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Columbia Edgewater (Vernon Macan) . . . Voted favorite course in America last year by the LPGA players - for hosting the Safeway Classic. 2008 tourney is their Swan song year, though. Next year going to Pumpkin.
... What's happening? Are they loosing the parking area at CE? Voted favorite, and then bye bye, wow!
Here's an article that just came out today in the Oregonian (newspaper).
Classic will move in 2009
Saturday, March 15, 2008
As expected, the Safeway Classic, Portland's LPGA Tour golf tournament, will move to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains in 2009, tournament organizers announced Friday.
Tournament Golf Foundation, the nonprofit organization that runs the tournament, will stage the tournament on Pumpkin Ridge's Ghost Creek course, the public side of the 36-hole facility, which includes the private Witch Hollow. The tournament and Pumpkin Ridge signed a three-year contract.
TGF was happy with Columbia Edgewater Country Club, its home for the past 18 years and site of the tournament 26 times.
However, as interest in women's golf and the tournament continued to grow, leading to a record attendance of 68,900 last year, TGF wanted to take advantage and find a facility that would allow a bigger pro-am event and more corporate tents to raise more money for its charities. The tournament donated $1.1 million to local charities from last year's tournament.
Pumpkin Ridge has been host to a slew of United States Golf Association events, including the 1996 U.S. Amateur won by Tiger Woods and two U.S. Women's Opens.
"It's really tough to make a change from a place like Columbia Edgewater, where we've been so comfortable for so long," said Rob Neal, executive director of TGF. "But going to a place like Pumpkin Ridge, where they've run plenty of big events, is comforting."
The Safeway Classic, which started in 1972 and is the longest running regular event on the LPGA Tour, will be played one final time at Columbia Edgewater on Aug. 22-24, when Lorena Ochoa will try to defend her title.
-- Mike Tokito
You may have noticed that the tourney will be played on the public Ghost Creek Course.