BOSTON, Oct. 8, 2015 – Meg Mallon is already putting in the practice time as she hopes to defend her title at next month’s Walgreens Charity Championship presented by The Seagate Country Club. The championship will be held Nov. 5-7.
Mallon won the 2014 championship with a wire-to-wire, one-stroke victory over good friend Juli Inkster. It was the first win in 10 years for the 18-time LPGA Tour winner.
“It was so cool to have a real chance to win a tournament again,” said Mallon, whose last full year on the LPGA was 2010. “And to be at home that week sleeping in my own bed and only having a short drive down the road to play the tournament was really special.”
During her LPGA Tour career, Mallon purposefully played and practiced at The Seagate Country Club – then called The Hamlet – in preparation for the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, which she won in 2005 and in 1991.
“It was tight and narrow and it helped get me ready for the Women’s Open because I had to keep the ball in the fairway,” she said.
The course has since been renovated, but Mallon says it still demands accuracy, which may have helped her win last year’s Walgreens Charity Championship.
“Maybe I like to have that narrow focus on a golf course because it makes me focus a little bit more,” Mallon said. “The renovations have made it a playable, fun golf course, adding to a terrific facility.”
Just as she did in 2014, Mallon said she will come into the championship “with no expectations,” largely because the retired touring pro is no longer competing on a weekly tournament schedule.
“You never know what you’re going to get when you don’t work as hard at it any more,” said Mallon. “Last year, I putted well and played well, so it was a fun few days.”
A field of 50 Legends Tour players will compete for a purse of $250,000. World Golf Hall of Fame members Pat Bradley, Donna Caponi, JoAnne Carner, Beth Daniel, Laura Davies, Sandra Haynie, Juli Inkster, Patty Sheehan, Hollis Stacy, along with Legends Tour Hall of Famers Jane Blalock, Rosie Jones and Jan Stephenson will compete in the championship.
In addition, two senior women amateurs have been invited to compete alongside the professionals in this year’s championship. Sue Cohn of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., reached the semifinals of last week’s 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. Joan Higgins of Glendora, Calif., was the 2014 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion.
Tee times for the Walgreens Charity Championship will start at 8 a.m. each day, with gates opening at 7:30 a.m.
Advance tickets are on sale in Florida Walgreens stores for $10 each, a $5 savings off daily-round gate pricing. Single tickets are good for either the Friday or Saturday rounds. Kids 13 and under, as well as active military with I.D., get into the tournament free.
Saturday’s final round will be immediately followed by a concert featuring national recording artists, the Little River Band. Saturday ticket holders are admitted free to the concert following play.
All ticket proceeds from the Walgreens Charity Championship benefit charity partners the Dan Marino Foundation, Achievement Centers for Children and Families and the Bethesda Foundation.
For more information about The Legends Tour, the official senior tour of the LPGA, visit www.thelegendstour.com.
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