It may seem odd for my birth state of Alabama to play host to one, much less two, full-field LPGA events, but the Tour has a long history with “The Yellowhammer State.”

This week’s Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic at the Senator Course at Capitol Hill, part of the impressive Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, follows the immensely successful Airbus LPGA Classic Presented by JTBC in Mobile in late May and helps continue a strong history of LPGA events in Alabama. It began in Prattville in 2007, the year Maria Hjorth won, and continued through 2012 before taking a one-year hiatus.

Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa won back-to-back titles in Prattville from 2008-09, and world No. 1 Stacy Lewis won the most recent installment in 2012.

Now, the event is back on the LPGA schedule, and players are certainly happy about it.

“I was excited when this tournament came back on the schedule. It’s a place that I’ve played a lot over the last five years, and I love playing here,” Lewis said. “It’s a great golf course for both of us. We both hit it far enough that you can kind of take it over some corners and make a bunch of birdies, so that will be fun this week.”

The Prattville course is also special for Lexi Thompson, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner there.

“This is where I got my first win so it brings back a lot of great memories,” Thompson said. “But just the hospitality and the golf course is always in great shape for us, so we always look forward to coming back and definitely looking forward to playing the golf course this week.”

The LPGA’s presence in Mobile began in 2008, when Angela Stanford emerged victorious, and picked back up in 2010 after a year away. Players like Se Ri Pak and Lewis have won in Mobile, and Jessica Korda notched a victory there this year.

Pak also won in Mobile at Magnolia Grove’s Crossings Course in 2001 and 2002, when the Tour hosted the AFLAC Champions Presented by Southern Living there from 1998-2007.

The Tour began its Alabama experience in a big way, with Hall of Famer Mickey Wright winning the 1962 Western Open, a major championship, at Montgomery Country Club in mid-May. Ten years passed before the LPGA returned to the “Heart of Dixie,” with Betty Burfeindt claiming the 1972 Birmingham Centennial Classic title at Green Valley Country Club.

That began an 11-year run in Birmingham that included victories by Hall of Famers Jane Blalock (1974, 1979), Beth Daniel (1982) and Hollis Stacy (1978) and star Jan Stephenson (1976). Alabama has also been a good place for lesser-known players to snag wins, with players like Gloria Ehret, Maria Astrologes, Debbie Austin, Barbara Barrow, Beth Solomon, Dorothy Delasin, Heather Daly-Donofrio and Christina Kim finding the winner’s circle there

Alabama may not be a national hotbed of golf, but the LPGA has a long history of traversing the country to find great courses in nearly every state to serve as host sites for tournaments. In fact, the Tour has played in every state except Alaska, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Yes, there have even been events in Rhode Island, Vermont, Idaho and Kentucky, states not exactly known for golf. Florida, Texas and California have been the LPGA’s go-to states, but the Tour has certainly spread the wealth through the years.

Speaking of “non-traditional” locales, the Tour also has made stops in Havana, Cuba, from 1956-58, Venezuela in 1966, the Philippines in 1976 and 1979, Ireland in 1984, Jamaica from 1985-91 and Puerto Rico in 1989. So, Alabama hosting two events shouldn’t really be that much of a surprise.

The state’s residents love their sports, and the LPGA has become a beloved sports commodity for Alabamians. Maybe that’s why they’re so quick to roll out the red carpet, the sweet tea and traditional Southern hospitality.

Alabama has long history with LPGA

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