To Our LPGA Family and Friends in Rochester/Pittsford,
Today’s news of KPMG, PGA of America and the LPGA joining forces to create the next generation of the LPGA Championship probably creates a sense of disappointment among our most loyal fans in Rochester.
We not only understand that feeling, but also completely respect it – especially when it comes from a longtime partner and friend of the LPGA. Rochester has been equally committed to hosting great events, impacting their community through charity, and growing the future of women’s golf.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship takes one of the LPGA’s major championships in a slightly different direction, which includes the addition of a women’s leadership summit and charitable initiative that will help to raise the bar for women in the business world, as well as in the golf world.
With change always comes a degree of anxiousness. The LPGA Championship began in 1955 and has included a list of champions among the greatest to have ever played the game. Likewise, the event itself has had a list of host cities, venues and corporate partners that have served as caretakers, and the real HEROES of the Championship’s legacy.
Because of the generosity and charitable vision of Wegmans, the LPGA has been experiencing the “specialness” of Rochester for 38 years. Even as the LPGA and Wegmans began to discuss the inevitable end to this incredible run, Wegmans surprised the LPGA once again asking that we actually RAISE the profile of the event, and deliver to the people of Rochester a major experience in their final years as a title sponsor. They wanted to create a major event that would forever cement this wonderful region into women’s golf history.
Many cities call the LPGA every year in the hopes of finding a way to bring the Tour to their town just one time. The people of Rochester (and the LPGA) are blessed to have Wegmans as a friend. Not only did they help keep the LPGA in the community for nearly four decades, but they also had the vision and drive to end on such a ‘Major’ high. We hope that everyone involved with the Wegmans LPGA Championship understands the value you’ve personally brought and the impression you have made on our players and our organization.
This year the Wegmans LPGA Championship visits Monroe Golf Club for the first time. It will also provide the perfect stage for a grand celebration – not only for the players, but also for the golf fans and volunteers.
We hope that you can join us at Monroe in August. Together, we’ll show the world what has made Rochester such as special part of the LPGA’s history, and we’ll work together to provide the stage for a future return to one of America’s greatest golf cities.
Michael Whan
LPGA Commissioner