Michigan Golf Journal June 2021

Michigan Golf Journal Symetra Tour If the golfing pedigree of Sierra Brooks, Kaitlyn Papp – or Michiganders Sarah White and defending champ (from 2019) Daniela Iacobelli are any indication – the Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass in the U.P. will be a knock down drag out barn burner of a tournament on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour. Okay, enough of the superlatives. Just know – it is going to be a great event come June 11-13 at one of Michigan’s top-20 courses. “When our players come into Escanaba and Harris, Michigan, they know that they’re in for a treat, and they leave with those comments,” said Tim Kramer, VP of the Symetra Tour. “Just the passion that the folks up there (in U.P.) show towards the event, the red carpet they roll out for our players, and obviously the quality of the golf course, really make it an LPGA type of experience for our players that they’ll experience at the next level as well. We know at Island Resort we’ll get the best of the best.” Four of the last five Sweetgrass winners are now on the LPGA Tour, where all four named above are stretching for. Iacobelli grew up in Macomb County, while White hails from Grand Rapids (see related story on page 21). Brooks just graduated from Florida and qualified for Women’s U.S. Opens in 2016 and ’19 and was runner up in the NCAA tournament the latter year. Papp is from the University of Texas at Austin, and placed 9 th in the U.S. Open last year, earning her a return trip where she’ll play at The Olympic Club the week before going to Escanaba. “For us it kicks off our golf season,” said Tony Mancilla, general manager. “Less than 200 golf courses in America out of 16,000 host a professional tournament, and we’re one of them. That says a lot. We don’t lose sponsors, we just gain them. And we have a good committee that never changes.” In August, the LPGA Symetra Tour plans to visit the Battle Creek Country Club for its annual Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship. MGJ Two LPGA Symetra Tour Events in Michigan Kick Off in the U.P. By Tom Lang