The future of women's golf will mix with its present and past at the Judson Collegiate Invitational and The Legends Tour Atlanta Pro-Am, a tournament that will be held July 15-18 at the Country Club of Roswell.
The event will feature a unique field, consisting of 30 former LPGA stars who are on the Legends Tour, including Rosie Jones, Nancy Lopez and Betsy King. They will compete beside as many as 60 college players. The format also will be interesting. Sunday will include a single-day pro-am event. Each team will consist of a Legends player, two college golfers and two amateurs.
Things will get serious Monday with the beginning of stroke-play competition. The Legends players will compete for a purse of $120,000 in the Legends Collegiate Challenge, an 18-hole tournament. Playing alongside them, the college players will begin the first round of the Judson Collegiate Invitational. That tournament consists of three rounds, ending Wednesday.
The opportunity for the older players to mentor the younger players, some of whom Jones said probably haven't heard of the Legends Tour, is a unique opportunity for both groups.
"The legends are excited about having collegians at the event," Jones said.
The tournament was imagined by Lauren Judson, who wanted to honor her parents, Jim and Beth, prominent Roswell residents who were killed in a private-plane crash in 2010. Lauren, who plays golf at Southern Miss, turned to Jackie Cannizzo, a pro at the Country Club of Roswell. She began to organize the event with Jones' help.
Jones turned to the Legends Tour, where she competes and has friends, many of whom played in the LPGA tournament that used to be held in Atlanta.
"We thought it was a perfect place to come back to," Jones said. "Many helped build the Chick-fil-A tournament when it was here. There's a recognition and a fan base we can tap into."
Cannizzo said 45 college players have committed. The Judson will compete against the North & South Women's Amateur Championship for the same spot on the calendar this year, which has affected filling the field. Cannizzo said they hope to settle into another date next year that won't compete against other tournaments or qualifiers.
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