Resort this weekend, which means Juli Inkster is practically a shoo-in to win her fifth title on the official senior tour of the LPGA.
She seems to have an affinity for golf tournaments sponsored by the pharmacy store chain.
In 2016, Inkster won the Walgreens Charity Championship and the Walgreens Charity Classic. Earlier this year, she repeated as the Walgreens Charity Classic champion.
A victory Sunday in the Red Nose Day Walgreens Charity Championship would give her the rare “Walgreens Slam.”
OK, it doesn’t compare with Bobby Jones’ sweep of the major championships in 1930 or Tiger Woods’ “Tiger Slam” in 2000-’01. But if nothing else, she shouldn’t have to wait in line to pick up a prescription.
“They’ve been a great sponsor,” Inkster said before teeing it up in the pro-am Thursday. “It’s great to have a place to play. I enjoy being out here.”
The U.S. Open at Erin Hills, less than a month away, dominates the 2017 “Summer of Golf” in Wisconsin. Every major domestic tour with the exception of the Web.com visits us over the next three months.
It starts with the 36-hole tournament for LPGA stars 45 and older Saturday and Sunday on the Player Course at Geneva National.
Inkster, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and a two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion, doesn’t have to play on the Legends Tour. At 56, she still tees it up predominantly on the LPGA and is competitive with women half her age.
Frankly, the Legends Tour struggles for dates and sponsors – Walgreens aside – and the money isn’t great. Inkster earned $30,000 for winning the season-opening Walgreens Charity Classic, a drop in the bucket compared with the nearly $14 million she has won on the LPGA.
So why bother?
“I want to support this tour,” she said. “I think it’s great for the gals to have somewhere to play. This is what made the LPGA, these gals. I enjoy being out here with them.”
The truth is, only diehard golf fans knew the Legends Tour was in Lake Geneva this weekend. The tour has a skeleton staff and a tiny marketing budget. But if you’re looking for value for your entertainment dollar, you can’t beat it.
Daily tickets cost $15 at the gate but $10 if you buy them in advance at area Walgreens stores. Children 13 and under are admitted free. The course is only partially roped for galleries, so spectators are able to get close to some of the best women ever to play the game.
In addition to Inkster, golfers scheduled to compete include Laura Davies of England, making her first visit to Wisconsin since the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run; fellow World Golf Hall of Fame members Pat Bradley, Betsy King, Patty Sheehan and Hollis Stacy; and Sheboygan native Martha Nause.
“These are the greatest names of women’s golf in almost the entire history of the game, and we still play at a high level,” said the 62-year-old Nause, a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “Because it’s a little less intense, everybody is a lot more friendly. You’ll have interaction with the players that you wouldn’t have at a regular tournament.
“We’re just happy to have people come out and watch because we still like to show the world that we can play well.”