Safeway Open Will Provide Guaranteed Spot in LPGA Tournament to Winner.

Tournament Golf Foundation Inc., the organizers of the Safeway Classic LPGA Tournament, announced a unique event that will guarantee a spot in the prestigious LPGA event to the winner of a one day qualifying tournament.

The Safeway Open will be held at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, OR (fifteen minutes south of Portland) on Tuesday July 5th, beginning at 7:30 AM. Any woman professional golfer or amateur with an established USGA handicap of 3.4 or less is eligible to compete.

The winner of the event will earn a guaranteed spot in the 54-hole Safeway Classic tournament proper to be held August 19-21, at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, in Portland. The two low amateur finishers will earn spots in the Monday Qualifying event, for LPGA players to be held on August 15. The two low scores from the Monday Qualifier will also earn entry into the Safeway Classic.

According to Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, “TGFI has been a supporter of women’s golf in the Northwest over our 34 year history. With the popularity of The Big Break on The Golf Channel, we are offering our own version. One round and the winner gets a big break of their own in the Safeway Classic.” Last year, 13-year old Jane Rah of California won the event, open to amateurs only.

The Safeway Open will have a $75 entry fee and players can get an application by calling the Tournament Golf Foundation office at 503-626-2711 or by visiting www.safewaygolf.com.

Entry deadline for the event will be June 29, 2005

The Safeway Classic is the second-oldest event on the LPGA Tour. The 2005 Safeway Classic will mark the 34th consecutive year the LPGA tour event has been brought to Portland by TGFI. The event, originally called the Portland Classic, has now donated over $9 million to local children’s charities since its inception in 1972, with $5 million coming in the past eight years with Safeway as title sponsor.

The 2005 edition of the The Safeway Classic, presented by Pepsi, will be held at Columbia-Edgewater Country Club, August 15-21. The purse for the event for this year will be $1.4 million. The Golf Channel will again broadcast the event all three days of tournament play.

Hee-Won Han won the 2004 event in a playoff with Lorie Kane. Annika Sorenstam won the 2002 and 2003 editions of the tournament and is expected to return to Portland again in 2005. The field for the event in 2004 was one of the strongest on the LPGA tour last year.

Tournament Golf Foundation Inc. is comprised of a local Portland area group of volunteers who donate their time and provide the primary operations for the annual event. Begun in 1972, the group is now comprised of 47 local individuals and couples. TGFI is also the owner and operator of the Safeway International, in Phoenix, AZ.

For more information on Tournament Golf Foundation and the Safeway Classic, visit www.safewaygolf.com. For more information on Langdon Farms Golf Club or for practice rounds, visit www.langdonfarms.com or call 503-678-4653.

Safeway Classic 2005 Safeway Open Player Application (PDF)
(Adobe Acrobat Reader Required - get it here)